The Pyramids of Giza are the only one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World still standing, and nothing quite prepares you for their scale in person, nor for the fact that they sit at the edge of modern Cairo, a sprawling, chaotic, 20-million-person city, rather than in splendid isolation.
The Pyramids and the Sphinx
Arrive at the Giza plateau at opening time to see the Great Pyramid of Khufu, the Pyramid of Khafre, and the Sphinx before both the heat and the crowds of tour buses and camel touts build through the day.
Consider going inside the Great Pyramid itself (a separate, limited-capacity ticket) for the narrow, low-ceilinged climb to the burial chamber, not for the claustrophobic, but a genuinely different perspective on how these structures were actually built.
Cairo and the Nile
The Grand Egyptian Museum, near the pyramids, houses the full Tutankhamun collection along with thousands of other artefacts in a modern facility, book well ahead, as it has quickly become one of the most visited museums in the world since fully opening.
A felucca sail on the Nile at sunset, from Cairo or further south in Aswan and Luxor, is a calm counterpoint to the pyramids' intensity, and for those with more time, a multi-day Nile cruise between Luxor and Aswan takes in Karnak, the Valley of the Kings, and Abu Simbel.
Recommended Stay · Giza · Pyramids View
Marriott Mena House
A former royal hunting lodge set in gardens directly facing the Great Pyramid, with rooms and a terrace restaurant offering an unobstructed view of Giza's plateau just beyond the garden wall.
