Giza
On the desert plateau at the edge of Cairo, Giza holds the three great pyramids and the Sphinx — the most recognisable site on earth, and often the first image that comes to mind of Egypt.
Why visit Giza?
Giza is now a sprawling city absorbed into greater Cairo, but its funerary plateau has lost none of its force. The pyramids of Khufu, Khafre and Menkaure have dominated the desert here for over four thousand five hundred years, aligned with a precision still measured today with modern instruments.
The Great Sphinx keeps watch at the foot of the plateau, facing the sunrise, while the brand-new Grand Egyptian Museum has settled just minutes away, offering a museum counterpart to the open-air monuments. Smaller subsidiary pyramids, mastabas and tombs in the surrounding necropolis make the site far larger than it appears from the road.
Half a day covers the essentials, but a full day lets you pair Giza with Saqqara and Memphis, a few kilometres south, to trace the pyramid's story back to its beginnings.
Not to be missed
- Pyramid of Khufu
- Pyramid of Khafre and its necropolis
- Great Sphinx of Giza
- Grand Egyptian Museum
- Desert panorama over the three pyramids
- Combined excursion to Saqqara and Memphis
