Sharm El Sheikh is famous for its beaches, coral reefs, snorkeling, and diving, but there is much more to discover beyond the Red Sea. The city combines impressive Islamic architecture, Christian landmarks, traditional markets, modern promenades, and local experiences that give visitors a different perspective of Egypt's most popular Red Sea resorts.
From the magnificent Al Sahaba Mosque and the artwork of the Heavenly Cathedral to the traditional atmosphere of the Old Market and the lively streets of Naama Bay, there are plenty of places to visit in Sharm El Sheikh beyond the beach.
If you are visiting for the first time, this guide will help you discover the best places to visit in Sharm El Sheikh, what makes each attraction worth seeing, and how you can combine several of the city's highlights into one sightseeing experience.
Al Sahaba Mosque: A Modern Masterpiece by the Sea
Sitting in the heart of the Old Market district, Al Sahaba Mosque is the kind of building that stops people mid-walk. Its foundation stone was laid in 2011, and after six years of construction, much of it funded through public donations and completed with support from Egypt's armed forces, the mosque opened its doors in 2017. Its name, meaning "The Companions," honors the companions of the Prophet Muhammad, and the building itself was designed to carry that weight: two minarets rising 76 meters into the sky, a prayer hall large enough for roughly 3,000 worshippers, and copper-toned domes inspired directly by the Mosque of Muhammad Ali in Cairo's Citadel.
What makes Al Sahaba stand out architecturally is how many eras it borrows from at once. Ottoman domes sit alongside Mamluk-style minarets and Fatimid detailing, all folded into a single, unified design by Egyptian architect Fouad Tawfik Hafez, who took on the project without pay. Visitors are welcome outside prayer times, and the mosque's library upstairs holds a substantial collection of Islamic texts and manuscripts, open to anyone curious enough to look beyond the photogenic exterior.
The Heavenly Cathedral: One of the World's Most Beautiful Churches
A short distance away, in the quieter Hay el Noor district, stands a building that could not look more different and yet tells a similarly rich story. The Heavenly Cathedral, completed in 2010, is Sharm El Sheikh's largest Coptic Orthodox church, and it took a team of artists roughly two years to complete the frescoes and murals that cover its interior. The result is one of the most detailed religious art collections in the country: biblical scenes including The Creation and The Exodus rendered across the walls and ceiling, stained-glass windows filtering colored light onto marble floors, and a monumental depiction of the Last Judgment behind the altar that visitors often describe as the highlight of the entire building.
By 2010, the cathedral had already been named among the ten most beautiful churches in the world, and it has held that reputation since. What tends to surprise visitors most isn't the scale of the artwork but its warmth: the murals depict ordinary people alongside biblical figures, an unusual choice that gives the entire space a more human, lived-in feeling than many cathedrals of its size.
The Old Market: Sharm El Sheikh's Living Heart
If the mosque and cathedral show the city's architectural ambition, the Old Market shows its everyday pulse. Long before the resort strip along Naama Bay existed, this was Sharm El Sheikh, a working town of narrow streets, spice stalls, and small shops that has since grown into one of the city's most popular attractions in its own right. Walking through it today means weaving past stacks of perfume bottles, hand-embroidered textiles, silver jewelry, and mounds of dried spices in every color, with shopkeepers calling out in a mix of Arabic, English, and whatever language the crowd that day happens to speak.
It's louder and more chaotic than anywhere along the coast, and that's exactly the appeal. For visitors who've spent days on quiet beaches and calm dive boats, like those on our best snorkeling tours in Sharm El Sheikh, the Old Market is a reminder that Sharm El Sheikh is also a real Egyptian town, with all the noise, bargaining, and character that implies.
Naama Bay: Where the City Comes Alive at Sunset
End a landmark tour anywhere else in Sharm El Sheikh, and Naama Bay is where most people naturally drift back to. It's the modern counterpart to the Old Market's history, a long promenade lined with cafés, restaurants, and shops that comes alive as the sun starts to dip toward the Red Sea. There's no single monument to see here; the appeal is simply walking the boardwalk, watching the light change over the water, and settling into the kind of relaxed evening that bookends a day spent exploring mosques, cathedrals, and market stalls particularly well. It's also a fitting way to unwind after a very different kind of day out, like a desert safari in Sharm El Sheikh through the Sinai Mountains.
Seeing It All in One Day
Visiting these landmarks independently means arranging transport between four different parts of the city, working around prayer times and opening hours, and hoping you've read enough beforehand to actually understand what you're looking at. A guided Sharm El Sheikh city tour solves all of that in a single afternoon, and it's why this has become one of the most popular ways to see the destination beyond the beach.
Marsa Waves runs a five-hour Sharm El Sheikh City Tour that covers Al Sahaba Mosque, the Old Market, Mustafa Mosque, the Heavenly Cathedral, and free time at Naama Bay, all with hotel pickup and drop-off included. It's a comfortable, air-conditioned way to see the city's religious architecture, shopping streets, and waterfront in one guided trip, with plenty of time built in to actually look around rather than rush from stop to stop. If you're planning your visit around Egypt beyond the beach, this tour is one of the easiest ways to start.
Book the Sharm El Sheikh City Tour – Mosques, Churches, and Old Market Experience
Planning the Rest of Your Trip
A city tour is best treated as one day among several rather than the whole itinerary, and Sharm El Sheikh has plenty else worth building a trip around. If you're still deciding where to stay or what else the city has to offer, our Sharm El Sheikh travel guide is a good place to start planning the rest of your visit.
Why Book Your Sharm El Sheikh City Tour with Marsa Waves?
- Instant Booking confirmation. Your spot is confirmed right away, with no waiting around for a reply.
- Book Now & Pay Later. Reserve your place today without any upfront payment.
- A genuinely complete route. Five hours covering five landmarks, rather than a rushed stop at one or two.
- Door-to-door service. Hotel pickup and drop-off in an air-conditioned vehicle are included.
- Verified traveler reviews. Real feedback from guests who've actually taken this exact tour, so you know what to expect before you book.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does the Sharm El Sheikh City Tour include?
The tour includes hotel pickup, visits to Al Sahaba Mosque, the Old Market, Mustafa Mosque, and the Heavenly Cathedral, followed by free time at Naama Bay before returning to your hotel.
How long does the city tour take?
The tour runs approximately five hours, including travel time between stops and free time at Naama Bay.
Is the city tour suitable for non-Muslim visitors?
Yes, both mosques on the tour welcome visitors outside prayer times, and guides typically explain the cultural and architectural significance of each site along the way.
What should I wear when visiting the mosques and cathedral?
Modest clothing is recommended for both the mosques and the cathedral, covering shoulders and knees out of respect for the sites and their communities.
Can I shop at the Old Market during the tour?
Yes, the Old Market stop includes time to browse its stalls for spices, textiles, perfumes, and souvenirs before continuing to the next landmark.
Is this tour a good option for a first visit to Sharm El Sheikh?
Yes, it's a practical way to see the city's main cultural landmarks in a single day, which is especially useful for first-time visitors who also want time left over for the beach or the reef.
Discover the Real Sharm El Sheikh
The Red Sea will always be the headline reason people come to Sharm El Sheikh, and rightly so, but the mosques, the cathedral, and the Old Market are what give the city its depth. They tell a story that the beaches never quite get to: a modern mosque built through public donations and finished by the army, a cathedral painted by hand over two patient years, and a market that was trading here long before the first resort ever went up.
Seeing all of it in a single afternoon doesn't just fill a gap in your itinerary; it changes how the rest of your trip feels, because you come back to the beach the next day with a fuller picture of the place you're actually staying in.
Whether it's your first visit to Sharm El Sheikh or your fifth, there's a good chance you've never seen this side of it. Book the Sharm El Sheikh City Tour with Marsa Waves and spend one afternoon discovering the city that most beach holidays miss entirely