A perfect weekend in Giza

DRAW back the curtains and the Cheops Pyramid fills your window, burning orange in the dawn rays. A wonder of the ancient world, before you have even brushed your teeth.

To get up close and personal with the pyramids and Sphinx, stay at the Mena House Oberoi at Giza, at Cairo’s western edge. This is the only hotel right by the pyramids. To many first-time visitors, the three main pyramids are even bigger and more awe-inspiring than imagined. Napoleon estimated that there was enough stone in them to build a wall three metres high around France.

Limited numbers are permitted inside, along dark passages leading to the empty burial chambers. Do this in the afternoon when it is less crowded.

There is virtually nothing to see in the chambers — the treasures have been looted over the centuries. But there is an extraordinary aura in each pyramid, intensified if you are alone or in a small group. For some, this is unsettling — chilling, even. For others, it is the climax of Giza. Entrance fee, £3.20. Finish the day with the sound-and-light show, “narrated by the Sphinx” after dusk (check for times of shows in English at www.sound-light.egypt.com). Tickets cost £7.

WHAT ELSE?

Once you have fathomed how these perfectly proportioned pyramids were engineered 45 centuries ago, it is intriguing to drive 20km (13 miles) down the Nile to Dahshur to see some little-visited prototypes in the desert. The oddly shaped Bent Pyramid had its angle of incline changed mid-construction to avoid collapse, while the sad Red Pyramid is crumbling.

Make a foray into central Cairo and the Egyptian Museum where the astonishing treasures of Tutankhamun are exhibited. Then shop in the Khan el-Khalili bazaar.

Half-day private guided tours cost £23pp to Dahshur, or the Egyptian Museum and Khan el-Khalili, through Midland Travel (00 20 2 579 0137, www.comeseeegypt.com) or booked direct with Somak (see below).

Golf: the 18-hole, par-66 Mena House course adjoins the hotel, under the watchful gaze of the pyramids.

WHERE TO STAY

The Mena House Oberoi (00 800 1234 0101, www.oberoihotels.com) costs £103 for a double, or £125 with a view of the Cheops Pyramid, in the garden wing. Prices are per room only.

The M?venpick Jolie Ville (00 20 2 385 2555, www.movenpick.com) in Giza has doubles from £86.

FOOD AND FUN

The Mogul Room at Mena House serves fabulous Indian food in glittering surroundings to the strains of the sitar (£12pp for a full-blown feast).

Try Maroosh (345 0972), at 64 Midan Lubnan in the Mohandiseen district of Cairo; £5-£8pp. Prices exclude drinks. Cost of wine is comparable with Scandinavia (ie, costly), unless you risk the variable local stuff. Locally brewed Stella lager is cheap and good.

The Nile Hilton (578 0444, www.hilton.com), an oasis of tinkling fountains, with a bar overlooking the river in the heart of Cairo, is a good place for a quiet drink. Have another across the river at The Four Seasons (573 1212, www.fourseasons.com), a celebrity hang-out (Sting and Angelina Jolie have been spotted recently), at 35 Giza Street. The newly opened Four Seasons Hotel Cairo at Nice Plaza (791 7000), in the Garden City district, also has stunning river views.

You’ll find Egyptian musicians and belly-dancers at Abu Niwas nightclub; contemporary western music pulses in The Saddle disco (soundproofed). A peaceful alternative is to enjoy the pyramids by starlight.

NEED TO KNOW

Somak Holidays (020-8423 3000, www.somak.co.uk) offers three nights at the Mena House Oberoi for £449pp based on two sharing, including flights from Heathrow on British Airways, transfers and B&B.

British Airways (0870 8509850, www.ba.com) has daily flights from Heathrow to Cairo from £320.

Egyptair (020-7734 2395) also flies daily from Heathrow to Cairo; return fares from £335. Giza is about 40 minutes from the airport by taxi.