Zamalek (Gezira Island), 187m Cairo Tower, Qasr el-Nil Bridge & Nile Felucca Guide

Splitting the River Nile into two channels right between Khedivial Downtown on the East Bank and Giza Governorate on the West Bank, four-kilometre-long Gezira Island ("The Island") is central Cairo's green oasis. Divided into the cultural parklands of Southern Gezira and the leafy, café-lined avenues of Zamalek in the north, the island is the best place in the capital to walk beneath banyan and royal poinciana trees, look out over the metropolis from above, and set sail on the Nile.

1. Southern Gezira: Qasr el-Nil Lions, Cairo Opera House & the 187-Metre Cairo Tower

• Walking Across Qasr el-Nil Bridge (1933): Five minutes west of Tahrir Square, walk past the pair of monumental bronze lions sculpted in 1873 by French artist Henri Alfred Jacquemart onto Qasr el-Nil Bridge to cross the eastern branch of the Nile onto Gezira Island.
• Cairo Opera House Complex & Museum of Modern Egyptian Art: Immediately to your left sit the landscaped grounds of the National Cultural Centre (Cairo Opera House, inaugurated 1988), which hosts the Cairo Symphony Orchestra, Arabic music ensembles, and the Museum of Modern Egyptian Art (showcasing 20th-century pioneers Mahmoud Mukhtar, Mahmoud Sa'id, and Gazbia Sirry).
• Climbing the 187-Metre Cairo Tower (Borg al-Qahira, 1961): Five minutes north along the island promenade rises the Cairo Tower, designed by modernist Egyptian architect Naoum Shebib and completed in 1961. Standing 187 metres (614 feet) tall, about 48 metres higher than the Great Pyramid of Khufu, its open concrete latticework shaft clads eight million tiny mosaic tiles in the shape of a pharaonic lotus blossom. High-speed lifts carry visitors to the circular open-air observation deck at the crown for a 360-degree view stretching from the Saladin Citadel in the east to the Giza Pyramids in the west.

2. Northern Gezira (Zamalek) & Sailing a Traditional Nile Felucca at Sunset

• Exploring Zamalek (1869 Gezira Palace, Aisha Fahmy Palace & 26th of July Street): North of the 6th of October Bridge overpass, the streets around 26th of July Street, Brazil Street, and Hassan Sabry Street form Cairo's creative and diplomatic quarter. Step into the garden courtyards of the 1869 Gezira Palace (commissioned by Khedive Ismail with cast-iron Moorish arches designed by Carl von Diebitsch to host Empress Eugénie of France for the opening of the Suez Canal, now integrated into the Cairo Marriott), visit the frescoed halls of the 1907 Aisha Fahmy Palace on the riverfront, and browse English- and Arabic-language titles at independent bookshops such as Diwan.
• Sailing on a Wooden Felucca at Golden Hour: Unlike noisy motorboats, a traditional Egyptian felucca relies entirely on its tall triangular canvas lateen sail and the steady northerly afternoon breeze blowing up the Nile against the northward current. Hire a private felucca for an hour just before sunset from the wooden jetties beside Qasr el-Nil Bridge, the Garden City Corniche, or the southern tip of Zamalek, and bring warm ta'ameya sandwiches or mint tea on board as the city lights come on across the water.