- Giza is the west-bank side of greater Cairo: the pyramids are 16.5 km from a Downtown or Zamalek hotel and 1.8 km from a hotel near the plateau, without traffic.
- The plateau opens at 7 a.m. on the ministry's ticketing portal (8 a.m. on its Giza site page), with last entry at 4 p.m.
- Going inside the Great Pyramid needs its own ticket; on our pyramid tours it is an optional extra, not part of the tour price.
- The Grand Egyptian Museum is 6.8 km from the Sphinx, about 11 min without traffic, and every ticket is booked online for a set entry time.
- Saqqara is 18.3 km from the Sphinx, about 27 min without traffic; Dahshur is 11 km beyond Saqqara.
The main things to do in Giza are to see the three pyramids and the Great Sphinx on the plateau, visit the Grand Egyptian Museum beside them, ride a quad bike or a camel in the desert, watch the evening sound and light show, and drive south to the older pyramids of Saqqara and Dahshur and the ruins of Memphis. Each fits in a day trip from a Cairo or Giza hotel.
Is Giza part of Cairo?
In practice, yes: Giza is the west-bank side of greater Cairo, and our Cairo tours pick up from hotels in Cairo or Giza. What changes is the drive. The table gives the map-routing distance from three hotel areas to the pyramids, without traffic.
| Hotel area | To the Giza pyramids |
|---|---|
| Downtown / Zamalek | 16.5 km, about 20 min |
| Giza, near the pyramids | 1.8 km, about 4 min |
| New Cairo | 45.3 km, about 42 min |
For how the plateau, Giza city and Cairo fit together, read Giza plateau, Giza city and Cairo explained.
On the Giza plateau
See the three pyramids
The pyramids of Giza were built for the 4th-dynasty kings Khufu, Khafre and Menkaure, from about 2575 to 2465 BCE, on a rocky plateau west of the Nile. The Great Pyramid of Khufu, now 138 meters high after losing its outer casing, is the only surviving wonder of the ancient world, according to UNESCO. Our half-day pyramids and Sphinx tour stops at the viewpoint on the plateau where the three pyramids are seen together, then goes down to the Sphinx.
Go inside the Great Pyramid
The entrance is on the north side, about 18 meters above the ground. An ascending passage leads to the Queen's Chamber and to a sloping gallery 46 meters long, and a passage at its top reaches the King's Chamber, lined and roofed with granite (Britannica). It needs its own ticket on top of the plateau ticket (table below); on our pyramid tours it is an optional extra, not included in the tour price. Going inside the Great Pyramid covers what to expect.
Stand in front of the Sphinx and the Valley Temple
The Great Sphinx is carved out of limestone, with a man's face and a lion's body, about 73 meters long and 20 meters high, and was probably part of Khafre's funerary complex (Britannica). It lies 0.7 km from the pyramids, a few minutes by car, beside the Valley Temple of Khafre, which stood at the edge of the Nile floodplain and was linked to his pyramid by a causeway. Most of our pyramid tours stop at both.
Ride a quad bike or a camel
Our quad bike tour is about 2 hours of riding in the desert with the three pyramids in view, after a safety briefing from a Bedouin desert guide, as an afternoon or sunset ride. A camel ride across the plateau is an optional extra, at an extra fee, on the Pyramids, Memphis and Saqqara tour. Read before you book a quad bike ride at the pyramids for the details.
Watch the sound and light show
In the evening the plateau hosts a light and audio show narrated in the voice of the Sphinx, about the pyramids and the pharaohs. Our sound and light show with dinner picks you up from your hotel in the evening and adds dinner at a local restaurant; the show is shared with other guests, while the transfers stay private. What to expect at the show explains the evening.
