Egyptian Museum, Cairo Tower & Nile Boat Ride

This is Cairo without the pyramids: a day in the centre of the city, at your own pace. Your private car and guide collect you from your hotel at a time that suits you, and the first stop is the Egyptian Museum on Tahrir Square, the pink neoclassical building that has held Egypt's antiquities for more than a century.

Inside, your guide steers you through statues of the pharaohs, painted coffins, jewellery and the small, human objects of daily life. Tutankhamun's treasures now live at the Grand Egyptian Museum in Giza, but the collection here is still vast. Then you cross to Gezira Island for Cairo Tower, whose lattice-patterned shaft rises 187 metres; from the viewing deck the city runs out to the desert, and on a clear day you can pick out the pyramids.

The day ends on the water, with a relaxed boat ride on the Nile as the noise of the traffic fades behind you. You're back at your hotel after about eight hours.