The core of this luxury hotel is a lavish palace built by Khedive Ismail to house Empress Éugenie when she visited for the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869. A stroll inside gives a sense of its original grandeur. Head straight through and down the stairs to grand old sitting rooms, then into the garden and right to the next entrance and the fantastic former ballroom, with triple-height ceilings and an enormous staircase for making that dramatic entrance.
Cairo Marriott Hotel
Cairo
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
7.74 MILES
The last remaining wonder of the ancient world; for nearly 4000 years, the extraordinary shape, impeccable geometry and sheer bulk of the Giza Pyramids…
0.84 MILES
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12.92 MILES
Covering a 7km stretch of the Western Desert, Saqqara, the huge cemetery of ancient Memphis, was an active burial ground for more than 3500 years and is…
1.91 MILES
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2.41 MILES
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2.25 MILES
Sharia Al Muizz, as it’s usually called, named after the Fatimid caliph who conquered Cairo in AD 969, was Cairo's grand thoroughfare, once chock-a-block…
3.55 MILES
This museum, founded in 1908, houses Coptic art from the earliest days of Christianity in Egypt right through to early Islam. It is a beautiful place, as…
12.36 MILES
The Mastaba of Ti was discovered by Auguste Mariette in 1865. This grand and detailed private tomb is not only Old Kingdom art at its best but also one of…
Nearby Cairo attractions
0.09 MILES
The several galleries here host rotating contemporary exhibitions, but it was closed for restoration when we were last in town.
0.09 MILES
This museum has been closed for renovation for the past few years. When it reopens, it’s worth a peek for its collection of colourful plates, tiles and…
0.12 MILES
Shuttered for years, the Aisha Fahmy Palace was built in 1907 for Egyptian aristocrat Ali Fahmy, who was King Farouk's army chief. Reopened as an arts…
0.33 MILES
The pleasant Gabalaya Park & Aquarium has landscaped gardens with aquariums set in rocks (though not many actual fish). It’s a great central spot to…
0.72 MILES
This 187m-high tower is the city’s most famous landmark after the Pyramids. Built in 1961, the structure, which resembles a stylised lotus plant with its…
0.84 MILES
One of the world’s most important collections of ancient artefacts, the Egyptian Museum takes pride of place in Downtown Cairo, on the north side of Midan…
0.87 MILES
One of several formal gardens in the Gezira area that are popular strolling spots for couples in the evening. This one’s small, but adjacent to the Nile,…
0.94 MILES
One of the first independent galleries, Mashrabia is bit cramped but represents the bigger names in painting, video and sculpture.