Luxor: The World's Greatest Open-Air Museum

Luxor contains more ancient monuments per square kilometre than anywhere on Earth. The entire city is, in effect, a 3,400-year-old museum split in two by the Nile: the East Bank (the living — temples, the modern city) and the West Bank (the dead — tombs, memorial temples). Two days is a minimum. Three is better. A lifetime wouldn't be enough.

East Bank: Karnak

The Karnak Temple Complex is the largest religious building ever constructed. Walking through the Great Hypostyle Hall — 134 massive sandstone columns, each one carved with hieroglyphs, standing in rows like a petrified forest — is one of the most overwhelming things I have ever experienced. Arrive at 6am when the gates open. The light is golden, the stone glows, and for 30 minutes you'll have it almost to yourself. By 9am the tour buses arrive and the magic dims. Entry is 300 EGP ($6).

West Bank: Valley of the Kings

The burial place of the pharaohs: Tutankhamun, Ramesses II, Seti I, and dozens more. Your entry ticket includes three tombs (choose carefully — Ramesses IV and Seti I are extraordinary). Tutankhamun's tomb is a separate ticket and worth it for the historical weight alone, even though it's the smallest. The colours on the walls — painted 3,000 years ago — are astonishing.

Temple of Hatshepsut

The Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut at Deir el-Bahari is architecture as drama: three terraced colonnades carved directly into the cliff face, rising against the desert rock. Hatshepsut was one of Egypt's few female pharaohs and this temple is her masterpiece. Best in early morning light.

The Nile at Sunset

Hire a felucca — a traditional wooden sailboat — for a sunset cruise on the Nile. The boat drifts silently (no engine), the sun drops behind the West Bank mountains, the calls to prayer echo from both sides of the river. It costs 200–300 EGP ($4–$6) for a private boat. Negotiate firmly but this is not the place to haggle too hard. Just sit, watch, and let 5,000 years of history wash over you.