What Times Square is to New York or the Champs-Élysées is to Paris, Tahrir Square is to Cairo. Translated as "Liberation Square", it is located right in the heart of the city near the Nile.

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Tahrir is a major transport hub where two metro lines and dozens of bus lines cross. For locals, it is the point for New Year celebrations, sporting events, as well as demonstrations. For example, during the Egyptian Revolution in 2011, the main protests took place here.

For tourists, it is the best landmark. If you get really lost, just wave to the first taxi, tell it to take you to Tahrir and you are saved.

The centrepiece of the square is a huge roundabout with an obelisk of Ramesses II, and on the north-east side of the square are statues of the Egyptian nationalist Umar Makram, as well as the former main building of the Egyptian Museum.

Accommodation in Tahrir

If you want to explore as much of Cairo as possible, then accommodation near the square is the best option. Located in the middle of Cairo, you have two metro lines and the taxi driver will always know exactly where to take you.

Right on the square, you can stay in the cheap and modern Tahrir Square Hostel, which also has self-contained rooms with private bathrooms, for prices from 26 eur.

On the west side of the Nile, the square is flanked by three big-name hotels: the Ramses Hilton *****, the Intercontinental Cairo Semiramis ***** and The Nile Ritz-Carlton *****.

Transportation to Tahrir

The main means of transport is the metro. Lines 1 and 2 cross here, with a transfer station directly under the square called Sadat.

At the northern end of the square, just behind the former Egyptian Museum, you'll find the bus station for both city and long-distance lines at a large intersection.