In a city not known for green spaces, this zoo is a haven for local families who come here to picnic and kick a ball about as well as gawk at the animals. It's a great place for travellers with kids to meet local families but unfortunately this is an old-school zoo and some of the animals are kept in conditions that animal-rights activists have long expressed grave concerns about. The Egyptian press has reported several animals 'committing suicide'.
Cairo Zoo
Cairo
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
6.07 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…
1.71 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…
10.92 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…
2.44 MILES
This museum, on the edge of Islamic Cairo, holds one of the world’s finest collections of Islamic art and is Egypt's (and one of the entire Middle East's)…
3.04 MILES
Founded in AD 970 as the centrepiece of the newly created Fatimid city, Al Azhar is one of Cairo’s earlier mosques, and its sheikh is considered the…
2.93 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…
1.77 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…
10.35 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
1. Mr & Mrs Mahmoud Khalil Museum
0.65 MILES
In 2010 this museum gained global notoriety when art thieves nicked Van Gogh's Poppy Flowers (valued at US$50 million) right off the wall in broad…
0.85 MILES
After a years'-long restoration period, this palace complex, built by the uncle of King Farouk, Prince Mohammed Ali, in the early 20th century, has once…
0.94 MILES
Mukhtar (1891–1934) was the sculptor laureate of independent Egypt, responsible for Saad Zaghloul on the nearby roundabout and the Egypt Reawakening…
4. Museum of Modern Egyptian Art
1.16 MILES
This vast collection of 20th- and 21st-century Egyptian art is set in the green, well-groomed Gezira Exhibition Grounds, across from the Cairo Opera House…
5. Garden of Freedom & Friendship
1.2 MILES
Across Midan Saad Zaghloul from the Andalus Garden, on the southwest side, is the entrance to the grandly named Garden of Freedom and Friendship, much…
1.32 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,…
1.4 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…
1.49 MILES
Omar Makram Mosque is the place where anybody who's anybody has a funeral.