5 places in Cairo to enjoy the cooler autumn air outdoors
With Cairo's highs dropping below 30 this week, here are five outdoor places to spend an afternoon: a hilltop park, a Khedivial grotto garden, the Nile at Gezira, a palace in Heliopolis and a historic street.
Cairo's daytime highs have dropped into the high twenties this week, which makes late afternoons the best time of the year to be outside. These are five places to spend one, from a hilltop park to a palace in Heliopolis. Hours and prices can change, so check before you go.
Al-Azhar Park
on Salah Salem Street, 72 acres of gardens built on an old rubble mound, with a view across to the Citadel. It is open every day from 9am to 10pm. Adults (Egyptians and residents) pay EGP 50 from Sunday to Thursday and EGP 60 on Friday and Saturday, according to the park's own tickets page.
Aquarium Grotto Garden
the small Zamalek garden people call the Fish Garden dates from Khedive Ismail's time in the 1860s. Its paths run between artificial rock grottoes and caves, with fish tanks set into the walls. Shady and quiet on a weekday afternoon.
Cairo Tower and the Gezira riverside
the 187-metre tower on Gezira island has an open-air deck at the top with views over the whole city, and the Nile banks around it, by the Qasr El Nil bridge, are one of the classic places for an evening walk.
Baron Empain Palace
the Heliopolis palace built for Belgian industrialist Baron Edouard Empain in the early 1900s, with towers inspired by Hindu temples, reopened to visitors after restoration in 2020. The grounds and terraces are at their best in the softer afternoon light.
Al-Muizz Street
the old Fatimid-era main street of historic Cairo, lined with mosques, madrasas and sabils, much of it now walkable without cars. Start near Bab El Futuh and walk south towards Khan El Khalili as the sun goes down.