What to see in Luxor Egypt (An 8-part list)

Odds are, you have some idea of what to see in Luxor.  Karnak Temple is probably on your list.  The Valley of the Kings?  Almost certainly.

But when I make recommendations on how people should spend their time in Egypt, I always come back to one thing: Maximize your time in Luxor.  At all costs.

There’s a reason for this.

Luxor was the spot in the New Kingdom era of Ancient Egypt.  In the minds of most, this was the heyday of the culture.  You see, Ancient Egypt was split into two parts: Upper Egypt in the south, and Lower Egypt in the north. 

No, I didn’t get that wrong — those names exist to reflect how the Ancient Egyptians saw their world, which centered around the Nile.  That river flows from south to north.

Ask anyone about Ancient Egypt, and the first image conjured up in their minds is almost always going to be one of the Pyramids.  Those are monuments built in the Old Kingdom, located in Lower Egypt.  During the New Kingdom — the time of Ramesses II and Tutankhamun and Thutmose III — the capital of Ancient Egypt was here.

It was in Luxor.  And that’s where you should be too.

A quick note: These are brief overviews of a few locations — some of them have their own articles, where I go into a lot more depth.  You’ll also want to read my advice on how to get around the West Bank of Luxor, where many of these sites are.  It’s easy to do this wrong, and end up wasting a lot of valuable time. 

I hope you’ll enjoy this list, and be sure to read all the way to the bottom to hear about my favorite place in the entire world.

What to see in Luxor on the East Bank

For most people, a stay at a hotel in Luxor Egypt is going to be on the East Bank.  This is likely where you’ll be based, and there’s two main sites you’ll want to check out.

Luxor Temple is right in the middle of town.  There’s literally a McDonald’s across the street.  It attracts a ton of tourists, and is best checked out at night.  Unlike many places in Egypt, this is open after dark and is lit quite beautifully.

Karnak Temple is…well…it’s massive.  It’s often hailed as one of the largest religious sites in the entire world.

This means the area is a maze of giant columns and toppled walls.  If you’re going to visit (and you absolutely must), come armed with a map and at least a passing knowledge of what you’re going to see.

While I don’t often recommend hiring a tour guide for many reasons, I wouldn’t begrudge anyone who took a guide to Karnak. 

One of the highlights here is the Great Hypostyle Hall, consisting of 134 enormous columns that once supported a roof.  I’m sticking a little video of it below if you want a taste.

The Mortuary Temple of Queen Hatshepsut

It looks like it doesn’t belong.

This temple, pressed right up against a cliff, doesn’t share a lot of architectural features with many other works of Ancient Egypt.

It likely took inspiration from its neighbor, the Mortuary Temple of Mentuhotep II, and it’s said that it Hatshepsut’s may have served as the inspiration for later works by the Greeks. 

Somehow this is appropriate, considering it was built by a woman who didn’t quite “belong” either.

Queen Hatshepsut reigned as king for over 20 years.  She technically ruled jointly with her stepson Thutmose III, taking power when he was just a child.  This was common when the heir wasn’t yet old enough to rule, but she kept and maintained power long after.  You can even see an evolution in her statues to show a reduction in feminine features, and an increase in masculine ones.

Traces of her rule were later reduced and even eliminated, but this heavily reconstructed temple serves as a tribute to who she was and what she accomplished.

You see, you aren’t just going to be looking at columns and statues here.  At least for me, the main attraction is what’s called the “Punt Reliefs.” 

Although she may not have “belonged,” she kept up the tradition of using temples to brag about her accomplishments.  You can visit this site today and see one of the best representations of ancient propaganda anywhere.

You’ll see images of men boarding the ships, sailing across a sea filled with strange aquatic animals like giant squid, see the group meeting the people of Punt, then returning with all the wondrous goods they could carry.

“Look at me, look at what I did,” the reliefs seem to say. Visiting this site is the best way to listen and to hear the story.

The Valley of the Kings

Like most spots in and around Luxor, this is a very complicated subject that necessitates its own post.

If you’re coming to Egypt and haven’t included this on your list of what to see in Luxor, then I’m not sure what’s wrong with you.  The Valley of the Kings is a highlight of any trip to Egypt, and absolutely cannot be missed.

These tombs were protected from the sun, sparing them the weathering suffered by most every other ancient site in the world.

Following the age when kings were buried in Pyramids, they decided to keep their tombs hidden — likely because a Pyramid is a big billboard saying “Expensive stuff is inside.”  Tucked away in a secluded valley, these tombs were intended to be sealed and protected from robbers.

Elaborately painted, they provided the king with a kind of road map so he could find his way to the afterlife.

A standard ticket allows you to enter three tombs from a list, and you can add on other “special” tombs as well, like the Tomb of Tutankhamun.  I give a detailed rundown of what’s available and what I recommend here.

The Colossi of Memnon

They aren’t just a tourist attraction today — they were also well known in ancient times.  The Greeks and Romans wrote of how one of the statues would “sing” in the morning, possibly due to evaporating dew inside the cracks.  The Roman Emperor Hadrian visited them soon after the death of his lover Antinous.

Poems written by a woman traveling with him named Julia Babilla are still visible here, as well as other bits of ancient graffiti.  Many attest to whether or not the author heard the “singing.”  The statue was repaired by a later Roman Emperor, and it has been silent ever since.

Unfortunately, the temple was built too close to the Nile, and its foundations were undermined by water. 

This area often has active archaeological digs taking place.  So if you visit, take a look behind them.  You may see some people hard at work, uncovering bits of history — including some other statues, nearly as large as these.

Visiting this area couldn’t be easier.  As I said, they’re right next to the road, and you don’t even need a ticket.  Just have your driver stop the car, hop out, and spend a few minutes getting a closer look.

When you add this to your list of what to see in Luxor, you’ll be doing the same as the Greeks and Romans did — taking a moment to gaze upon feats that predate all of us.

Medinet Habu

You see, the temples of Ancient Egypt didn’t look as drab as they do now.  Like the statues of Ancient Greece and Rome, they were all elaborately painted.

“Medinet Habu” is the modern name for the area, although it’s primarily used to describe this structure: the Mortuary Temple of Ramesses III.

Ramesses III is mainly known for his defeat of the somewhat mysterious “Sea Peoples.”  There’s a large relief on the outside of the temple depicting this.  His reign saw the beginning of a decline in Ancient Egypt — actually, this site is said to be the spot of the first recorded worker’s strike in history.

This site isn’t on a lot of the organized tours of Luxor. Compared to spots like Karnak or the Valley of the Kings, it’s downright empty.

Don’t be like one of those tourists who skip this.  Make this spot a priority on your list of what to see in Luxor.  Here, perhaps more than anywhere else, you can get a fleeting taste of what these temples once looked like.

At last check, the price was 1000 Egyptian pounds per person, or about $65.  Along with the tomb of Seti I, this is the most expensive ticket in Egypt.  Of course, you could also get the Luxor Pass, which covers those two sites as well as many others.

Your time inside will be limited to about 10 minutes.  The humidity from your sweat and breath could damage these paintings.

I write much more about this spot here, but suffice to say that this is my favorite place in the entire world.  Not just in Egypt…anywhere.  No other spot has been quite so mesmerizing, or given me such a strong connection to the past.

In an area filled with must-see locations, this tops them all.  If you go to Luxor and don’t step inside the Tomb of Nefertari, I’m not sure you went to Luxor at all.

The Ramesseum

So why should you go?  Well, this is the Mortuary Temple of Ramesses II — one of the best known pharaohs of Ancient Egypt.  He lived to be over 90 years old, and marks of his reign are all over Egypt.  You might also know him as the guy who built the temples at Abu Simbel.

Yeah, it’s a bit run down.  There’s still some very nice paint on the tops of some protected columns, but aside from the enormous fame of this site’s builder, the decay is the attraction here.

See the giant feet near the center of the picture above?  Those belonged to a colossal statue of Ramesses II, which you can go and see for yourself — it’s laying on the ground right behind the platform.

The Tombs of the Nobles

This is yet another spot that’s skipped by many tourists.

I get it.  There’s hundreds and hundreds of tombs on the West Bank of Luxor, so why would you want to see some that weren’t even built for famous people?

Well, that’s precisely why you should visit these.  Here, you’ll see scenes from everyday life.  You’ll see workers building tombs, workers using scaffolds to carve statues, workers using their skills to turn grapes into wine.

These tombs tend to be relatively small, and there’s a lot of them.  They basically litter the hills, and you can spend days climbing up and down the sandy surfaces, spotting a new one around each corner.

Obviously some are more impressive or meaningful than others, so it’s best to go here with a plan.  Some of the standouts are the Tomb of Sennefer with its floral designs, or the detailed paintings of the Tomb of Nakht.

Yes, I had to tip the guards as well as the local guy; a small price to pay to see brief glimpses of Ancient Egyptian life.

The Valley of the Queens

Everyone’s heard of the Valley of the Kings, right?  Even those with only a passing knowledge of Ancient Egypt have heard those words.  What most people haven’t heard of is this spot: The Valley of the Queens.

Full disclosure: although there are many tombs here, I only went in one.  While a part of me wishes I’d seen some others, nothing can compare to the magnificence of the Tomb of Nefertari.

Not too long ago, this place was completely closed.  No one was allowed to enter, because of its fragile state.  It was later opened on a very limited basis.  Until recently, the cost to enter was $3000 for a group of 20.

The Getty Institute undertook a huge project to restore and preserve this place.  It remains fragile.  If you’re interested, here is a link to an excellent book detailing the art and its restoration, which has been scanned in and is available for free.

Note: Everything I say here is my own personal opinion, and may not work best for everyone. I’m far from an expert, so please just do whatever is best for you, and be sure to visit the TripAdvisor Forums to ask questions and do some more research!