Luxor is one of the most fascinating areas there is to visit. It contains the ancient city of Thebes, which during the New Kingdom was the Capital of Upper Egypt & is one of the oldest known cities in the world with inhabitants. Here you will visit everything from Ancient Temples, to the Valley of the Kings, to the Valley of the Queens & various Museums. You will also be treated to the most spectacular views of the Nile & Sun across the Sahara desert (photo at top of page). If you are a keen daredevil & don’t mind a 4am wake up, you can take a sunrise hot air balloon ride. If I had the option to return to Luxor, or the Great Pyramids, I would choose Luxor. The only analogy I can think of to explain Luxor is, if you have seen the Night at the Museum movie, that is what Luxor compares to, the history comes alive & you feel like you are standing there as it was thousands of years ago. Luxor will always hold a very special place in my heart!
Must visit sites
Luxor is split by the River Nile into the East Bank & the West Bank. There is so much to do & see here, that I originally planned to stay for 2 days, but this quickly turned into extending my stay to 4 days. On the East Bank you absolutely must visit Karnak Temple, Luxor Temple & Luxor Museum. On the West Bank you cannot miss the Valley of the Kings, Mortuary temple of Hatshepsut, Collossi of Memnon & Medinet Habu.
There are a multitude of other sites that I would recommend if you are not pushed for time. These include Valley of the Queens & Ramesseum Temple. The Museum of Mummification is worth checking out as it is right beside Luxor Temple, however you are in & out in 30 minutes as it is very small.
I have pulled together a Page for each of these Tourist sites, with tips on getting there, when to visit, should you take a tour, costs, shocking attempts at selfies & information on keeping safe.
- Karnak Temple
- Luxor Temple
- Luxor Museum
- Valley of the Kings
- Valley of the Queens
- Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut
- Collossi of Memnon
- Medinet Habu
- Ramesseum Temple
Where to stay & eat?
I have purposely not done a separate page for Food & Drinks in Luxor, as my hotel was lovely so I only ventured out to visit the tourist sites. Disclaimer; I am not on commission or making any money from this recommendation, however if the hotel manager sees this post & wants to offer me a free stay, hit me up Habibi!
I stayed in the Steigenberger Resort Achti which was wonderful, it offered such a beautiful retreat from the chaos of Cairo! The staff here were lovely, nobody being pushy for tips & the entire complex was very relaxed. It is easy enough to get to from the Airport, around a 20 minute drive & sits on the Nile on the East bank. At night you have the most stunning view of the sun setting over the desert & they have live entertainment on every night.
They have a buffet dinner every night & the menu changes daily so you are never stuck with the same boring food. The meals were awesome & they do lots of Egyptian & Middle Eastern Cuisine, so you can try lots of different things! Bonus tip; if you are carrying a little extra podge from the buffet, as I most certainly was, be careful on the sun loungers, especially after a couple of Sakara Gold beers 😂
best place for a beer 🍻
If you do venture out of your hotel to try a local bar etc, I would highly recommend the King’s Head Pub & Restaurant. I didn’t get food there but the drinks were good & so much cheaper than in the big hotels. The bar staff were awesome & the locals were really friendly. They have a pool table, darts & the music is just on someone’s YouTube channel, which they take requests on. Even if you only stop by for one, this is well worth a visit in Luxor. It can be a little tricky to find, you will see the sign on the main road, you go through a little stairway past a clothes stall on your left & you take a right, it is up the stairs on either level 1 or 2, I can’t remember exactly as I was half boozed up when I left.
Tyler's Travel Tales 