Essential Egypt with a Nile Cruise

Day 1: Arrival in Cairo Flight to Cairo, capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world. - Welcome at the airport by our representative and transfer to the hotel, a few minutes from the pyramids of Giza. - Check-in and free time to rest from the journey. Dinner at leisure. Overnight in Cairo.

Day 2: Cairo - Giza - Islamic Cairo A day devoted to the two faces of Cairo: the Egypt of the pharaohs and the city of a thousand minarets. - The Giza Plateau and the pyramids of Khufu, Khafre and Menkaure, built more than 4,500 years ago: the Pyramid of Khufu is the only one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World still standing. - The Sphinx, guardian of the plateau, carved from limestone at the foot of the Pyramid of Khafre. - Lunch at a local restaurant. - Islamic Cairo: the Citadel of Saladin, fortified by Salah ad-Din from 1176, where the Mosque of Mohammed Ali stands with its slender minarets. - A stroll through the Khan El Khalili souk, Cairo's great bazaar since the late 14th century: spices, lanterns, copper and handicrafts. - Return to the hotel. Dinner at leisure. Overnight in Cairo.

Day 3: Cairo - free time A free day in Cairo, to be organised as you wish before departing on the cruise. - The Grand Egyptian Museum, near the pyramids, featuring among other things the treasure of Tutankhamun. - The National Museum of Egyptian Civilization and its hall of royal mummies of the great pharaohs. - The Khan El Khalili souk and the historic cafés of the old city, for lunch or tea. - Or simply rest at the hotel. Dinner at leisure. Overnight in Cairo.

Day 4: Cairo - Luxor Flight to Luxor, ancient Thebes, capital of Egypt during the New Kingdom. - After breakfast, transfer to the airport and flight to Luxor. - Upon arrival, embarkation on your cruise boat. Lunch on board. - In the afternoon, the Temple of Karnak, dedicated to the god Amun: begun during the Middle Kingdom and enlarged for nearly two thousand years, it is one of the largest religious complexes of the ancient world, famous for its hypostyle hall of 134 columns. - The Temple of Luxor, whose oldest parts date back to Amenhotep III and Ramesses II; an avenue of sphinxes stretching approximately 3 km once linked it to Karnak. - Return to the boat. Dinner and overnight on board.

Day 5: Luxor - West Bank Morning on the West Bank of the Nile, the bank of the Theban tombs. - The Valley of the Kings: during the New Kingdom, pharaohs abandoned pyramids in favour of tombs carved into the Theban mountain. The most famous is that of Tutankhamun, discovered intact in 1922 (entrance fee extra, to be budgeted for). - The funerary temple of Hatshepsut at Deir el-Bahari, set against the cliffs: daughter of Thutmose I, Hatshepsut is one of the rare women to have reigned as pharaoh. - A stop in front of the Colossi of Memnon, two giant statues of Amenhotep III. - Return to the boat, lunch on board and free time; afternoon tea during the sailing. Dinner and overnight on board.

Day 6: Edfu - Kom Ombo A day of sailing southward, punctuated by two temples from the Ptolemaic era. - The Temple of Horus at Edfu, one of the best-preserved sanctuaries in the Nile Valley and the second largest temple in Egypt after Karnak, completed in 57 BC. - Lunch on board and sailing towards Kom Ombo, off the sandstone quarries of Gebel el-Silsila, from which the stones of many temples were extracted. - In the afternoon, the Temple of Kom Ombo, dedicated to Sobek (the crocodile god) and Haroeris (Horus the Elder), rising on a promontory above a bend in the Nile. Dinner and overnight on board.

Day 7: Aswan A day in Aswan, gateway to Nubia. - The Aswan High Dam, built from 1960 to 1970: it holds back Lake Nasser, protects the valley from Nile floods, enables year-round irrigation and generates electricity. - The Temple of Philae, dedicated to Isis: threatened by rising waters, it was dismantled block by block in the 1970s under the auspices of UNESCO and rebuilt on the neighbouring island of Agilkia. - Return to the boat, lunch on board and free time. - In the afternoon, souvenirs at the Aswan market or a visit to a Nubian village. Dinner and overnight on board.

Day 8: Aswan - return flight End of the cruise. - Transfer to the airport very early in the morning for the return flight.