Welcome to Cairo’s premier nightlife guide.
On this page, you’ll discover the vibrant and varied nightlife scene in Cairo. You’ll find the perfect venue for you and your preferred night out. Whether you want to go all-out clubbing or if you’d like a more laid-back dinner and drinks with a view, we’ve got your covered.
Enjoy!
Egypt, the land of pyramids, deserts, pharaohs, and hieroglyphics, is popular amongst the tourists not only because of such places of ancient historical importance but also because of the urban lifestyle of Egypt that makes it a place full of entertainment. While you can take tours of the historically rich spots during the day, you can let your hair down at night with the best nightlife attractions available for the tourists.
Egypt is packed with popular tourist attractions, discotheques, clubs, pubs, modern public houses, and more. It was long ago that Egypt was only famous for its various historical places. Still, now it has turned into a happening country with loads of entertainment options for the tourists. Egypt is undeniably one of the perfect destinations to party hard from sunset till the sun rises. There are several clubs, pubs, bars, restaurants, discotheques, cafes, and shopping hotspots to have a gala time starting from dusk till dawn.
There are so many things to do in Egypt that your visit here will keep you entertained throughout the night. Of course, you can always find the entertainment options according to your budget. Some of the most celebrated DJs of the world take control of the crowd who jazz and dance to their tune, thereby never letting the nightlife spirit of Egypt die down.
Important facts to know before a night out in Cairo
Before you start your journey through the avenues of Egypt, here are some essential facts that you must know.
Being one of the essential countries of the middle east and some etiquettes or facts you should recognize, accept and respect when you are roaming there. Though there are diverse places to have a joyful time and party until the wee hours, you must know that it is a Muslim country, and you should honor their certain practices and rules. From choosing the proper dress codes to limitations on entry, you should distinguish what to do and in what way to act. For example, there are bars in Egypt, but some have their windows and doors closed, or they remain thoroughly ventilated to avert people from getting a hint of what is happening inside. But there is nothing to worry about as these bars are safe and are among the top places to visit in Egypt. On the other hand, several clubs will allow only a couple entry, and some coffee shops may not allow women to enter. So before heading to these places, ask people or get the details of these places clarified from your tour guides besides enquiring about other areas in Egypt.
The Nightlife in Cairo
So, if you are scheduling to visit Egypt anytime soon, though you are making the list of places to visit during the day, you must keep your evenings free. People start assembling slowly for a good night of merriment right from the evening. The music changeovers from light melodies to rocking music makes the ambiance turn from tranquil to electrifying. So, it is recommended not to leave the place without enjoying the nightlife here, adding some great memories to your tour.
Though the bars and clubs open up as early as 7 or 8 pm in Cairo, the crowd generally gathers around ten or 10:30 pm. After this time, you can progressively experience the mood of the clubs changing from light to lively with music and drinks served one after the other.
Famous Nightclubs and Bars in Egypt
- Riverside Cairo – By the Nile
Doing absolute justice to its name is the popular nightclub Riverside, situated along the mesmerizing River Nile. When you vie the river from the club’s top floor, you get surreal views of the Nile, and this is one of the perfect places to party in Egypt. The bar is in the Zamalek district and is one of the most happening places in the region. The place claims to has an unbelievable ambience and a remarkable roster of Star DJs and is regarded as the booming Egypt nightlife destination. From sumptuous delicacies to harmonious and astonishing music, this is a place to unwind after a tiring day of traveling and exploring from one tourist attraction to the other. Besides, they also arrange theme parties and retro nights. On every alternative day, they provide the finest music from different genres, which you can enjoy to the fullest. So if you are in Cairo, make sure to visit this place for a lifetime experience.
- Amici Bar- Egypt Nightlife
Creating the perfect cocktail is not an easy job. It requires more skill than just mixing up a variety of drinks and presenting it over crushed ice. A bartender has to use his practice, creativity, and insight to customize every drink he shakes and makesit according to the customer, thereby catering to the perfect taste. If there is one bar that has apprehended this, it has to be the Amici Bar. Known as the finest cocktail bar in the area, bartenders and professionals from varied parts of the world are busy spicing up cocktails for their customers. The bar has two branches, one is in Zamalek, and the other is situated in Heliopolis. One of the other captivating aspects of the place is that it provides Karaoke nights to those who aren’t shy in singing to their heart’s content in public. With incredible music and live performances, it’s not only the drinks that will make you groove but the ambiance as well. The open setting of the place makes the atmosphere even more attractive. This is one of the most eccentric nightclubs you will step in.
- The Tap
The Tap is of the more amusing bars in Cairo with its laidback atmosphere with live music, arcade machines, and foosball tables. As you would assume at a bar with this title, beers are the prime beverage mainly served here. So you can get one of their Egyptian beers available on the tap and share a pitcher with your friends at this cheerful bar in Cairo.
- Crimson Cairo
Crimson Cairo is recognized for two things. One is their cheap drinks and incredible views of Cairo from their patio on the rooftop. Unquestionably one of the bars with the finest views in Cairo. The bar name is in orientation to their extensive assortment of red wines. You can always grab a glass of red wine and come here to experience the fantastic Cairo sunset.
- Sass
This bar or the lounge brings excitement with its availability of the “bar.” At Sass, this open-air bar is docked on a vessel next to the Nile River. As the night advances, Sass goes livelier, and it turns into a lounge with soft music playing. This bar, Sass, can let you experience the exciting atmosphere of going to a bar on a boat!
- Stage One
This boutique bar, Stage One, is located inside the Conrad Hotel. They make some of the finest cocktails in Cairo at this stylish and fashionable bar and can get exclusively full during the late evening hours. So it is better to come before 10 pm to avoid the crowd and have a scintillating cocktail here.
Live Night Shows in Cairo
In Cairo, the continuous beat of its avenues is but a teaser for the vivacious music part in its cafés, clubs, and concert halls. Music is the breathing pulse of this city. Apart from music festivals and various pop-up concerts, several locations indicate that the music scores all year long throughout the city. From cozy acoustic twilights to wild EDM in the nights, you’re definite to find something to groove to no matter how you feel or what the mood is. Here are the finest places to pursue and enjoy Cairo’s music.
- Room Art Space & Café
Room Art Space is a comfortable neighborhood café providing performances weekly, placed in the Garden City’s winding streets within art nouveau architecture. Blue walls and wooden chairs mount the stage, and you’ll understand and hear various local bands like Janan, Balqeis, and Dokkan. You can order snacks, which can be a light sandwich or your dose of caffeine as you relax into the Room’s laid-back ambiance. And it is recommended not to miss their Monday karaoke night if you’re among those people who would love to sing their hearts out.
- Zigzag
Submerge yourself in the giant sounds impelling out from the comparatively small space of Zigzag in the core of downtown Cairo. The venue frequently hosts a wide-ranging range of electro beats, slick DJ sets, and you can experience Cairo’s coolest bands, all add more to the mood with the bar’s wonderful mojitos. Then, when the party’s done in the wee hours, you can return to your hotel, enjoying the empty streets of Cairo before its morning. This is undoubtedly a different experience altogether that you will love to preserve.
- Makan (Egyptian Center for Culture & Arts)
For those who taste folklore, Makan is a different and one of its kind gem. This place is considered one of those few places with its temperament set on keeping the heritage of music alive in a contemporary world. The space’s comfortable rugs and smooth, warm lighting can carry you to an age way ahead of pop and rock. You’ll discover music from Upper Egypt, desert tribes as well as rural areas. Makan hosts Arabic bands that are non-traditional, but Mazaher Band’s music and Gamalat Shiha’s trance-inducing music can not be replaced in a changing world.
- Cairo Jazz Club
There’s more than just jazz at the Cairo Jazz Club and its newly opened parallel site Cairo Jazz Club 610. Both provide an eclectic loving pot of diverse genres, concentrating on both local and international. This is the perfect space for dancing throughout the night while consuming a whole-hearted meal or drinking your cocktail in the presence of the friendly locals. This well-known club in town has presented both local and international bands for over 15 years, often giving chances to young bands and projecting them to much-desired fame. Aside from the bands with new talents and the local music creators like Sharmoofers, Cairokee, and Wust El-Balad, this is a place where numerous international bands perform on their visit to Cairo.
- El-Sawy Culturewheel
The greatest aspect about El-Sawy Culturewheel is that the identical stages welcome fresh new musicians besides the famous bands. The club situated below the bridge in the artsy Zamalek neighborhood, El-Sawy, has continued to be popular among music lovers over the years. It’s believed to be the buzzing hive of music and art, with something always happening every day in all its several halls. The most unique “battle of the bands” is performed on a night and then again, a puppet show presenting Om Kalthoum. Apart from that, it’s perfect to know you’re just next to the Nile when you are enjoying and swaying to the tunes of music in the River Hall.
- Darb 1718
Darb 1718 is not the place where you would ever trip by accident, but you’ll be happy to have its complicated address. Silentlylocated behind Old Cairo, this space gives an expression of an oasis. Its down-to-earth, sand-colored buildings and the house pottery workshops, and a wide range of other creative initiatives are best for the tourists to explore. Alfresco concerts are performed all year-round, including a sequence of friendly concerts on the roof. During bigger concerts, spectators relax back into luxurious bean bags and cushions on a ground-floor isle of grass, watching up at a stage located on the second-floor balcony. The place also arranges art exhibitions, outdoor film screenings as well as various workshops.
- El-Genaina Theatre
El-Genaina Theatre is a twofold victory of music and mood. First, the outdoor Roman theatre in Al-Azhar Park provides the finest local and visiting bands with a flair for fusion. You can catch the bests of Dina El-Wedidi, Eskenderella Band, or an overabundance of fusion bands and recurrent combo concerts. Second, there is a chance of combining a show with a walk around Azhar Park during the magnificent sunset or even after the concert. You can appreciate the gardens and experience the astonishing views of Cairo’s Saladin Citadel.
Felucca by Night
Feluccas are old-style wooden boats that many have navigated for centuries along the river of Nile. Reflect for a moment how noteworthy the Nile has been to the complete progression of Egyptian history. Times ago, the Nile’s consistent overflowing patterns allowed the ancient Egyptians to nurture the nearby land. As a result, Egyptian civilization sprang up alongside the river, which nurtured the development of a great civilization. The Nile also holds a larger-than-life role in olden Egyptian religion as way as mythology.
On your journey to Cairo, you’ll likely reach by plane and travel throughout the country by car. But take an instant to slow down and relish this leisurely, more old way of traveling. As you browse over the Nile River in a felucca, you can acknowledge for yourself how the Pharaohs themselves traveled by boat. As a result, you’ll have more concrete gratitude for Cairo, and joining in its celebrated history is a kind of experience in itself.
Pyramids Sound and Light Show
If you’re in Cairo, you must want to experience the pyramid tours and sphinx. But you will be surprised to know that you can also discover the beauty of these ancient wonders and experience the history by night. The sound and light shows are an outstanding audio-visual display that allows you to engage in clicking pretty pictures and familiarizes you with the old and appreciating stories behind these enigmatic structures. If you do not know the story of the sphinx or about the beautiful lives of Queen Nefertiti and her somewhat unusual spouse, the pharaoh Akhenaten, it is in this tour that you will get to know more about history in a mesmerizing way that would make you feel attached to the historical events of Cairo. The sound and light show in the pyramids is like a history lesson like no other, brought to life at the same spot where the history was created.
Cairo Tower at Night
Cairo Tower is one of the celebrated landmarks that was once counted as the tallest building in the whole region of Africa (until 1971). The building emerges over the place while standing straight 187 meters tall. This tower offers spectacular panoramic views of the city and can be visited during the night for a fantastic night view. The observation deck on top of the tower, along with the rotating restaurant, is simply ideal for complimenting the sunset.
Opera House, an Important Part of Nightlife in Cairo
The Cairo Opera House is Egypt’s most important performing arts space where many people from various countries perform. This massive opera complex was established in 1988. The houses seven theaters of different sizes, besides an art gallery, museum, and a music library, were introduced. Moreover, to the opera house, the center helps in supporting ballet performances, musicals, concerts, and plays. Its spacious Main Hall has 1200 patrons to appreciate opera, orchestral music, and fantastic ballet together. There are smaller theaters too that offer more close settings and outstanding acoustics.
The opera house aids as a hub for several companies in dwelling, such as the Cairo Symphony Orchestra, Cairo Opera Ballet Company, Cairo Opera Company, National Arab Music Ensemble, and the Cairo Opera Choir. It is situated in a serene location amongst the shaped gardens of the National Egyptian Museum of Modern Art, which is located on Gezira Island in the Nile. So dress up and relax for experiencing a fashionable night out like never before.
Night shopping in Cairo
Though there are various places for night shopping in Cairo, some are best in their way.
Khan Al Khalili
For a local night trip that would last until the night, and you can go to Khan Al Khalili, a centuries-old shopping place where you can engage in shopping for local products and products that are best in Cairo. You would love to get lost between the souq’s lit-up passageways and then finally discover yourself at Fishawi’s or around the turning from the Mosque of Sayyidna Al Hussein to the various multi-colored arcades for basbousa (a semolina-based sweet), sprinkled with added sweet syrup, or maybe original pistachio crushed with whipped cream on the upper layer of kunafeh, a highly impressive and tasty dessert made from frayed dough and cream cheese. A typical way to wrap up the night is to get yourself a cup of hot mint tea alongside engaging in a game or more of backgammon. What can be more exciting and unique than this night shopping tour? Other shops are open during these hours, but this place is somehow different from the others as it has got a coziness and love of local people.
Get your felucca down the Nile and enjoy your playlist
If you want a particular customized night out just as you have imagined before landing here, rent a felucca for an unprepared sail down the river Nile. It will just take small bits of preparation just because you’ll have to purchase a few bottles of your favorite drinks from Drinkiesand arrange a playlist of your preferred tunes. Feluccas can be quickly hired from locals across the place on Abu El Feda St in Zamalek by the time, and the driver will do the driving while you enjoy the tour. The open-top boats let the wind breeze over while you carry your carousing into the Cairo night and experience a different night tour down the mesmerizing river.
Conclusion
Cairo may not be your first harbor of call when you’re after a decent night out in the Middle East, but after some tough years, it’s made an energetic comeback. So whether you’re looking forward to meeting up with citizens and associated travelers knocking laterally to old-school music or you desire to get star-struck along the Nile, it’s best with a beer in hand to laid back and enjoy the scenic beauty and calmness of Cairo.
Video To Watch To Discover
Is Cairo good for nightlife?
Cairo nightlife is surely a unique experience as it gives you electrifying moments in this historical place of pyramids. Here’s a list of bars and dance clubs one must surely visit while holidaying in Cairo
What is the nightlife like in Cairo?
Cairo has a lively nightlife even though certain places are strict. Zamalek district and downtown area is the center of nightlife. There are several clubs, pubs, upscale restaurants and cafes that are open all day long. There are several tastes and entertainments for those who want to have a peaceful night in the city.