Luxor: what to see, where to stay and how to get around
Luxor is ancient Thebes, the capital of Egypt at the height of its power, about three and a half thousand years ago. The Egyptians built for the living on the east bank, where the sun rises, and for the dead on the west, where it sets. Half a day; start at Karnak at six, before the heat. Check the travel warning for Egypt before you go.
A short history of Luxor
Luxor is ancient Thebes, the capital of Egypt in the Middle and New Kingdoms. On the east bank the temple complex of Karnak was built over about two thousand years, and Luxor Temple was built mainly under Amenhotep III and Ramesses II. On the west bank the pharaohs were buried in the Valley of the Kings. In 663 BC the Assyrians sacked it, and from then on it lost its standing. In November 1922 Howard Carter discovered the tomb of Tutankhamun, almost intact. On 17 November 1997, 62 people, most of them tourists, were killed in a terrorist attack near the Temple of Hatshepsut.
The ten best sights in Luxor
1Karnak TempleThe greatest temple of Egypt; open at six, go early
2Avenue of SphinxesNearly three kilometres of sphinxes between the temples
3Luxor TempleBest lit up after dark
4Abu Haggag MosqueA mosque built on top of the temple
5Luxor MuseumSmall and superb; open in the evening
6Mummification MuseumHow the Egyptians made mummies
7Nile CornicheThe riverside walk and the feluccas
8Winter PalaceThe grand hotel of 1886 on the Nile
9Banana IslandA felucca sail to a garden island
10Hot-air balloonsOver the west bank at sunrise
Scan with your phone camera to open the map there
What is an audio walk?
Tours in Luxor →A guide in your headphones: open the walk on our site, walk from stop to stop, and at each one your phone tells its story. No guide, no group, and free. This is the first walk in Luxor:
Free walking tours in Luxor
The east bank: the city of the living
Luxor is ancient Thebes, the capital of Egypt at the height of its power, about three and a half thousand years ago. The Egyptians built for the living on the east bank, where the sun rises, and for the dead on the west, where it sets. Half a day; start at Karnak at six, before the heat. Check the travel warning for Egypt before you go.
- Karnak Temple · Built and enlarged by pharaohs over about two thousand years, it is the largest religious complex of the ancient world. Its Great Hypostyle Hall holds a hundred and thirty-four giant columns, some about twenty-one metres high, once roofed and painted.
- Bubastite Portal · On the Bubastite Portal, Pharaoh Sheshonq I carved a list of the towns he conquered in his campaign in the Land of Israel around 925 BCE — the same campaign the Bible tells of, when Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem in the fifth year of Rehoboam.
- Avenue of Sphinxes · A processional road about two point seven kilometres long, once lined with more than a thousand sphinxes, linking Karnak to Luxor Temple. Once a year the gods were carried along it in the Opet festival. Buried under the town for centuries, it was excavated and reopened in 2021 with a great parade.
- Luxor Temple · Built mainly by Amenhotep III and Ramesses II. Two obelisks once stood at its gate; one is still here, and the other has stood in the Place de la Concorde in Paris since 1836, a gift from the ruler of Egypt to France.
- Abu Haggag Mosque · Built in the Middle Ages on top of the sand that had buried the temple. When archaeologists cleared the temple below, the mosque was left hanging high above it; its old door, now high in the wall, shows where the ground level was.
- Luxor Museum · A small museum with superb pieces, among them statues found buried in a hidden pit inside Luxor Temple in 1989, and two royal mummies. It opens in the evening, when the town cools down.
The west bank: the city of the dead
Across the Nile, in the hills where the sun sets, the pharaohs cut their tombs and built their temples of the dead. Take the ferry or a boat across, then a taxi for the day. A full day; start at six, and carry water.
- Valley of the Kings · For about five hundred years the pharaohs of the New Kingdom were buried in this hidden valley under a pyramid-shaped peak, in tombs cut deep into the rock and painted with the journey of the sun through the underworld. More than sixty tombs have been found.
- Tomb of Tutankhamun · On 4 November 1922 Howard Carter found the steps of the only royal tomb in the valley that had escaped the robbers almost intact. Peering in by candlelight, asked if he could see anything, he answered: yes, wonderful things. The treasures are in Cairo; the young king’s mummy still lies here.
- Temple of Hatshepsut · Hatshepsut was a woman who ruled Egypt as pharaoh for about twenty years, often shown with the false beard of a king. Her terraced temple against the cliff shows her expedition by sea to the land of Punt, bringing back incense trees; after her death her successor had many of her images hacked away.
- Deir el-Medina · The village of the craftsmen who cut and painted the royal tombs. Their notes on pottery and stone survive in thousands — laundry lists, loans, quarrels and absences for a scorpion sting. Around 1157 BCE, when their rations failed to arrive, they laid down their tools: the first recorded strike in history.
- Medinet Habu · The mortuary temple of Ramesses III, with some of the best-preserved colours in Egypt. Its outer wall shows his battle against the Sea Peoples around 1175 BCE, and among them are the Peleset — the Philistines, who settled on the coast of Canaan, in Gaza, Ashkelon and Ashdod.
- Colossi of Memnon · Two seated statues of Amenhotep III about eighteen metres high, all that is left of his great temple. After an earthquake cracked the northern one, it gave a sound at dawn, and Greek and Roman tourists came to hear it sing and carved their names on its legs; after a repair around the year 200 it fell silent.
Ramesses, the Nile and Israel
A slower day: the temple of the pharaoh most often linked with the Exodus, the tomb of a queen, the house of the man who found Tutankhamun, and an evening on the Nile under sail. Half a day plus the evening.
- Ramesseum · The mortuary temple of Ramesses II, the pharaoh popular tradition links with the Exodus. A colossal statue of him, once among the largest in Egypt, lies broken on the ground; its fallen head is said to have inspired Shelley’s poem Ozymandias — look on my works, ye mighty, and despair.
- Merneptah Temple · Here, in the temple of Ramesses’s son Merneptah, Flinders Petrie found in 1896 a stone recording the king’s victories in Canaan, around 1208 BCE. One line reads: Israel is laid waste, his seed is not — the oldest known mention of the name Israel outside the Bible. The stele is now in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo.
- Valley of the Queens · Here queens and princes were buried. The tomb of Nefertari, the favourite wife of Ramesses II, is called the most beautiful in Egypt, its walls painted in colours as fresh as the day they were finished; it opens only at times, with a separate, costly ticket.
- Carter House · The domed mud-brick house Howard Carter built in 1910 on the road to the valley, restored with his desk, darkroom and gramophone, where he lived through the ten years it took to empty Tutankhamun’s tomb.
- Banana Island · A felucca, the traditional sailing boat of the Nile, carries you upriver in an hour or so to a small island of banana and mango gardens. The Nile is the longest river in the world, and almost all of Egypt’s people live on its narrow green banks.
- Winter Palace · A grand hotel opened in 1886 for the British winter visitors. Lord Carnarvon, who paid for Carter’s dig, stayed here; the terrace over the river is the place for a sunset drink.
Getting to Luxor and getting around
- Luxor Airport · Fifteen minutes east of town
- Luxor Station · Sleeper trains from Cairo and on to Aswan
Cheap eats in Luxor
Egypt eats at the counter: ful medames, slow-cooked fava beans with oil and cumin; ta’ameya, the Egyptian falafel made of fava beans, green inside with herbs; and koshari, rice, lentils and pasta under tomato sauce and crisp onions, the national street dish. Wash it down with karkadeh, iced hibiscus, or sugarcane juice — all for a few pounds.
- Luxor Souq · Koshari and ful in the market streets
- Luxor Station · Ta’ameya stalls near the station
- Nile Corniche · Sugarcane juice by the river
- Banana Island · Fruit from the gardens
Museums in Luxor
Luxor holds about a third of the world’s ancient monuments, it is often said; the museums explain what the temples and tombs mean.
- Luxor Museum · Statues from the hidden pit
- Mummification Museum · How mummies were made
- Carter House · The Tutankhamun story
- Dendera · The temple of Hathor
- Esna · The cleaned ceilings
Nature and day trips near Luxor
The Nile valley is a green ribbon in the desert, only a few kilometres wide, with the desert cliffs rising behind the fields.
- Banana Island · A felucca on the Nile
- Hot-air balloons · Over the fields at dawn
- Nile Corniche · Sunset over the west bank
Things to do in Luxor with kids
With children: a balloon at dawn, real mummies, a felucca sail, and the tomb of the boy king.
- Hot-air balloons · A sunrise flight
- Mummification Museum · Mummified animals too
- Tomb of Tutankhamun · The boy king
- Banana Island · A boat ride
Holy places in Luxor
The temples of the gods of ancient Egypt, a mosque on top of them, and stones that touch the history of Israel.
- Karnak Temple · The temple of Amun
- Bubastite Portal · Shishak and Rehoboam
- Merneptah Temple · The first mention of Israel
- Abu Haggag Mosque · The mosque on the temple
Nightlife in Luxor
Luxor’s evenings are the lit temple, the riverside and a drink on a hotel terrace; alcohol is served mainly in hotels and tourist bars.
- Luxor Temple · The temple at night
- Winter Palace · A sunset drink on the terrace
- Nile Corniche · The evening walk
Frequently asked questions about Luxor
What is there to see in Luxor?
The top sights in Luxor are Karnak Temple, Avenue of Sphinxes and Luxor Temple. The full list on this page has 10 sights, each with a photo and a short note.
How many days do you need in Luxor?
Three to four days are enough to see the best of Luxor without rushing, including at least one walking tour.
Is there a free walking tour in Luxor?
Yes. sleepntrip has 3 free audio walks in Luxor, with no guide and no group: your phone tells the story at every stop. The first one: The east bank: the city of the living.
How do you get to Luxor and get around?
The main ways are Luxor Airport and Luxor Station. Full details are in the transport section on this page.
Where to stay in Luxor, and for how much?
sleepntrip shows only rooms in Luxor that meet nine conditions: a good location, high guest scores, cleanliness, and a price of up to $80 a night for two. Pick your dates and see what is free.
Looking for a hotel in Luxor for your dates?
Only rooms that meet nine conditions, up to $80 a night.