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.
Getting to Luxor
- 01Luxor International Airport
The terminal is divided into two parts for domestic and international flights.
- 02Luxor
Luxor is on the railway mainline that follows the Nile north to Cairo (10 hr) and south to Aswan (3-4 hr).
- 03Go Bus Stop
- 04SuperJet
It's non-stop with just a 15-min break on the way.
Worth seeing
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
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.
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.
Getting around Luxor the local way
- 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.
- Get aroundMinibuses are the transportation of the locals in Luxor, and the cheapest way to get around for the adventurous tourist.
- Get aroundThey have fixed routes, with different routes marked by a different colour on the side of the minibus.
- Get aroundThe blue local ferry is a very basic boat between East and West that costs LE20 for foreigners (as of October 2025).
From Wikivoyage: Luxor, CC BY-SA. Not yet checked by us. Last edited 2026-09.
Text adapted from Wikipedia and Wikivoyage, CC BY-SA 4.0. Photograph: Diego Delso (CC BY-SA 4.0), Wikimedia Commons.