Take a taxi to Al-Azhar Park, a reclaimed green space just east of the Fatimid wall that marks the boundary of the Darb al-Ahmar neighborhood. Within the park, the hilltop Citadel View restaurant serves Egyptian and Oriental dishes, including pigeon soup and fattah, a layering of meat, rice, brown bread, and vinegar- and garlic-spiced yogurt. Book a table on the outdoor terrace (2-510-9150; entrées, $7–$15; no alcohol).

Tour 2: Downtown Cairo
The last royal dynasty, under Ottoman viceroy Muhammad Ali and his descendants, turned its back on Islamic architecture and cultivated European tastes and urban planning in the district between Abdin Palace and the Nile's East Bank. This was the preferred quarter of the Westernized elite until the 1952 revolution. Many Italianate-Moorish fusion buildings survive. Amid the current nostalgia for Egypt's monarchy, Abdin Palace is worth a visit, to see King Fuad's gun collection and state gifts presented to the Mubarak family. The Groppi Building—in Talaat Harb Square, at the corner of Qasr al-Nil and Mahmoud Bey Bassiouni street—is a fascinating structure harboring a colonial-era ice-cream parlor. The Greek Club, run by the Hellenic expatriate community, serves Greek salad and shish kebab on its second-floor terrace (2-575-0822; entrées, $3–$9); next door is the Ghad party headquarters of imprisoned former presidential candidate Ayman Nour.

A walk around the corner brings you to Hussein Pasha el-Meemar Street, where the pasha's abandoned palace sits opposite the Townhouse Art Gallery, Cairo's most cutting-edge art space, with works by the Islamic historian and artist Huda Lutfi, who makes collages out of shisha pipe tongs and other found objects (2-576-8086; thetownhousegallery.com). Around the corner is Abou Tarek, the king of koshary—a kind of lentil chili that costs less than $1.50 (corner of Champollion and Marouf). At 17 Talaat Harb Street, the 100-year-old Café Riche is a time capsule of Cairene salon society, displaying photos of literary lions who held weekly gatherings here (Naguib Mahfouz, Taha Hussein, and Ahmed Fouad Negm among them). Ask Filfil—the maître d', who has worked at the café since 1943—to show you the secret escape hatch for revolutionary plotters, including Saad Zaghloul and Gamal Abdel Nasser (2-392-9793).

Lodging
A few steps from the Egyptian Museum, the 1959 Nile Hilton has Nile-facing balconies, a rooftop mojito bar with superb views, and a great pool surrounded by bungalows that are rented by wealthy Egyptian families on weekends (2-578-0444; hilton.com; doubles, $150–$165). Across the street from a felucca rental dock, the Four Seasons Cairo at Nile Plaza is the most luxurious address and has a huge spa (2-791-7000; fourseasons.com; doubles, $390–$570). The renovated Sofitel El Gezirah occupies a round tower at the southern tip of Zamalek, within walking distance of the opera house. It has the Cairo outpost of Buddha Bar (2-737-3737; sofitel.com; doubles, $250–$343). Step into the Windsor Hotel for the colonial ambience of the lobby and bar. If you check in, request the suite with the balcony overlooking the landmark Cinema Diana (2-591-5277; windsorcairo.com; doubles, $48–$58).