Monastirli Palace

Set in a peaceful Nileside garden, Monastirli Palace was built in 1851 for an Ottoman pasha whose family hailed from Monastir, in northern Greece. The salamlik that he built for public functions is now an elegant venue for concerts, while the other part is now the Umm Kolthum Museum (%2363 1467; Sharia al-Malek as-Salih, Rhoda; admission around £E2; h10:00-17:00).

Dedicated to the most famous Arab diva, the small museum is more like a shrine, given the reverence with which the singer's signature rhinestone-trimmed glasses and glittery gowns are hung under spotlights in display cases. There's a multimedia room where you can listen to her music, and a short film shows key moments of her life, from the beginning when she performed disguised as a Bedouin boy, to her magnetic performances that brought Cairo to a standstill, to her funeral, when millions of mourners flooded the streets.