Egypt Luxor Tours
EN

East BankThings to do · East Bank town

Luxor museums, carriage rides & walks — the town between the temples

The Luxor Museum (400 EGP) and the Mummification Museum (220 EGP) sit on the Corniche between Luxor Temple and Karnak and open again in the evening. Add a calèche ride with a well-kept horse, or walk the souk.

Luxor Museum
400 EGP (about $8)
Mummification
220 EGP (about $4)
Evening sessions
from 5 pm
Carriage city tour
from about $12

Updated October 21, 2026

Statues on display in the Luxor Museum
Statues on display in the Luxor Museum Photo: ولاء, Public domain

The short answer

  1. Best overallPrivate Tour to Luxor Museum & Mummification Museum.5.09 reviewsfrom $58GetYourGuide

    Both museums in one private visit with an Egyptologist and lunch, rated 5.0 so far. Worth it if you want the objects explained rather than just labeled.

  2. Lowest pricePrivate City Tour Past the Souq by Horse Carriage4.822 reviewsfrom $12GetYourGuide

    A guided carriage tour through the souk and past Luxor Temple from about $12, rated 4.8. Check the horse before you climb in.

  3. Short on timeHistoric Corniche Walking Experience with Refreshment4.44 reviewsfrom $13GetYourGuide

    Two hours on foot along the Nile Corniche with a local guide and a drink, from about $13 — an easy first evening.

  4. Skip it ifYou're short on time and have seen Cairo's museums

    Spend the hours at Karnak and Luxor Temple instead; the museums are a bonus, not a must.

Which of Luxor's museums, rides and walks are worth your time?

East Bank Luxor is a small town strung along the Nile, and everything on this page sits on or just off the Corniche between Luxor Temple and Karnak, 2.7 km apart along the Avenue of Sphinxes. The two museums are the best things to do between temple visits, and both reopen at 5 pm, which makes them good evening plans. A calèche ride and a walk through the souk fill the gaps.

Activity Price Time needed Hours Best for
Luxor Museum 400 EGP (about $8) 1.5–2 h 9 am & 5 pm sessions Anyone who has seen the temples
Mummification Museum 220 EGP (about $4) 45 min 9 am & 5 pm sessions Families, the curious
Private tour of both museums from about $58, lunch included 4 h Your choice Getting the objects explained
Calèche city tour from about $12 booked; street fares negotiable 1–2.5 h Any time, best at dusk Seeing the town without walking
Corniche walk with a guide from about $13 2 h Late afternoon A first evening
Souk on your own Free 1 h+ After sunset is coolest Shopping, people-watching

Museum, carriage and walking tours in Luxor

US-dollar prices come from each platform's own feed and were checked on October 21, 2026. Dates and group size change them — the booking page has the final price.

Luxor Museum: tickets, hours and what to see

The Luxor Museum stands on the Corniche roughly halfway between Luxor Temple and Karnak. It opened in 1975 and is small by Cairo standards, but the collection is chosen and lit with care — statues of kings and gods, temple reliefs, and objects from Tutankhamun's tomb.

Two things make it more than a rainy-day stop. A special hall displays statues found buried in the Luxor Temple cache in 1989, some of the finest New Kingdom sculpture in Egypt. And since 2004 the museum has displayed two royal mummies, Ahmose I, founder of the New Kingdom, and Ramesses I.

  • Tickets: 400 EGP for foreign adults, 200 EGP for students (official booking site, checked 21 October 2026).
  • Winter hours: 9:00 am, last entry 1:00 pm; then 5:00 pm, last entry 8:00 pm.
  • Summer hours: 9:00 am, last entry 12:00 pm; then 5:00 pm, last entry 7:00 pm.
  • Payment: card is the safe bet; recent visitors report cash being refused at Luxor museum windows.

Mummification Museum: small, specific and worth 45 minutes

The Mummification Museum is on the Corniche, a short walk north of Luxor Temple. It explains a single subject well: how the body was preserved over roughly 70 days, with the organs removed and stored in canopic jars, the body dried in natron salt and wrapped in linen with protective amulets. The displays include the tools, decorated coffins and animal mummies — cats, fish and crocodiles were embalmed too.

Tickets are 220 EGP for foreign adults and 110 EGP for students. The ministry lists a morning session from 9:00 am (ticket window closes at 1:00 pm) and an evening session from 5:00 pm, with the last evening entry at 7 or 8 pm depending on which official page you read. Children under six enter free, and photography with your own camera is allowed without flash.

If you want both museums explained, the private tour that pairs them with a guide and lunch costs from about $58. Check whether the entrance tickets are included before you compare it with doing it yourself.

Horse-carriage (calèche) rides: fair prices and the horses

Calèches wait along the Corniche and outside the temples, and a slow ride through town at dusk is pleasant. It's also where Luxor's hassle and its welfare problem meet.

On price: there is no official fare. Agree the total price for the whole carriage, the route, the waiting time and the currency before you climb in. The most common dispute is a driver who quotes a low figure and then claims it was per person, or in dollars. A booked guided carriage tour — through the souk, past the Abu Haggag Mosque inside Luxor Temple and along the Corniche — costs from about $12 for two and a half hours and is rated 4.8, which makes a useful benchmark.

Calèches waiting for passengers in Luxor — look at the horse before you agree a fare
Calèches waiting for passengers in Luxor — look at the horse before you agree a fare Photo: Güldem Üstün from Istanbul, TURKEY, CC BY 2.0

On the horses: animal-welfare groups have long criticized conditions for Luxor's carriage horses — thin, exhausted and scarred animals, beatings, and too little shade and water. Many drivers do look after their horses, which are their livelihood. ACE (Animal Care in Egypt), a charity working with Luxor's working animals, asks visitors to choose with care rather than avoid carriages entirely.

Walking the souk

Luxor's old souk takes up several streets just inland from Luxor Temple, shaded by a wooden trellis and mostly closed to traffic. The first stretch is the tourist end — souvenirs, scarves and galabiyas, sold hard. Keep walking and it turns into the market where Luxor residents do their everyday shopping, and the pressure drops noticeably.

Decide what you'd pay before you ask a price, compare three or four shops, and walk away when you're done; you'll often be called back with a better offer. If you'd rather go with a local, the morning tour that pairs Luxor Temple with the souk costs from about $39.

The Corniche on foot

The Corniche el-Nil is the riverside road that links Luxor Temple, the Mummification Museum, the Luxor Museum and, further north, Karnak. It's the town's evening promenade, with felucca captains, ferry landings and views to the West Bank hills. The guided Corniche walk from about $13 adds the stories behind the historic landmarks; on your own, time it so you reach the river for sunset.

Questions travellers ask

How much is the Luxor Museum ticket?

400 EGP for foreign adults and 200 EGP for students, according to the ministry's official booking site (checked 21 October 2026). That's about $8. Tickets are sold at the museum or online on egymonuments.com; bring a card, as cash is increasingly refused at Luxor ticket windows.

What are the Luxor Museum opening hours?

The museum opens in two sessions. In winter the morning session starts at 9:00 am with last entry at 1:00 pm, and the evening session starts at 5:00 pm with last entry at 8:00 pm. In summer the last entries are 12:00 pm and 7:00 pm. Ramadan hours are shorter.

Is the Mummification Museum worth visiting?

Yes, if you have 45 minutes and an interest in how it was done. It's a small collection, but it shows the actual tools, canopic jars and amulets used in the roughly 70-day process, plus animal mummies. At 220 EGP (about $4), and open in the evening, it's easy to add to a Corniche walk.

Is it cruel to ride a horse carriage in Luxor?

It can be. Animal-welfare groups have documented thin, overworked and injured carriage horses in Luxor. Many drivers do look after their animals, and Luxor charity ACE advises choosing carefully rather than boycotting outright — a licensed carriage, a horse in good condition, no whip, no more than three passengers, and never a trip to the West Bank.

How much does a calèche ride cost in Luxor?

There is no official fare. Agree the total for the whole carriage, the route, the time and the currency before you get in, because the classic dispute is a driver claiming the price was per person or in dollars. As a benchmark, a booked two-and-a-half-hour guided carriage tour costs from about $12 per person.

Where is the souk in Luxor?

The old souk occupies several streets just inland from Luxor Temple. It's shaded by a wooden trellis and mostly pedestrian. The first stretch is the tourist end, with hard selling; keep walking and it becomes the market where Luxor residents do their everyday shopping.

Sources and checks

  1. Egymonuments official booking — Luxor Museum (tickets, seasonal hours) — checked 21 Oct 2026
  2. Egymonuments official booking — Mummification Museum (tickets, seasonal hours) — checked 21 Oct 2026
  3. Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities — Mummification Museum (collection, hours, policies) — checked 21 Oct 2026
  4. Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities — Luxor Museum news (Tutankhamun objects, statues) — checked 21 Oct 2026
  5. Wikipedia — Luxor Museum (1975 opening, 1989 Luxor Temple cache, royal mummies added 2004) — checked 21 Oct 2026
  6. Wikivoyage — Luxor/East Bank (museum locations on the Corniche, card-only payment) — checked 21 Oct 2026
  7. Wikivoyage — Luxor (calèches and welfare, old souk, bargaining) — checked 21 Oct 2026
  8. ACE, Animal Care in Egypt — advice for tourists hiring carriages — checked 21 Oct 2026
  9. Mara House Luxor — Transport in Luxor (calèche fares and horse welfare; updated June 2026) — checked 21 Oct 2026
  10. Tabiji — Luxor scam guide, April 2026 (calèche per-person and dollar disputes) — checked 21 Oct 2026
  11. Wikipedia — Mummification Museum (animal mummies on display) — checked 21 Oct 2026
  12. Wikipedia — Abu Haggag Mosque (inside Luxor Temple) — checked 21 Oct 2026
  13. Wikipedia — Avenue of Sphinxes (2.7 km between Luxor Temple and Karnak) — checked 21 Oct 2026
  14. GetYourGuide — Luxor activity feed (prices, ratings, review counts) — checked 21 Oct 2026

Read next