People know and love these top 15 landmarks and tourist spots in Egypt
This list will help you make sure you don’t miss out on anything in Egypt, which was once home to the pharaohs and had one of the most important cultures in history.
In Egypt, you can see and do things like the Pyramids and the Sphinx. On your trip, you’ll also go on a cruise down the Nile, look for Tutankhamun’s tomb, and cross the desert. You’ll be able to show what you did to your friends and family.
Now is the best time to go to Egypt, especially if you don’t want to go during the busiest summer months. You won’t be able to have as much fun as you should on the trip.
You can go to Egypt on your own, but it’s very important to hire a guide or driver when you get there or go on a trip. Booking one of the best-rated tours by other travellers is a cheaper, more comfortable, and safer option. For example, this 8-day all-inclusive tour has an expert guide and includes a cruise on the Nile that you will never forget.
Egypt is our favourite because it was our first trip together and it’s a place where we always think about going back.
1- The Giza Pyramids
People from all over the world love to go to Egypt to see the Pyramids of Giza, which are the only one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World that is still standing.
The three great pyramids are close to people who live less than 20 kilometres from Cairo. They are made of limestone and hold the tombs of the three Egyptian kings Cheops, Chephren, and Khafre (and Mykerinos).
When it was built around 2500 BC, it was covered on the outside with big blocks of limestone that were put together to make white pyramids that let the sun shine through and made the pharaohs think they would live forever.
It is next to the Egyptian Pyramids. One of Egypt’s symbols is the Sphinx, which is more than 20 metres tall.
Try to see them first thing in the morning if you can. This way, you can avoid the organised groups and get one of the few tickets to see the inside of the Pyramid of Cheops or Chephren, which is not recommended for people who are afraid of being closed in.
From Cairo, you can get there by taxi, minibus, or bus. If you want to be more comfortable, you can book this tour with an English-speaking guide who will pick you up at your hotel when you arrive. The Step Pyramid of Zoser, which was the first pyramid to be built in Egypt, and Memphis, which was the ancient capital of Egypt, are also on this tour. Two of the most well-known statues there are the Sphinx made of alabaster and the Colossus of Ramses II.
2- Going to Abu Simbel is one of the best things to do and see in Egypt.
There is a place in Nubia, which is in southern Egypt, that looks better than the Pyramids of Egypt. Abu Simbel is the name of this place, and it looks nicer than the Pyramids.
This archaeological site is known for the two rock-cut temples that the great Pharaoh Ramses II built to celebrate a war victory in the thirteenth century BC. Because a dam was being built on the Nile River in 1968, the temples had to be moved. This made them even more well-known around the world.
Like with the Pyramids, you should go early in the morning to avoid the hottest and most crowded times of the day. You should also stay near the complex for one night to see the light show that happens every night.
From Cairo, you can get to Abu Simbel quickly by plane or bus. You can also join the groups that leave from Aswan. It will take about three hours to get to Aswan.
Both of these are great ways to get from Aswan to Abu Simbel. You can book this tour with an English-speaking guide who will pick you up at your hotel, or you can book this two-day tour in English, which includes entrance fees and a light show.
3- The Valley of the Kings.
The Valley of the Kings is a beautiful Landmark and tourist attraction in Egypt. It is 10 kilometres from Luxor and on the west bank of the Nile. It is one of the best places to visit in the country.
This valley is made up of two valleys: the East Valley and the West Valley, also called the Valley of the Queens. There have been more than 60 tombs found there.
The tombs were hidden in the limestone of the valley’s slopes to keep them safe, keep them from being desecrated, and keep their most valuable items from being stolen. When they found the tombs, they found that all of them had been robbed, except for the child pharaoh Tutankhamun’s tomb, which was still in good shape. In 1922, British archaeologist Howard Carter opened this tomb.
If you buy a ticket to Valley of the Kings, you can see three tombs. Keep in mind that the price doesn’t cover the tomb of Tutankhamun. You will have to pay more.
The Valley of the Kings is open at 6 a.m. and can be reached by taxi from Luxor. You could also walk. You can book this tour with a guide if you want to feel more at ease. You’ll also see the Colossi of Memnon and the Temple of Hatshepsut.
4- The Memnon Colossi and the Temple of Hatshepsut
On your way to the Valley of the Kings, you should also stop at some of Egypt’s most impressive temples. One of them is the Temple of Hatshepsut. Stop in front of the Colossi of Memnon as well.
The Temple of Hatshepsut is the only one in Egypt that is dedicated to a woman. This is more than just because of how it looks. Queen Hatshepsut was Egypt’s only female pharaoh. The architect Senemut made part of the building, and its three terraces make it stand out from other buildings in the country. It also has a part made of rock.
Reliefs on the walls of the temple tell the story of the queen, but her stepson, Thutmose III, was angry that he took her place as king and destroyed many of them.
We told you to visit the Memnon Colossi on the same day you went to the Valley of the Kings and Luxor. This is another place near both of the places above. Amenhotep III and four other giants who had died in battle stood guard over the entrance to the place where Amenhotep III would be buried forever. The pharaoh is shown by these two huge stone twins.
5- One of the best places to visit in Egypt is the Karnak temple.
Thebes was the capital of Egypt for more than a thousand years. There, more than 30 pharaohs competed to honour the great god Amun by building the best temples and statues. A group of temples in Thebes is called Karnak.
This area is made up of temples and obelisks. There are also statues, a large sacred lake, and a lot of other things. After the pyramid, this is the second most-visited place in Egypt.
The Great Hypostyle Hall is one of the most important buildings. It has huge columns with reliefs and hieroglyphs that are really cool. The Avenue of the Sphinxes was made up of ram-headed sphinxes that linked the temples of Kanar and Luxor. Some of these sphinxes are still at the entrance.
You can take a taxi from Luxor, or you can book a tour with an English-speaking guide that stops at these temples.
6- The Luxor Temple
In honour of the god Amun, Pharaohs Amenhotep III and Ramses II built a temple. The Temple of Karnak, which was built by the same two pharaohs, is two kilometres away.
This is another one of Egypt’s best-preserved temples. It is more than 3,500 years old and has a huge front, colossi, and obelisks. One of them can be seen every day in the middle of the Place de la Concorde in Paris.
If you don’t know much about Egypt, the best way to see all of the temples is to hire someone who knows a lot about the history and won’t forget anything.
Another popular tour in Luxor is a ride in a hot air balloon. This ride gives you a different view of the temples and the Valley of the Kings.
7- Cairo, City of
You can’t leave Egypt until you’ve seen Cairo, which is the biggest and most chaotic city in Africa. When you cross a street, you’ll quickly realise that the traffic lights are just for show and that you’ll need a lot of strength to get through.
Don’t think that Cairo is all chaos because of this. The city has a lot of history and good food, as well as many differences between Islamic tradition and modern life. People in the city always smile and talk to each other.
Before you leave the city, it’s also important to go to Tahrir Square and the Egyptian Museum. Also, the Grand Museum of Egypt, which will open in 2022, will be the largest archaeological museum in the world. It will be the biggest museum in the world, and it is only a few kilometres from the pyramids of Giza.
Climb the Citadel of Saladin, where the Muhammad Ali Mosque or Alabaster Mosque is located. This is one of the most beautiful places in Cairo and has a great view.
This is a good way to find out more about its history and visit all the important places. This tour can be booked with an English-speaking guide.
8- Sharm el-Sheik
Many tours and trips in Egypt end with a few days of relaxing in the Red Sea, which is south of the Sinai Peninsula and in the Indian Ocean.
It is thought to be the warmest sea in the world, with clear waters and huge coral reefs full of strange fish. There are some of the best places in the world to dive and snorkel.
Sharm el-Sheikh is a very popular place for tourists to stay and have fun. Recently, Hurghada has also become popular, which we’ll talk about in another part of the text.
Sharm el-Sheikh used to be a small fishing village in the middle of the Sinai desert. Today, it is a city with great all-inclusive hotels where you can go diving and snorkelling, as well as enjoy its lively nightlife, great beaches, and quad trips through the desert.
We recommend this 11-day tour or this 15-day tour that goes to Lake Nasser if you want a comfortable, well-planned trip around the country. These tours take you to the most interesting places in Egypt and around the Red Sea.
9- The Temple of Kom Ombo
The second temple we saw on our Nile cruise, after the Temple of Philae, was the Temple of Kom Ombo, which is about 50 kilometres from Aswan. Ramses II built it, and there are two parts: one for Sobek and one for Haroeris.
Sobek and Horus were two gods who looked like people when they were young. Sobek had the body of a man and the head of an animal. Inside the temple, there is a mummy of a crocodile. On the outside of the temple, you can also see reliefs that show how surgical tools were used back then.
10- Take a trip down the Nile.
Most of Egypt’s most important places to see are near the Nile, which is the second-longest river in the world after the Amazon.
The Nile River is in one of the most empty places on Earth. Because of this, it has always been a source of life and resources that will never run out. This is why you can’t miss a few-day cruise on the Nile, whether you go on your own or with a tour company.
Most cruises take three or four days to go from Aswan to Luxor, stopping to see some of the most important temples and sailing at night.
There are two great cruises that can make a trip to Egypt even better:
11- The Horus Temple
The Temple of Horus or Edfu, which is the second largest temple after Karnak, is one of the most beautiful places in Egypt. It is also one of the most beautiful places to see. During Ptolemy III’s rule, the temple was built on the banks of the Nile in the Egyptian city of Edfu. In honour of the god Horus, it was built. Sand from the desert buried the temple for a long time. It was found by Auguste Mariette, who was a French Egyptologist.
Because it was underground for so long, some of the statues and reliefs there are in the best shape. It is a common stop for cruises on the Nile because it is right next to the river.
12- The Egyptian city of Alexandria
Get to Alexandria, which is in the north of the country, near the Nile Delta, and on the Mediterranean Sea. This is another great thing to do in Egypt.
In 332 BC, Alexander the Great built Alexandria. It was one of the most important trading cities in ancient times, and the 130-meter-tall Lighthouse of Alexandria, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, was a famous landmark there.
The huge Library of Alexandria, which lost almost 1 million historical documents in a fire, was another thing that made it so great. In 2002, a new one was built, and it’s a must-see.
If you want to learn about Alexandria’s history and some of its most important places, book this English-speaking tour. You should go to the Quaitbay Fortress, the National Museum of Alexandria, and the Kom el Dekka site.
13- Philae’s Temple
Temple of Philae: Dedicated to the goddess Isis, this temple is on an island near Aswan. It has some of the last hieroglyphs that were made in Egypt. Right next to this temple is the Unfinished Obelisk.
This temple is for the goddess Hathor. You can see the original colours of the zodiac and other statues and reliefs because they have been buried in sand for so long.
The Temple of Sethy I is a little-known temple that is 3 hours from Luxor and has a lot to offer. The List of Kings of Abydos, which names 76 pharaohs from Egypt’s main dynasties, is one of the most interesting things about this temple.
It is called the Temple of Ramses III, and it is in front of the city of Luxor. This temple shows the full story of how the pharaoh beat the People of the Sea.
14- Lake Nasser
Lake Nasser is the largest man-made lake in the world. It was built in the middle of the 20th century to stop the Nile from flooding. It’s another one of Egypt’s valuable things.
You should take a cruise on this lake, which is surrounded by desert and is home to the last Nile crocodiles. You can watch beautiful sunsets, go to a Nubian village, and see some of the temples in the area.
All of these cruises end at the magnificent Abu Simbel, which is one of the most beautiful places in ancient Egypt.
15- Hurghada, the city
Hurghada is the last thing we have planned in Egypt. It’s a popular tourist town on the Red Sea, and Sharm el-Sheikh is only a short ferry ride away. There are lots of fun things to do there.
This city is a great place to spend the last few days of your trip because it has beautiful beaches with calm, clear water, a colourful seabed, and desert safaris. On this page, you can book some of the best things to do there.
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