American University in Cairo Bookshop

Top choice in Cairo


The best English-language bookshop in Egypt, with a huge selection of material on the politics, sociology and history of Cairo, Egypt and the wider Middle East, as well as other more general non-fiction titles. There are plenty of guidebooks and maps, and a decent fiction section. This is also a great place to find titles by Arab writers in translation.

You need to show your passport (or another kind of ID) to gain entry.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Cairo attractions

1. Omar Makram Mosque

0.13 MILES

Omar Makram Mosque is the place where anybody who's anybody has a funeral.

2. Midan Tahrir

0.14 MILES

Midan Tahrir (Liberation Sq) gained world renown in early 2011, when millions of Egyptians converged here to oust then-president Hosni Mubarak. On a…

3. Arab League Building

0.24 MILES

This building (a good landmark in the vast Midan Tahrir area) hosts occasional gatherings of leaders from around the Middle East.

4. Mashrabia Gallery

0.35 MILES

One of the first indepen­dent galleries, Mashrabia is bit cramped but represents the bigger names in painting, video and sculpture.

5. Groppi’s

0.38 MILES

Groppi’s high point was more than 50 years ago when it was one of the most celebrated patisseries this side of the Mediterranean. It has unfortunately…

6. Midan Talaat Harb

0.38 MILES

Downtown’s two main streets, Sharia Talaat Harb and Sharia Qasr El Nil, intersect at the roundabout of Midan Talaat Harb, where cars whizz around a statue…

7. Egyptian Museum

0.4 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…

8. Cairo Atelier

0.41 MILES

Off Sharia Mahmoud Bassiouni, as much a clubhouse as an exhibition space, frequented by Cairo’s art-world new and old guard.