What Luxor is known for: Museums

The largest religious building ever constructed — 2,000 years of pharaonic ambition compressed into one sprawling precinct.

The most photogenic temple in Egypt, right in the middle of town and even better after dark.

The burial ground of Tutankhamun, Ramesses and 60+ other pharaohs — the most famous necropolis on earth.

Smaller and quieter than the Kings, but home to Nefertari's tomb — often called the Sistine Chapel of Ancient Egypt.

Three terraced colonnades carved into a limestone cliff — the most architecturally daring temple in Egypt.

The workmen's village where the artisans who painted the royal tombs lived, argued and buried their own dead.

The best-preserved temple in Luxor and by far the most underrated — carved reliefs still hold their original color.

Two 18-meter quartzite giants that have been the most photographed statues in Egypt since Roman times.

The 'Ozymandias' temple — the shattered mortuary complex of Ramesses II that inspired Shelley's most famous poem.

Small painted tombs of scribes, stewards and mayors — the most human and colorful art on the whole West Bank.

A small, beautifully edited collection — the anti-Cairo Museum, where every object is a masterpiece and you can see them all.

A single dedicated gallery on how the ancient Egyptians turned corpses into eternity — small, weird, and fascinating.