It all started in 1870 with a dream after Khedive Ismail witnessed Baron Haussmann’s progressive urban program in Paris. Inspired by the city’s inescapable harmony and its geometric alignment, the Khedive decided to transform the urban face of Cairo’s city center into a postcard-pretty district.

The decision coincided with the inauguration of the Suez Canal which presented an ideal opportunity to reserve a front-row seat for Egypt on the global map. By commissioning Parisian architects to lay the framework of a modern district, Downtown Cairo soon came to life, opening up like a captivating pop-up book to rival both European and American contemporary hubs.

With renowned architects flooding in from all over the world to leave their print on the district’s skyline, Downtown’s reconstruction plan laid out the foundation for a central destination lined by gridded streets and wide pedestrian sidewalks. Fountain-speckled parks sprung between mansions and palaces, and grand statues of prestigious local figures adorned every corner, attracting Egypt’s aristocrats. Slowly, but surely, Downtown Cairo was dubbed as ‘Paris of the East’ for its sensual elegance, etching a captivating chapter in Egypt’s bygone history known as ‘Cairo’s belle époque architecture’.