Egypt

Egypt’s ancient monuments are among the most extraordinary achievements in human history. The Great Pyramid of Giza, the only surviving Wonder of the Ancient World, rises from the desert plateau west of Cairo with an imposing grandeur that no photograph can fully prepare you for. The adjacent Sphinx, Khafre’s Pyramid and the Solar Boat Museum complete a complex that is unmissable. Cairo itself is a city of teeming life — the Khan el-Khalili bazaar, the Islamic quarter and the Egyptian Museum — soon to be superseded by the spectacular Grand Egyptian Museum at Giza — are all essential.

The Nile Valley is Egypt’s ancient heart. A Nile cruise between Luxor and Aswan — typically four to seven nights — is one of the world’s classic travel experiences: drifting past riverside temples and palm-fringed villages as the timeless landscape of the pharaohs unfolds. Luxor’s East Bank holds the colossal Karnak Temple and Luxor Temple; the West Bank the Valley of the Kings, where Tutankhamun’s tomb was discovered in 1922, and the magnificently preserved mortuary temples of Hatshepsut and Ramesses III.

Aswan in the far south is a gentler, more tranquil city — home to the Philae Temple on a Nile island and the gateway to Abu Simbel, Ramesses II’s breathtaking rock-cut temples relocated in the 1960s to save them from rising waters. A short flight south, they remain one of Egypt’s most staggering sights.

For those who want sun and sea alongside culture, the Red Sea resorts of Hurghada and Sharm el-Sheikh offer excellent diving and snorkelling on world-class coral reefs, reliable sunshine and very accessible prices. Egypt is best visited October to April when temperatures are comfortable.