Cairo Metro

Cairo is one of the few cities where the metro can feel like relief. Above ground, everything is traffic, negotiation, heat, and noise. Underground, the system is still busy, but at least the train is a train.

That does not mean I would plan the whole trip around it. Cairo is too spread out, the main visitor sites do not all sit on the lines, and the airport and pyramids are not solved by the metro. Use it when both ends actually line up.

How I would use it

Use Line 1 for old Cairo and the north-south spine. Use Line 2 for Giza, Cairo University, Dokki, Sadat, Attaba, and Shuhada. Use Line 3 for the newer east-west layer: Heliopolis, Stadium, Abbassia, Attaba/Nasser, Kit-kat, and Cairo University.

For the pyramids, I would not overthink this. Even if you use Line 2 toward Giza or Cairo University, the plateau is still a car ride. For Cairo International Airport, same story: use a transfer, Uber, taxi, or the airport hotel strategy from the Cairo guide.

Practical notes

Buy a ticket at the station if you are only riding once or twice. If you expect repeated rides, the Cairo Metro cash-wallet card is the reusable option. The official site says the card can be bought at all metro stations on the three lines.

The reserved women's cars matter. They are a real comfort feature for many riders and a real rule. If you are a man, do not board them. If you are a woman, you can use either the reserved cars or mixed cars.

Built-environment note

Line 3 is the interesting construction story because it has been the visible "Cairo is still building" line for years. So much of my Cairo memory is huge construction sites, barriers, and half-finished transit works. The good news is that the metro layer is finally useful in more places, especially across the newer Line 3 corridor.