Top 20 Attractions in Egypt

One of the old­est tourist des­ti­na­tions in the world, Egypt has cap­ti­vat­ed trav­el­ers for cen­turies with its col­lec­tion of world-famous ancient mon­u­ments and leg­endary nation­al trea­sures. Egyp­t’s attrac­tions are extreme­ly diverse, from world-famous his­tor­i­cal sites to laid-back beach resorts. Here you will find a list of the 20 most beau­ti­ful places to vis­it in this coun­try.

Alexandria — historical port

The sec­ond largest city in Egypt with a Mediter­ranean cos­mopoli­tan atmos­phere, some­what rem­i­nis­cent of Mar­seille, or Athens. Known for its high-end build­ings and grandiose squares, Alexan­dria was once a very fash­ion­able city. Although that charm has fad­ed a bit, there are still many inter­est­ing sights of Egypt to be found here. From the tran­quil roy­al gar­dens of Mon­taza Palace, to the his­toric 15th-cen­tu­ry citadel of Kite Bay, you’ll always find inter­est­ing places to vis­it. Alter­na­tive­ly, vis­it one of the many antique cof­fee hous­es where you can enjoy cof­fee and shisha while look­ing out over the Mediter­ranean Sea.

Cairo — the bustling capital of Egypt

Once you get over the cul­ture shock of chaos and noise, you will imme­di­ate­ly real­ize that this city is a trav­el­er’s dream and one of the most impor­tant des­ti­na­tions for a trip to Egypt. His­to­ry fans will also be in their ele­ment here, with ancient tra­di­tions per­fect­ly pre­served in all cor­ners of the city of his­tor­i­cal build­ings. Of course, there is also an end­less sup­ply of ancient tem­ples, tombs, church­es, mon­u­ments and muse­ums to explore. Don’t leave with­out vis­it­ing the famous Khan El Khalili Bazaar, or oth­er street mar­kets, espe­cial­ly if you’re look­ing for sou­venirs. Every­thing is here, from exot­ic car­pets to brass trin­kets.

The Red Sea is a paradise for divers

A high­light for many trav­el­ers is the resort town of Sharm El Sheikh, filled with lux­u­ry hotels, casi­nos, night­clubs and tourists. Peo­ple here enjoy the sun, sea and sand. Hotels in Sharm el-Sheikh are very pop­u­lar, although the real gem of this area is the Red Sea. The Red Sea has clear azure waters with an incred­i­ble array of exot­ic fish and corals, which is why it is so high­ly regard­ed among div­ing enthu­si­asts. In fact, this nat­ur­al won­der offers some of the best scu­ba div­ing in the world. You def­i­nite­ly won’t regret going to one of the many div­ing schools.

Pyramids at Giza

One of the most attrac­tive his­tor­i­cal mon­u­ments in Egypt is the leg­endary Egypt­ian pyra­mids of Giza. No vis­i­tor to the coun­try should leave with­out vis­it­ing the Great Pyra­mids and the Sphinx of Giza. It is the only one of the sev­en remain­ing won­ders of the ancient world over 4,600 years old. An impres­sive sight awaits you, and the whole com­plex is still shroud­ed in mys­tery. The main pyra­mids can be explored in about 2 hours, but it’s best to spend a full day in this area if pos­si­ble.

Luxor — the capital of the pharaohs

One of the best cities to explore in Egypt is the city of Lux­or. There are only a few places in the world that can be called an open-air muse­um, and the Egypt­ian city of Lux­or is cer­tain­ly one of them. The num­ber of pre­served mon­u­ments in the Lux­or area is unpar­al­leled any­where else in the world, so a vis­it to Egypt is not com­plete with­out a tour of the cap­i­tal of the pharaohs. Spend the day in the Val­ley of the Kings and Queens, home to over 60 under­ground tombs. Be sure to set aside time to vis­it the impres­sive tem­ples of Lux­or and Kar­nak.

Nile is the main river of Egypt

The best way to explore one of the most famous rivers in the world is on a cruise that lasts more than a few days. The Nile is rich in inter­est­ing flo­ra and fau­na, and a trip along the famous riv­er will give you an inter­est­ing insight into the rur­al areas of the coun­try. You can also stop and walk among a large num­ber of famous tem­ples and oth­er ancient mon­u­ments. Don’t miss the chance to stop along the banks of Aswan to watch the sun­set on one of the most beau­ti­ful stretch­es of the Nile.

Dahab is a paradise for divers

Dahab is a laid-back resort town locat­ed on the south­east coast of the Sinai Penin­su­la. This beau­ti­ful city attracts both hip­pies and trav­el­ers who want to stay in a qui­et place that is not filled with tourists all year round. Peo­ple love Dahab because of the incred­i­ble nat­ur­al beau­ty of one of the most pic­turesque resorts in the coun­try. You will enjoy Egyp­t’s gold­en sandy beach­es with incred­i­ble sea views that stretch across the bay to the Hijaz Moun­tains in Sau­di Ara­bia. Under water there is also a lot of beau­ty with corals and marine life, so Dahab is con­sid­ered one of the best places for scu­ba div­ing and snor­kel­ing on the penin­su­la. The famous Blue Hole is also locat­ed near Dahab — a gap­ing fun­nel carved by sea waves right in the reef. The per­fect­ly blue water of Dahab is not the only attrac­tion in the region. You can also go to the Bedouin desert to the west of Dahab. It is a peace­ful place with many places to explore.

Mount Sinai — holy mountain

The Sinai penin­su­la of Egypt is def­i­nite­ly worth the trip and expe­ri­ence the rest of the coun­try in a dif­fer­ent way. Mount Sinai is a pop­u­lar tourist attrac­tion in Egypt. It has great reli­gious sig­nif­i­cance, being men­tioned many times in the book of Exo­dus, the Bible and the Koran. In Chris­tian­i­ty, this is the place where Moses received the Ten Com­mand­ments. Hik­ing on this holy moun­tain is extreme­ly pop­u­lar among tourists. Many pre­fer to take a night walk, get­ting up ear­ly at 2–3 am to watch the bib­li­cal sun­rise.

Monastery of Saint Catherine

The monastery of St. Cather­ine is locat­ed just below Mount Sinai. This is a very old and very impor­tant tourist site in Egypt, which has the sta­tus of a UNESCO World Her­itage Site. It is also the old­est active monastery in the world. This unusu­al and strange­ly beau­ti­ful build­ing is locat­ed in the mid­dle of hun­dreds of kilo­me­ters of arid land­scapes. There are many sacred arti­facts here that will be of inter­est to believ­ers, includ­ing the relics of St. Cather­ine.

Siwa Oasis

The Siwa Oasis is often cit­ed as one of the most stun­ning places to vis­it in Egypt. Locat­ed by the Egypt­ian sand sea (in the Libyan desert), it has its own Sivan cul­ture, which is dif­fer­ent from the tra­di­tion­al Arab cul­ture. The Sivans speak their own lan­guage and the area is known for its hot springs, fine dec­o­ra­tions, deli­cious cui­sine and olives. Stay here for a few days and for­get about the time — swim in the springs, or just admire the desert scenery.

White Desert — a unique place in Egypt

The fab­u­lous White Desert is a very inter­est­ing area in Egypt, which is locat­ed 50 kilo­me­ters north of the city of Farafra. Hik­ers are drawn to the oth­er­world­ly beau­ty of the desert with bizarre, ghost­ly white rock for­ma­tions sprout­ing from the desert sands. The strange struc­tures are actu­al­ly huge chalk for­ma­tions cre­at­ed by sand­storms in the area. Espe­cial­ly pop­u­lar are jeep safaris in the desert.

Hurghada is a popular beach resort

Hurgha­da is a stun­ning resort town locat­ed on the north­east coast of Egypt, just below the Gulf of Suez. The Hurgha­da Riv­iera stretch­es for 60 kilo­me­ters along the Red Sea coast and is home to many lux­u­ry resorts. Orig­i­nal­ly a fish­ing town, Hurgha­da has grown rapid­ly over the past few decades to become a tourist des­ti­na­tion. The region has many great restau­rants, enter­tain­ment and accom­mo­da­tion options. The most lux­u­ri­ous resorts in Hurgha­da are Maka­di Bay, Sahl Hasheesh and El Gouna. How­ev­er, it is the stun­ning nat­ur­al beau­ty of Hurgha­da that is the high­light of this place. There are many pris­tine beach­es with bright white sand and crys­tal clear waters. The coast­line is also dot­ted with coral reefs with the best div­ing and snor­kel­ing oppor­tu­ni­ties in Egypt. You can also swim with dol­phins off the coast of Aden Beach Resort. Don’t for­get to explore the sea crea­tures at Hurgha­da Grand Aquar­i­um and be sure to vis­it the East Ara­bi­an Desert. There are many tours avail­able, includ­ing quad bik­ing excur­sions to his­tor­i­cal sites.

Gulf of Taba

Taba is one of the most impres­sive places to vis­it in Egypt. It is a col­or­ful lit­tle town locat­ed on the north­ern tip of the Gulf of Aqa­ba. Despite its small size, it is often crowd­ed because it is used as a bor­der cross­ing to Israel. Numer­ous Egypt attrac­tions are con­cen­trat­ed in the Taba area, includ­ing Taba Heights Water World, Zaman Cas­tle, Motors Sports Canyon and the stun­ning Salah El Din Cas­tle. The land­scape of Taba is absolute­ly mag­nif­i­cent and you will be con­stant­ly amazed at how pic­turesque the place is. Fjord Bay is a short dri­ve from Taba. It is a nat­ur­al bay that has become a pop­u­lar des­ti­na­tion for swim­ming, div­ing, hik­ing, boat­ing and many oth­er out­door activ­i­ties. The bay is sur­round­ed by hills that slope gen­tly down to stun­ning blue water.

Aswan — an important city on the Nile

Aswan is a his­toric city on the Nile Riv­er. One of the most vis­it­ed cities in Egypt, this mag­nif­i­cent metrop­o­lis is locat­ed in an idyl­lic loca­tion with untouched nature and scenic views. In addi­tion, the city itself is filled with many amaz­ing old build­ings that give it a delight­ful atmos­phere. Aswan is one of the old­est cities in Egypt and has a rich his­to­ry that goes back thou­sands of years. There are many beau­ti­ful places to vis­it includ­ing the Aswan Botan­i­cal Gar­den, the ruins of Abu, the tombs and Ele­phan­tine Island. This is the per­fect place to learn more about the rich cul­ture and vast his­to­ry of Egypt.

Temples of Abu Simbel

The Tem­ples of Abu Sim­bel are one of the most rec­og­niz­able his­tor­i­cal sites in Egypt. These are mas­sive rock tem­ples built by the ancient Egyp­tians between 1264 BC and 1244 BC. The Tem­ple of Ramess­es is one of six majes­tic struc­tures built in Nubia dur­ing the reign of Ramess­es II. The scale of the Tem­ples of Abu Sim­bel is incred­i­ble. Their beau­ty still attracts mil­lions of vis­i­tors every year.

Nuweiba is an attractive coastal city

Nuwei­ba is a coastal city locat­ed on the east coast of the Sinai Penin­su­la. The attrac­tive vaca­tion city is sur­round­ed by the pris­tine blue waters of the Gulf of Aqa­ba and the bright red sands of Sinai. Nuwei­ba has many beau­ti­ful spots, includ­ing the Col­ored Canyon, a nar­row trail sur­round­ed by beau­ti­ful cliffs. You will be amazed by the vari­a­tions in the shades of the stone, from deep pur­ple to bright yel­low. Bedouin guides will guide you through the canyons and explain the mean­ing of the canyon in their cul­ture.

Anoth­er impor­tant place in the vicin­i­ty of Nuwei­ba is Ain Khu­dra, a nat­ur­al oasis near the city. It is often used as a place for hik­ing and med­i­ta­tion, with beau­ti­ful palm trees and pools. The area also has many incred­i­ble nat­ur­al stone sculp­tures. The many dive sites off the coast of Nuwei­ba will leave no one indif­fer­ent, includ­ing the Danube Reef and Coral Island with a vari­ety of marine life.

Rosetta and Rosetta Stone

Roset­ta (also called Ar Rashid) is a city on the west bank of the Nile Riv­er, 65 km north­east of Alexan­dria. Found­ed in the 9th cen­tu­ry, Roset­ta has an inter­est­ing his­to­ry, incred­i­ble archi­tec­ture and vibrant cul­ture. Roset­ta is most­ly known as the birth­place of the Roset­ta Stone, which was used to trans­late Ancient Egypt­ian into Ancient Greek. It is a beau­ti­ful metrop­o­lis with amaz­ing Islam­ic archi­tec­ture and many won­der­ful sights. You will enjoy wan­der­ing the wind­ing streets and admire the ancient man­sions of Roset­ta with beau­ti­ful rus­tic brick­work.

Al Badari

Al-Badari is locat­ed on the east bank of the Nile Riv­er in Upper Egypt. It is an impor­tant mon­u­ment that is known all over the world thanks to the ancient ceme­ter­ies dis­cov­ered by the British in the 1920s. In the ceme­ter­ies you can see incred­i­ble ancient Egypt­ian sculp­tures and archi­tec­ture. Archae­ol­o­gists find here graves from the peri­od 5500 — 4000 BC. These beau­ti­ful places will give you a real insight into the his­to­ry of Egypt.

Berenice

The ancient city of Berenice is anoth­er pop­u­lar des­ti­na­tion for tourists inter­est­ed in explor­ing the most beau­ti­ful parts of Egypt. Locat­ed on the Red Sea, the city was found­ed as a trad­ing port in 275 BC. and quick­ly became an impor­tant eco­nom­ic cen­ter in the region. One of the most inter­est­ing places to vis­it near Berenice is the Tem­ple of Baby­lon, built by Tra­jan and Tiberius. This large Roman tem­ple is in excel­lent con­di­tion and is one of the most impres­sive in the region. The out­er walls of the tem­ple are dec­o­rat­ed with var­i­ous works of art, includ­ing images of Emper­or Tiberius.

The coast of Berenice has many unspoiled nat­ur­al bays and coves. You can also explore the stun­ning Zabar­gad Island, which was pre­vi­ous­ly mined for a semi-pre­cious stone called olivine. The area has a vari­ety of breath­tak­ing views and plen­ty of marine life. Berenice is also a great place to go snorkelling, div­ing or just relax­ing on one of Egyp­t’s many beach­es.

Marsa Alam

Marsa Alam is anoth­er great resort town in Egypt. Locat­ed on the Red Sea, the resort is famous for its pris­tine beach­es and numer­ous coral reefs. Abu Dabab Bay is one of the most pop­u­lar des­ti­na­tions for vis­i­tors to the city. The U‑shaped nat­ur­al bay with crys­tal clear water is famous for a vari­ety of wildlife includ­ing tur­tles, dugongs and dol­phins. The Wadi el-Gemal Nation­al Park lies south of the city. This is a large park with a var­ied land­scape that includes islands, desert, water­falls and coral reefs. You can spend many days explor­ing this place and mar­vel at its spec­tac­u­lar beau­ty. If you liked the sights of Egypt from this list, then why not take a trip right now?