Place · Coptic Cairo
Hanging Church and Coptic Cairo
A walled cluster of churches and a synagogue: an easy 90 minutes indoors, good in the afternoon heat.
- Built over the Roman fortress gate
- Indoor, good in the heat
- Quiet outside Sunday
- Bring cash
- Works with kids
- Hard in a wheelchair
- Mostly indoors
Highlights come from Voykit's own data and desk notes, not from reviews. Hover a tag to see its source.
Rules in force · 12Nine African countries on this site have no trip line bec…Cairo traffic is heavy from about 07
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- Egypt ↗Do not photograph military sites, police, bridges or government buildings; some museums and tombs charge for or ban photography.
- Egypt ↗During Ramadan, avoid eating, drinking or smoking in public in daylight; hotels and tourist restaurants still serve.
- Cairo and Giza ↗Cross-city rides can take 90 minutes at rush hour; plan one district per half-day.
- Cairo ↗Cairo traffic is heavy from about 07:30 to 10:00 and 15:00 to 20:00: plan one district per half-day and add 45+ minutes to any cross-city ride.
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More
Map & directions
Add your hotel to get directions from it. · stays in this browser; shared with the pocket card.
Plan
Open now, best time to go, opening hours
Go now?
hours and prices: check on the day- Open
- Usually 09:00–16:00Usually 9:00 AM–4:00 PM
- Crowds
- MonTueWedThuFriSatSun
Quietest Mon–Fri · busiest Sun · desk estimate
- Tickets
- Adult: free or a small combined fee (2026 estimate; check)
- Time to spend
- 75–105 min · up to 150 min if you linger
Best time to go
Quiet on weekday mornings; busy on Sunday.
By weekday: quietest Mon–Fri, busiest Sun.
Opening hours
- Hours
- 09:00–16:00 (typical, check)
- Note
- Opening hours are not printed until verified; ask your hotel the day before.
- Hours note
- Confirm current hours; quieter on weekday mornings.
Which month is quietest
- Janbusy
- Febbusy
- Marbusy
- Aprbusy
- Maylight
- Junlight
- Jullight
- Auglight
- Seplight
- Octbusy
- Novbusy
- Decheavy
Quietest May–Sep · busiest Dec.
Estimate: desk reasoning from weekend and season patterns; not counted. Holidays and events move these weeks.
Weather here, next 7 days
Loading forecast…
Forecast: Open-Meteo (CC BY 4.0), model data for this point.
Not checked in the last 12 months (no check date on file).
On the ground
Getting in, access, sensory load, what to bring, and where to go if it does not work
Getting in
- Stop
- Car or metro to Mar Girgis
- Ticket
- on site · official site · bring cash
- Stairs
- Not recorded
- Shoes
- Shoes on.
Accessibility
- NoStep-free entrance
- Check firstAccessible toilet
- NoWheelchair
- NoStroller · poor
Sensory load
- Sensory load3/5 Medium
Exposure: low
What to bring and the rules
- Cash · The ticket desk is likely to take cash only.
- Clothing that meets the dress rule · Shoulders and knees covered; some ask women to cover their hair — bring a scarf.
- A small bag · Bag checks at the compound's main entrance.
- Shoulders and knees covered; some ask women to cover their hair — bring a scarf.
- Bag checks at the compound's main entrance.
- Generally allowed in the churches outside of services; ask before photographing worshippers.
Rules and prices change: check the official site before you go.
Bailouts
- heat: Nearest AC café or hotel lobby (field-verify)
Nearest rescue anchor: A — Compound centre: courtyard seating (field-verify)
Problem
Red lines
- Cover shoulders and knees; keep quiet during services.
Not checked in the last 12 months (no check date on file).
Map and nearby
Where it is, how to get there from your hotel or from where you stand, and what is around it
Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors
Add your hotel to get directions from it. · stays in this browser; shared with the pocket card.
Nearby places
Eat nearby
More detail
Everything else we know about this place
Tickets, prices and entry
Tickets & entry
- Where to buy
- Buy at the entrance on the day.
- Buy from the official site or the ticket desk; resellers add a fee for the same ticket.
- Bring cash; cards may not be taken (check).
- Dress code
- Shoulders and knees covered; some ask women to cover their hair — bring a scarf.
- Bags & lockers
- Bag checks at the compound's main entrance.
- Photos
- Generally allowed in the churches outside of services; ask before photographing worshippers.
- What's closed
- Sunday morningscheckChurch services can restrict tourist access to parts of the Hanging Church; visit early afternoon instead.
- Jewish holidayscheckThe Ben Ezra Synagogue may close or restrict visits — confirm locally.
“Check” dates move year to year: confirm on the official page for your date.
| Ticket | Price | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Entry to the Coptic Cairo compound | free or a small combined fee (2026 estimate; check) | Individual sites inside sometimes charge separately. |
| Ben Ezra Synagogue | free or a small fee (check) | — |
Time on site, inside and your plan
Time on site
Minimum
45min
Worthwhile
75min
Typical
105min
p95
150min
How much time do you have?
Enough for a typical visit (105 min).
With the other 15 min, these are a walk away (their own visit time is on their page):
- Coptic Museum2 min on foot · 13 min spare
- Ben Ezra Synagogue3 min on foot · 12 min spare
- Mosque of Amr ibn al-AsEgypt's oldest mosque site; check current access.8 min on foot · 7 min spare
Visit times are typical figures, not promises; queues and closing times can change them.
Step-free check, who it suits, facilities
Step-free check
- Step-free entrance: no · no
- Accessible toilet: check · check
- Wheelchair: no · no
- Stroller: no · nopoor
The Hanging Church is built over the old Roman gate and reached by a flight of steps; the surrounding lanes are narrow and part-cobbled.
With kids
- with kids
- Quiet and mostly indoor; short attention spans handle 45–60 minutes here better than a hot outdoor site.
- child price
- n/a or minimal (check)
Combine with
Combine with
- 2 minCoptic Museum
- 3 minBen Ezra Synagogue
- 8 minMosque of Amr ibn al-As — Egypt's oldest mosque site; check current access.
Walk the Coptic Cairo area · the cluster page has the walking order, rescue stops and after-dark notes
Best photo time
Deep dive
Questions, photos, and where our facts come from
Questions and answers
Questions and answers
Is this the same as the pyramids area?
No — Coptic Cairo (Old Cairo) is a separate walled quarter near the Nile, a car or metro ride from Giza.
Checked 2026-09-28 · Voykit desk
Can non-Christians visit?
Yes, the churches and the synagogue are open to all visitors outside of active services.
Checked 2026-09-28 · Voykit desk
Photos
Deep dive
Sources
- secondaryWikivoyage — Cairo
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Source: Price
Draft
Written from desk research. Not yet compared with the official source.
Prices are 2026 estimates. The official site has the current price.
Source: Opening hours
Source: Best hour
Draft
Written from desk research. Not yet compared with the official source.
No official source is recorded for this figure.
Taken from the desk crowd estimate by hour. It is not a count of visitors.
Source: Bag rating
Draft
Written from desk research. Not yet compared with the official source.
No official source is recorded for this figure.
Rated for the whole walking cluster, from desk research, not for this entrance.