Cairo Marriott Hotel

Cairo


The core of this luxury hotel is a lavish palace built by Khedive Ismail to house Empress Éugenie when she visited for the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869. A stroll inside gives a sense of its original grandeur. Head straight through and down the stairs to grand old sitting rooms, then into the garden and right to the next entrance and the fantastic former ballroom, with triple-height ceilings and an enormous staircase for making that dramatic entrance.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Cairo attractions

1. Gezira Arts Centre

0.09 MILES

The several galleries here host rotating contemporary exhibitions, but it was closed for restoration when we were last in town.

2. Museum of Islamic Ceramics

0.09 MILES

This museum has been closed for renovation for the past few years. When it reopens, it’s worth a peek for its collection of colourful plates, tiles and…

3. Aisha Fahmy Palace

0.12 MILES

Shuttered for years, the Aisha Fahmy Palace was built in 1907 for Egyptian aristocrat Ali Fahmy, who was King Farouk's army chief. Reopened as an arts…

4. Gabalaya Park & Aquarium

0.33 MILES

The pleasant Gabalaya Park & Aquarium has landscaped gardens with aquariums set in rocks (though not many actual fish). It’s a great central spot to…

5. Cairo Tower

0.72 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…

6. Egyptian Museum

0.84 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…

7. Andalus Garden

0.87 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,…

8. Mashrabia Gallery

0.94 MILES

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