Up close the plateau surprises people: the pyramids rise straight off the edge of Giza's suburbs, not deep desert, and the sheer scale of the two-and-a-half-tonne limestone blocks only registers when you stand at the base. A general plateau ticket covers the grounds; going inside the Great Pyramid needs a separate, limited-number ticket, and the climb is a hot, stooped scramble up the Grand Gallery to a bare granite chamber, thrilling but not for the claustrophobic. Walk or take the new electric shuttle out to the panorama point on the southwestern ridge, the one spot where all three pyramids line up for the classic photo. The Sphinx sits lower by the Valley Temple, smaller than imagined but hauntingly expressive. Camel and horse handlers are persistent and their prices vague, so settle everything first or wave them off. An evening sound-and-light show lights the monuments after dark.
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