28 Egypt landmarks, from the pyramids to Abu Simbel

Discover what makes Egypt so enchanting with these extraordinary landmarks, from the Pyramids of Giza and the tombs of Luxor to Abu Simbel, Philae and the desert oases. A world of wonder and mystique awaits.

It’s no easy feat trying to capture just how astounding Egypt is. Trust me, I’m still reminiscing about my trip (and wondering if it’s too soon to make the journey back).

In the space of a little over a week, I crawled inside the Great Pyramid, picked my three tombs in the Valley of the Kings, caught my first glimpse of Philae from a little motorboat, stood beneath the colossi at Abu Simbel and woke up on a felucca as the sun rose over the desert. And there’s so much more.

When it comes to landmarks, the country has them in bucketloads: historical ones, iconic ones and even a few modern attractions that you definitely shouldn’t skip on your next visit. Here are 28 unmissable Egypt landmarks that you need to see. Most are pretty famous (that’s an understatement, I know), but some are hidden gems that often go under the radar.

How many can you tick off?

The famous landmarks you have to see

Pyramids of Giza

Yeah, yeah. No Egypt guide is worth its salt without including the pyramids. I know.

But honestly? Khufu, Khafre and Menkaure are a striking triumvirate that I am not ashamed to say I lost my sht over when I saw them in real life. The 4,500-year-old Pyramids of Giza are the most famous ancient monuments in the country, and for good reason. Their grandeur showcases the architectural genius of early Egyptian civilisation.

It’s ridiculously impressive if you think about it. The period between about 2550 and 2490 BC wasn’t exactly the pinnacle of design and engineering. And yet there the three pyramids stand: masterfully constructed, as tombs for three generations of the same royal family. The Great Pyramid, built for Khufu, is the only one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World still standing.

I paid extra to go inside it, which meant crawling up a tunnel about a metre high and a metre wide in the sweltering heat to reach Khufu’s burial chamber, with its long-empty sarcophagus. There isn’t a tonne to see, but how often do you get to say you’ve been inside the Great Pyramid? The general ticket costs 700 EGP, and going inside the Great Pyramid is an extra 1,500 EGP.

Great Sphinx of Giza

Ancient landmarks don’t get more mesmerising than the Great Sphinx of Giza. Carved from a single outcrop of limestone, it’s about 20 metres high and 73 metres long, and it has guarded the plateau for around 4,500 years.

The Sphinx is an interesting cross between a lion (body) and a human (head), with a touch of royal elegance (the fancy headdress). It’s thought to show the pharaoh Khafre, whose pyramid rises behind it. Its noselessness is a comical but charming facial anomaly, and no, Napoleon’s soldiers didn’t shoot it off: that story is a myth.

If you’re based in Cairo or Giza, I’d suggest booking an all-inclusive pyramids, Sphinx, Saqqara and Memphis tour, with pick-up and drop-off at your accommodation. The Egyptologist guide will share plenty of information about each site.

Valley of the Kings and Valley of the Queens

Visiting these tombs was one of the highlights of my trip, and I know it will be one of yours too. The Valley of the Kings and the Valley of the Queens, on the West Bank in Luxor, are two of the most fascinating historical sites in the country and among the world’s best-known royal burial grounds.

The kings, queens and princes of the New Kingdom’s 18th to 20th Dynasties (roughly 1550 to 1070 BC) were buried here, in tombs filled with precious belongings for the afterlife. Talk about keeping it fine and fabulous even on the other side.

You could easily spend an entire day popping in and out of the tombs. The standard ticket (750 EGP) covers three tombs in the Valley of the Kings, and I chose Ramses IX, Merenptah, and Tausert and Setnakht. The last was my favourite: its location at the top of the valley also meant it was the quietest tomb I visited. The most famous tomb of all belongs to King Tutankhamun. It’s not the biggest, but it’s the only one with its mummy still inside. You’ll need a separate ticket for 700 EGP, which is sometimes discounted in low season: when I visited in June, it was half price.

Across the hills, the Valley of the Queens is much quieter. It was empty when I visited.

The Nile

The Nile is one of the most celebrated landmarks in the country, as it should be. It has injected life and longevity into Egypt for millennia: almost everything in this list was built within sight of it.

The river is about 6,650 km (4,132 miles) long (pretty impressive if you ask me), making it the world’s longest, although some campaign for the Amazon. It runs through several African countries before marrying the Mediterranean Sea.

I spent a night on a felucca, a traditional wooden sailing boat, sailing north from Aswan, and waking up on a remote part of the Nile as the sun rises over the desert is worth the trip alone. If you’d rather have a cabin, I recommend spoiling yourself with a two-night cruise from Aswan to Luxor (the most scenic stretch). You’ll visit Philae Temple, Kom Ombo, Edfu and the Valley of the Kings along the way. See my guide to Nile cruises for more options.

Temples of Abu Simbel

Honestly, I could claim that every single attraction in this guide is my favourite. But Abu Simbel was special. Adding it to my trip felt like a no-brainer, and while the Great Temple feels a little bit like an ego-trip, my god, it’s stunning.

The temples of Abu Simbel are two of the many built by Ramses II, a 19th Dynasty ruler of Egypt’s golden age. Ramses was so accomplished that he built multiple statues and monuments… wait for it… of himself. Confidence much? His Great Temple is guarded by four 20-metre colossi of the king. His sweetest gesture (if you’re a romantic) has to be the smaller temple next door, which he dedicated to the goddess Hathor and his beloved wife, Queen Nefertari.

Historians reckon Ramses had more than 100 children (imagine remembering all their names), which is pretty out there, right? In the 1960s, both temples were cut into blocks and moved uphill to save them from the rising waters of Lake Nasser.

Karnak Temple

In a country full of awe-inspiring temples, picking one or two standouts is difficult. But Karnak Temple is epic for its size and religious significance. It was the home of the god Amun-Ra, his wife Mut and their son Khonsu. Would you believe this impressive complex took almost 2,000 years to build, with around 30 pharaohs adding to it?

It. Is. Vast. If you’re going to skip anything on your trip, Karnak is not it. Don’t miss the Great Hypostyle Hall, a forest of 134 gargantuan columns, and wear a hat and take plenty of water, as there’s very little shade.

My advice? Book a guided tour of Karnak and Luxor Temple with lunch to explore the East Bank properly.

Luxor Temple

A couple of kilometres south of Karnak, right in the middle of the modern city, Luxor Temple was dedicated to Amun and to the divine power of kingship. Amenhotep III built most of it around 1400 BC, Ramses II added the great pylon and a pair of obelisks (one of them now stands in the Place de la Concorde in Paris), and the Mosque of Abu Haggag still sits on top of part of it.

It was where the great Opet Festival ended each year, when the statues of the gods were carried here from Karnak along the Avenue of Sphinxes. The avenue, around 2.7 km long, was excavated and reopened in 2021, so you can now walk between the two temples.

Unlike most of the big sites, it stays open after dark, when the temple is floodlit. If you only have time for one visit, I’d go at sunset.

Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut

The Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut is one of the most striking historical places in the country, its three terraces set against the cliffs of Deir el-Bahari on the West Bank. I stopped here on my private tour, between the Valley of the Kings and the Valley of the Queens.

It pays homage to Queen Hatshepsut, highly regarded as one of the most powerful female pharaohs ever to rule. She billed herself as king and was often shown with a pharaoh’s false beard, and after her death, her successor Thutmose III had many of her images chiselled out.

The temple’s long colonnades and clean lines are often compared to classical Greek architecture, but it was built around 1,000 years before the Parthenon, probably to designs by her steward, Senenmut. The result is a beautiful masterpiece.

If you take a full-day tour of the West Bank, you’ll visit Hatshepsut’s temple and the Valley of the Kings in a day.

Nefertari’s tomb

The exquisite paintings of Nefertari’s tomb in Luxor should already tell you that she was the queen among queens. She was the great royal wife of Ramses II, and her tomb is often called the “Sistine Chapel of ancient Egypt”, with the brightest, best-preserved paintings anywhere in the Valley of the Queens.

I saw a lot in Egypt that blew my tiny freaking mind, but Nefertari’s tomb was something else. I paid the extra for it, and it was absolutely worth it.

Important: the tomb is currently closed indefinitely, and there’s no word on if or when it will reopen. In the meantime, Seti I’s tomb in the Valley of the Kings is the one to pay extra for.

Coptic Quarter

One of the best things to do in Egypt (and also one of the most underrated) is to explore Old Cairo, where the Coptic Quarter holds the history of the country’s Coptic Christians. Coptic Cairo is an intriguing network of old churches, a synagogue and ancient sites, built in and around the walls of the Roman fortress of Babylon.

This is a place of sanctity and a lovely place to wander. I squeezed it in on my last day: the Hanging Church, perched above the fortress gate, the Church of St Sergius and St Bacchus, where the Holy Family is said to have sheltered, the Ben Ezra Synagogue and the Church of St George, plus the Coptic Museum.

Khan el-Khalili

Cairo’s great bazaar has been trading since the 14th century, when the Mamluk emir Jaharkas al-Khalili founded a caravanserai here, and its lanes of lanterns, spices, brass and perfume are still a place of electrifying activity. It sweeps you up in its buzz and sets you down giddy from the experience.

I wandered in on my first evening in Cairo, and it’s at its most atmospheric after dark. After the hustle and bustle, stop off at El Fishawy, the most famous café in the souk, which has been serving tea in its mirrored alley since the 18th century. Order a mint tea and watch the world go by. Read my guide to the things to do in Cairo for more.

City of the Dead

There’s nothing like visiting Egypt to put you in touch with your own mortality. As you know, some of the country’s most famous attractions are necropolises. The City of the Dead is one of its most mysterious.

This vast cemetery has grown along the eastern edge of the city since the Arab conquest in the 7th century, and among its family tombs stand some of the finest monuments in Cairo, such as the domed mausoleum of the Mamluk sultan Qaitbay, built in the 1470s. It’s for the kind of adventure-seekers who aren’t easily unnerved by places associated with death.

Strangely enough, the cemetery embraces both life and death. Thousands of people live among the burial domes, in an area known as al-Qarafa, some of them caretakers whose families have tended the tombs for generations.

Parts of it have been demolished in recent years to make way for new roads, so it’s worth seeing while you can. While it isn’t for everyone, it’s an important site full of history, and it’s best visited with a local guide.

Egyptian Museum

For Egyptology nerds, this is a landmark you do not want to miss. The Egyptian Museum holds one of the world’s greatest collections of ancient Egyptian antiquities, and I spent about three hours inside without seeing half of it.

The building sits slap bang in downtown Cairo’s bustling Tahrir Square, and its 1902 galleries are packed with works from the Old Kingdom to the Greco-Roman era, from the statues of Khafre and Menkaure to painted coffins, jewellery and everyday objects. Tutankhamun’s treasures have moved to the Grand Egyptian Museum, and the royal mummies to the National Museum of Egyptian Civilisation, but there’s still more here than you could see in a day. If you’d like a guide, try this private guided tour of the Egyptian Museum, and see my guide to the best museums in Cairo.

Grand Egyptian Museum

Could it get bigger and bolder than the Egyptian Museum? Well, yes. After years on the edge of opening, the Grand Egyptian Museum finally opened in full in November 2025, about 2 km from the Pyramids of Giza. It’s the largest archaeological museum in the world dedicated to a single civilisation.

A colossal granite statue of Ramses II greets you in the atrium, and a grand staircase lined with statues of kings and gods leads up to the galleries, with a view of the pyramids at the top. The star of the show is Tutankhamun: for the first time, the boy king’s entire burial treasure is on display together, including his golden mask. Khufu’s 4,500-year-old boat, once displayed beside the Great Pyramid, now has a gallery of its own.

Book a timed ticket on the museum’s official ticketing site, and allow at least three or four hours. It pairs perfectly with the pyramids, either on your own or on this tour of the pyramids, the Sphinx and the Grand Egyptian Museum.

Step Pyramid of Djoser

Say what you want about the ancient Egyptians, but they knew how to bury in style. Saqqara (or Sakkara) is home to the magnificent Step Pyramid of Djoser, another of the world’s iconic burial sites.

The 4,700-year-old stone structure was designed by the architect Imhotep for the pharaoh Djoser, and it has intricate tunnels and chambers that show its architectural prowess. Believe it or not, it was the first large stone pyramid ever built, the ancestor of the pyramids at Giza. It reopened to visitors in 2020 after a long restoration, and it’s well worth a visit.

Philae Temple

Any trip to Egypt is going to be jam-packed with temples. But Philae Temple in Aswan, on its island in the Nile, might just be the most stunning, and it’s one of my own personal favourites. The only way to reach it is by boat, and I promise that the first glimpse of Philae, its golden columns surrounded by the striking blue of water and sky, will be one to remember.

Philae is pretty unique: most of what you see dates from a curious period called the Ptolemaic Dynasty. The Greeks were essentially ruling Egypt, but they still billed themselves as pharaohs and worshipped the Egyptian deities. It was also one of the last places where the old gods were worshipped, and the last known hieroglyphic inscription was carved here in AD 394.

It’s all a little bit confusing, and you’ll definitely want to go with a guide to get the most out of your experience.

The temple is dedicated to Isis, the great goddess of magic and motherhood, and its carvings capture her story. The most famous tale is of Isis bringing her husband (also her brother: these were different times) Osiris back to life, and another tells of her giving birth to their son, Horus. The whole complex was moved, block by block, to the neighbouring island of Agilkia between 1972 and 1980, to save it from the rising waters behind the Aswan dams.

Ptolemaic Temple of Horus

Speaking of Horus, it wouldn’t make much sense to be the child of the great goddess Isis and Osiris, god of the afterlife, without your own temple, right? Enter the Ptolemaic Temple of Horus in Edfu.

Ptolemy III began its construction in 237 BC, and it took until 57 BC to finish this shrine to Horus, the falcon-headed sky god. It’s impressive how well preserved the temple is: it lay buried in sand and river silt for centuries, which is why it’s now one of the most complete temples in Egypt. Its giant pylon and symbolic carvings on the front create a splendid welcome for all visitors.

Edfu is roughly halfway between Aswan and Luxor, and most Nile cruises stop here. From Aswan, this day tour of Edfu and Kom Ombo drops you in Luxor at the end of the day.

Double Temple of Kom Ombo

The name is a dead giveaway. Kom Ombo’s double temple, on the Nile’s eastern bank north of Aswan, is two temples in one, dedicated to Sobek (the crocodile god) and to Horus the Elder, an older, falcon-headed form of the god I’ve already mentioned above.

The twin temple’s design is flawless, and it’s pretty unique among the temples you’ll find in the country. It was built mainly during the Ptolemaic Dynasty as an act of respect and worship for the two deities, with two entrances, two sets of halls and two sanctuaries side by side. Horus’s temple is on the northern side of the building and Sobek’s on the southern side. Don’t miss the Crocodile Museum next door, with its mummified crocodiles.

The White Desert

It’s hard to believe the Black and White Deserts are part of the country’s natural landmarks. Their appearance is so odd that you’d bet a bit of human intervention caused the chalk formations to spew across the landscape like curious giant mushrooms. But nope: it’s all the work of the wind and sand.

The White Desert has been a protected area since 2002. The best way to experience this part of the Western Desert is by carving out some time for a desert tour. Luckily, this private one takes you into the Black and White Deserts from Cairo and includes the spellbinding Bahariya Oasis. It’s a long day, so if you can, stay overnight and sleep under the stars. Be sure to snap lots of incredible pictures.

Colossi of Memnon

If there’s one thing we know about Egyptian pharaohs, it’s that they were very extravagant and larger than life. The Colossi of Memnon prove it.

How do you protect your sacred mortuary temple from invaders and evil spirits? Well, you build two giant statues of yourself to guard it. Duh.

That’s precisely what the pharaoh Amenhotep III of the 18th Dynasty did, with these 18-metre (60-foot) seated figures in his likeness. Little of his temple survives, but the statues still stand among the fields of the West Bank. I saw them first from the air on my hot air balloon flight, then stopped beneath them on the way to the Valley of the Kings, and they’re a must-see when you’re in Luxor.

Mosque of Ibn Tulun

Islam is a huge part of modern life in Egypt, so it makes sense to visit one of the best mosques in a country deeply rooted in faith.

The Samarran-inspired Mosque of Ibn Tulun is one of the largest mosques in the world by area and the oldest in Cairo to survive in its original form, built between 876 and 879 AD by the governor Ahmad ibn Tulun.

The mosque has a huge, peaceful courtyard ringed by arcades, with an ablution fountain in the middle, and an unusual spiral minaret that you can climb for views over the old city. Right next door, the Gayer-Anderson Museum fills two old houses with mashrabiya screens and curiosities.

Montaza Palace and its royal gardens

It’s all too easy to get lost in the country’s crumbling ruins. So, when in Alexandria, head to Montaza (or Montazah) Palace and its royal gardens to see a landmark that’s bursting with life.

Khedive Abbas II Hilmi built the first palace here, the Salamlek, in 1892, and King Fuad I added the grander Haramlik in 1932. What’s fascinating is that the palace’s design combines Turkish and Florentine architectural influences, complete with an Italianate tower.

The palace itself isn’t open to visitors, but the gardens have been open to the public since the 1970s, and you could easily spend an entire afternoon exploring. Wander the palm-lined grounds, admire the palace from outside and walk down to the beaches and the little bay along the shore.

Shali Fortress

Another must-see landmark is the Shali Fortress in the Siwa Oasis, far out in the Western Desert near the Libyan border. This ornate maze of mud-brick buildings was built in the 13th century using a unique mix of salt, rock and clay called kershef.

The fortress once rose several storeys high and housed the whole community. Over the years, the elements caused quite a bit of erosion, and heavy rain in the 1920s did serious damage. A restoration project, completed in 2020, has since shored up the old town using traditional materials.

You’ll love walking through its pathways until you find your way to the top for sublime views of the Siwa Oasis, its palm groves and salt lakes.

Mosque of Muhammad Ali

No, the Mosque of Muhammad Ali is NOT connected to the legendary heavyweight boxer (although that would be quite something, wouldn’t it?). We’re talking about Muhammad Ali Pasha, regarded as the founder of modern Egypt.

The mosque, also called the Alabaster Mosque, crowns the Cairo Citadel and is one of the top mosques to visit because of its unique features. Built between 1830 and 1848 in the Ottoman style of Istanbul’s great mosques, it’s clad in alabaster, with a vast domed prayer hall hung with lamps. Its courtyard clock tower was a gift from King Louis-Philippe of France, in exchange for the obelisk that now stands in Paris. It’s pretty magnificent, even from afar.

I visited on my last morning, and my verdict? Go for the mosques and the views over the city, though I’d give the Citadel’s underwhelming museums a miss.

Cairo Tower

It’s all too easy to forget that the country isn’t just about its ancient history. And the 187-metre (614-foot) Cairo Tower, opened in 1961 on Gezira Island, is one of its most famous modern landmarks.

That said, the engineer Naoum Shebib designed the tower to resemble a lotus flower, an essential ancient Egyptian symbol, with a latticework shell.

I went up it while I was in Cairo, and it’s the capital’s most rewarding viewing point, with telescopes on the observation deck letting you pick out the Citadel, the Nile bridges and, on a clear day, the Pyramids of Giza.

Why not dine with a view? There’s a restaurant near the top of the tower, which has traditionally revolved, so check what’s open before you plan your evening around it.

St Catherine’s Monastery

St Catherine’s Monastery, at the foot of Mount Sinai, is one of the oldest working Christian monasteries in the world. Built on the orders of the Byzantine emperor Justinian between about 548 and 565 AD, it’s a sacred place for Christians, Muslims and Jews alike, and part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Many visit this landmark for reflection and spiritual enlightenment, while others come for its history. Inside the fortified walls, the Chapel of the Burning Bush marks the spot where Moses is believed to have seen the burning bush, and the monastery’s library holds one of the most important collections of early manuscripts in the world. Mount Sinai itself is where Moses is said to have received the Ten Commandments.

Nubian Museum

I think the Nubian Museum is a criminally underrated attraction. If you’re not sure what Nubia is, I’ll forgive you if you draw a blank: I certainly did before I visited. The artfully designed museum in Aswan is the place to go if you’d like to learn about the history of the people of Nubia and their impact on ancient Egypt.

The museum opened in 1997, partly to tell the story of the Nubian lands and villages lost beneath Lake Nasser when the Aswan High Dam was built, and to pay tribute to the Nubians’ contribution to the rise of Egyptian civilisation.

It houses around 3,000 objects, including artefacts, monuments and photos, from prehistory through the Pharaonic, Coptic, Roman and Islamic periods, and its dioramas of village life are a highlight.

Catacombs of Kom el-Shoqafa

Another popular Alexandria landmark is the Catacombs of Kom el-Shoqafa, carved into the rock in the 2nd century AD and rediscovered in 1900, supposedly when a donkey fell through a hole into the shaft.

Here, you’ll be able to see how ancient Egyptian, Greek and Roman burial customs blended together, with Egyptian gods dressed as Roman soldiers. The catacombs are often listed among the Seven Wonders of the Middle Ages and, while they’re pretty creepy, they’re very fascinating.

You’ll descend the three-level underground complex by a spiral staircase that winds around a central shaft. The shaft is thought to have been used to lower the bodies of the dead to their final resting place below on ropes.

Practical tips for visiting Egypt’s landmarks

• Carry the essentials in a decent-size daypack. Always have a bottle of water to keep hydrated in the heat: there were points in Luxor and Aswan where I was so hot I didn’t know what to do with myself.
• Bring a bank card and small notes. Ticket offices at the major sites are now largely cashless, but carry small notes for toilets and tips, and refresher towels or wet wipes, as toilets don’t always have paper.
• Wear light clothing and comfortable trainers that are suitable for a lot of walking.
• Opt for guided tours. It’s the best way to learn about each landmark, and it helps if the language is a problem.
• Be prepared for hustlers at the major sites, from fake ticket inspectors to camel touts. They’re very persistent and charismatic. Don’t give in to the pressure of buying things you don’t want or need, and remember that photos with camels, and “gifts”, always come with a price.

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Read next

• Egypt travel guide
• The best things to do in Egypt
• 11 ancient Egyptian temples you can still see today
• How much does it cost to travel to Egypt?
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• What should you wear in Egypt?
• The step-by-step Egypt itinerary

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