After the drive south from Alexandria, you step onto the Giza Plateau and stand at the foot of the Great Pyramid of Khufu, 2.3 million stone blocks raised 4,500 years ago and the only ancient wonder still standing. Your Egyptologist walks you around the base, through the construction theories that hold up to modern research, and to the panoramic viewpoint where all three pyramids align for photos. Optional: enter the Great Pyramid ($11 USD per person), camel ride along the ridge (about $15 USD).

A short move down the plateau brings you to the Great Sphinx, the lion-bodied guardian with a pharaoh's face, carved from a single ridge of limestone around 4,500 years ago. You stand at the terrace before it, Khafre's pyramid rising behind, while your guide explains the missing nose and the long debate over who it was meant to portray. It is the image most travelers picture when they think of Egypt.

In the afternoon you reach the Egyptian Museum on Tahrir Square, the grand red building open since 1902, holding mummies, Old Kingdom statuary, and treasures spanning 3,000 years of pharaohs. Your Egyptologist picks out the pieces worth your time so the scale does not overwhelm. With Tutankhamun's collection now moved to the Grand Egyptian Museum, this museum has thinned somewhat, but it stays a deep, atmospheric stop before the long drive back to Alexandria.