Luxor · West Bank
Valley Of The Kings
The Valley of the Kings is a dry side valley on Luxor's west bank holding more than sixty rock-cut tombs, most of them New Kingdom pharaohs and their families.
Ancient sites
Egypt attractions: the ancient sites worth your time
What each of the main Egypt attractions is, how long to allow, and the practical detail that makes the difference between a good visit and a hot queue.
Egypt attractions worth your time
There are more ancient sites in Egypt than any trip can hold, and the honest work is deciding what to leave out. A first visit that tries to see everything ends up rushing the things worth slowing down for.
The pages below cover the major Egypt attractions one at a time: what each site is, what the standard ticket covers, what costs extra, how long to allow, and when the light and the crowds are on your side.
They also say when something is not worth it. Some famous sites need an hour rather than a morning, and one or two are better skipped entirely in favour of somewhere quieter down the road.
Luxor · East Bank
Karnak Temple
Karnak Temple is the largest religious complex the ancient world built, and roughly 2,000 years of pharaohs added to it.
Luxor · West Bank
Valley Of The Queens
The Valley of the Queens sits in a dead-end bay of desert on the Luxor West Bank, across the ridge from the Valley of the Kings and a short drive south.
Cairo · Giza
Pyramids Of Giza
The Pyramids of Giza sit on a limestone plateau on the western edge of Cairo, roughly 4,500 years old, and the Great Pyramid remained the tallest building on earth for close to four thousand years.
Cairo · Giza
Great Sphinx Of Giza
The Great Sphinx of Giza is a limestone lion with a human head, carved down into the bedrock at the edge of the Giza plateau, just north of Khafre's causeway.
Cairo · Memphis necropolis
Saqqara
Saqqara is the burial ground of ancient Memphis and the site of Djoser's Step Pyramid, generally regarded as the earliest large stone building in the world.
Cairo · Giza
Grand Egyptian Museum
The Grand Egyptian Museum stands on the desert edge at Giza, roughly two kilometres from the pyramids, and is billed as the largest museum in the world built around a single civilisation.
Luxor · East Bank
Luxor Temple
Luxor Temple sits in the middle of a working Egyptian town, a short walk from the corniche, and it is the one major pharaonic site you can reach on foot after dinner.
Luxor · West Bank
Hatshepsut Temple
Hatshepsut Temple is the three-tiered mortuary temple cut into the cliffs at Deir el-Bahari, on the West Bank at Luxor.
Luxor · West Bank
Colossi Of Memnon
The Colossi of Memnon are two seated stone statues of Amenhotep III beside the road on Luxor's West Bank, and almost every visitor sees them because they are unavoidable rather than because they planned to.
Cairo · Islamic Cairo
Khan El Khalili
Khan el-Khalili is the medieval trading quarter at the centre of Islamic Cairo, and it is both one of the city's best hours and one of its most oversold.
Aswan
Aswan High Dam
The Aswan High Dam is one of the largest engineering projects of the twentieth century and one of the least rewarding half-hours in a southern Egypt itinerary.
Middle Egypt
Abydos
Abydos sits roughly three hours' drive north of Luxor, and the Temple of Seti I there is widely reckoned to hold the finest relief carving to survive in Egypt.
Nile · Edfu to Aswan
Kom Ombo
Kom Ombo is the strangest temple on the Nile between Luxor and Aswan, and the quickest to see.
Covered on the destination pages
Official sources
Entry rules, opening hours, security advice and exchange rates all move. Check them at the source, not here.
- Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities ↗The ministry lists which tombs and temples currently open.
- UNESCO World Heritage: Egypt ↗The official listings, including the inscription reasons for each site.