Luxor

Luxor has long been called the world’s greatest open-air museum, and it is easy to see why. Temples, statues and tombs here span more than 3,000 years of ancient Egyptian rule, concentrated within a few kilometres of the Nile’s east bank. The town itself is unhurried, with a handful of genuinely good hotels, and most travellers stay a night or two before rejoining their cruise. Give it that time and Luxor stops feeling like a stopover.