Luxor
Luxor is a city in Upper Egypt.
Luxor is a city in Upper Egypt. Luxor had a population of 284,952 in 2023, with an area of 43.0 km2 (16.6 sq mi) and is the capital of the Luxor Governorate. Nicknamed the City of a Hundred Gates or the City of the Sun, formerly known as Thebes. It was one of the capitals of Ancient Egypt. The city is among the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world.
Adapted from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Worth seeing in and around Luxor
10 places within 25 km that the world writes about, in the order of how widely: the ones a visitor has heard of first, then the ones only a local would name.
- 01Karnak Temple Complex
The Karnak Temple Complex, commonly known as Karnak, comprises a vast mix of temples, pylons, chapels, and other buildings near Luxor, Egypt. Construction at the complex began during the reign of Senusret I in the Middle Kingdom and continued into the Ptolemaic Kingdom, although most of the extant buildings date from the New Kingdom.
2.8 km · ancient Egyptian temple complex · Wikipedia - 02Deir el-Bahari
Deir el-Bahari or Dayr al-Bahri is a complex of mortuary temples and tombs located on the west bank of the Nile, opposite the city of Luxor, Egypt. This is a part of the Theban Necropolis.
5.9 km · archaeological site · Wikipedia - 03Ramesseum
The Ramesseum is the memorial temple of Pharaoh Ramesses II. It is located in the Theban Necropolis in Upper Egypt, on the west of the River Nile, across from the modern city of Luxor.
4.8 km · memorial temple of Ramesses II · Wikipedia - 04Merneptah Stele
The Merneptah Stele, also known as the Israel Stele or the Victory Stele of Merneptah, is an inscription by Merneptah, a pharaoh in ancient Egypt who reigned from 1213 to 1203 BCE. Discovered by Flinders Petrie at Thebes in 1896, it is now housed at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. The text is largely an account of Merneptah's victory over the ancient Libyans and their allies, but the last three of the 28 lines deal with a separate campaign in Canaan, then part of Egypt's imperial possessions.
4.3 km · memorial plaque by Merneptah who ruled Egypt between 1213 and 1203 BC · Wikipedia - 05mortuary temple of Hatshepsut
The mortuary temple of Hatshepsut was built during the reign of Pharaoh Hatshepsut of the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt. Located opposite the city of Luxor, it is considered to be a masterpiece of ancient architecture.
5.9 km · temple in Luxor, Egypt · Wikipedia - 06Mortuary Temple of Ramesses III
Medinet Habu ϫⲏⲙⲉ, ⲉϫⲏⲙⲉ, ϫⲏⲙⲏ, ϫⲉⲙⲉ, ϫⲉⲙⲏ, ϫⲏⲙⲓ; Bohairic Coptic: ϭⲏⲙⲓ) is an archaeological locality situated near the foot of the Theban Hills on the West Bank of the River Nile opposite the modern city of Luxor, Egypt. Although other structures are located within the area and important discoveries have also been made at these sites, the location is today associated almost synonymously with the largest and best preserved site, the Mortuary Temple of Ramesses III. It was an important New Kingdom period temple structure in the West Bank of Luxor in Egypt.
5.1 km · mortuary temple of Ramses III in Egypt · Wikipedia - 07Luxor Museum
Luxor Museum is an archaeological museum in Luxor, Egypt. It stands on the corniche, overlooking the east bank of the River Nile.
1.2 km · egyptological museum in Luxor, Egypt · Wikipedia - 08Malkata
Malkata things are picked up'), is the site of an Ancient Egyptian palace complex built during the New Kingdom, by the 18th Dynasty pharaoh Amenhotep III. It is located on the West Bank of the Nile at Thebes, Upper Egypt, in the desert to the south of Medinet Habu. The site also included a temple dedicated to Amenhotep III's Great Royal Wife, Tiy, which honors Sobek, the crocodile deity.
5.7 km · Archaeological site of Egypt · Wikipedia - 09Dra' Abu el-Naga
The necropolis of Draʻ Abu el-Naga is located on the West Bank of the Nile at Thebes, Egypt, just by the entrance of the dry bay that leads up to Deir el-Bahari and north of the necropolis of el-Assasif. The necropolis is located near the Valley of the Kings.
4.9 km · village and archaeological site of Draʿ Abu el-Naga, Luxor West Bank, Egypt · Wikipedia - 10Aten
Aten, properly called The Dazzling Aten though dubbed initially by archaeologists the Rise of Aten, is the remains of an ancient Egyptian city on the west bank of the Nile in the Theban Necropolis near Luxor. Named after Egyptian sun god Aten, the city appears to have remained relatively intact for over three millennia.
5.2 km · archeological site · Wikipedia
Ranked by the number of language editions of Wikipedia with an article on each, from Wikidata; the sentences are the openings of those articles, CC BY-SA 4.0.
What Wikivoyage says to see
East Bank of Luxor: The temple complex of Luxor The temple complex of Karnak Luxor and Mummification museums West Bank of Luxor: The Valley of the Kings Medinet Habu The Tombs of the Nobles The Ramesseum Temple Deir el-Bahari of Queen Hatshepsut Colossi of Memnon Malkata Hot Air Balloon Rides
From Wikivoyage: Luxor, CC BY-SA 4.0. Not yet checked by us.
Things to do
The Valley of the Kings is one of the most famous archaeological sites in Egypt and a major attraction in Luxor. The valley contains the tombs of many New Kingdom pharaohs, including Tutankhamun, Seti I, and Ramses VI. Most tombs feature colorful wall paintings and hieroglyphic inscriptions that have survived for thousands of years.
From Wikivoyage: Luxor, CC BY-SA 4.0. Not yet checked by us.
Where to eat
Luxor is a vegetarian's paradise with lots of fresh seasonal vegetables such as tomato and cucumber. A meal often begins with pita-bread and mezze such as baba ganoush or taboulé. Your main course may include meat or poultry, or regional dishes such as pigeon or rabbit.
From Wikivoyage: Luxor, CC BY-SA 4.0. Not yet checked by us.
Getting to Luxor
- Airports
- Luxor (LXR), 7 km · Suhaj (HMB), 115 km · Aswan (ASW), 194 km
- Stations
- Luxor International Airport, 6.8 km
- Suhaj → Luxor130 km · quickest by road, 3h 18m · E£295–395
- Aswan → Luxor181 km · quickest by road, 3h 13m · E£290–385
- Marsa Alam → Luxor237 km · quickest by road, 5h 15m · E£480–640
- Plan a tripFrom anywhereThe planner compares every way there from wherever you are.
Road and air are today’s quick answer; timetabled trains, buses and ferries load on the results page from the operators’ feeds.
No local-transport research exists yet for Luxor
Our researched notes are written from a sourced entry: every shared taxi, boat and village bus with its operator, its rule, its fare and the year we saw it, and what could not be confirmed. Nobody has done that work for Luxor. What is above is what we hold from open sources; nothing here pretends to be more.
- Get inMost of the Airlines in Egypt including: Nile Air, ALMasria Universal Airlines, Air Arabia and Petroleum Air Services (PAS), which charter services flights to Cairo or Egyptian destinations, including Hurghada etc.
- Get inNile boat cruises regularly call at Luxor, but these are package itineraries and not available to book as point to point ferries.
- Get aroundBikes can be rented on both the East and West Banks of Luxor (the latter near the local ferry landing), though prices can be a little over-inflated on the more isolated West.
- Get aroundIf you look for high quality bicycles, you can find Dutch bikes (gazelle/batavus) at the Dutch Rental Agency in Sheraton Street (East Bank) and, on the West Bank, at Mohammed Setohe bicycle (5 min walk from the ferry) which has quite good and almost brand new mountains bikes.
- Get aroundBikes can be taken on board the local ferry (be considerate though), so perhaps hire on the East, then transport your bike over yourself.
From Wikivoyage: Luxor, CC BY-SA. Not yet checked by us; that article was last edited 2026-09.
- 01362 km
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- 041,198 km
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If you know how people move in Luxor – the stand, the rule, the fare – tell us, and the note gets an entry.
Next door to Luxor
Luxor is 46 km from Esna, the nearest large city, whose note carries the wider picture.
- Thebesancient Egyptian city4.3 km
- Deir el-Medinaancient Egyptian village in the Valley of the Kings5.6 km
- Karnaktown in Egypt2.8 km