By late afternoon the heat has gone out of the air, feluccas are working their way along the Nile, and the temple columns on the east bank are lit against the dark. Along the corniche, restaurant terraces fill up and the Stella signs start to glow.
Luxor's nightlife is quiet and low-key rather than a club city. It revolves around eating, drinking at hotel and restaurant terraces, and evening walks along the river; the sources describe most local pubs as hard-drinking places where lone foreigners, and especially lone women, may feel uncomfortable. It suits travellers who want a relaxed evening after a day of tombs and temples, and who are content with a beer or a glass of wine rather than a late night out.
Where to go out in Luxor
1. Restaurant terraces opposite Luxor Temple
Two open-air restaurants stand opposite the temple, about 200 m south of the main entrance. They serve Stella lager and other local beer and wine, and are easy to spot from the large Stella signs outside.
This is a straightforward choice for an evening meal with a drink in view of the temple. As of September 2011 the sources give a price of LE14 including tax for a Stella lager; treat that as an old figure rather than a current one.
2. Hotel bars and restaurants
Luxor's large hotels and resorts are where much of the city's eating and drinking is concentrated. If you cannot find somewhere convenient serving alcohol, the sources suggest asking your hotel staff for directions.
This suits anyone who wants a predictable, comfortable evening without hunting for a venue. Note that "cafeteria" can be a euphemism for a pub in Egypt, and that pubs can be hard to find if you do not know exactly where to go.
3. Local pubs
Luxor has local pubs, but the sources describe most of them as testosterone-filled, hard-drinking places where lone foreigners and particularly lone women may feel uncomfortable.
If you go, it is worth going as a pair or a group rather than alone. The same sources note a social stigma attached to public drunkenness, which Egyptians sometimes overlook in foreigners but which can still give a bad impression.
4. The duty-free shop near the north end of Luxor Temple
A duty-free shop sits close to the north end of the temple, slightly to the right across the busy junction, with plastic see-through shutters and a guard outside. It sells spirits and beer at reduced prices, as well as electrical products, and closes at 10PM.
This is a practical stop if you want drinks for your room or hotel terrace. Take your passport and go within two days of arriving in Egypt to buy up to three bottles per person; after those two days, only the Egyptian equivalent is available.
5. The corniche and the riverfront in the evening
An evening felucca ride just before sunset is one of the standard ways to spend the end of the day in Luxor, and the sources give a rough figure of about LE30 per person per hour. The riverfront is also where you can walk after dinner.
This suits a slow, low-alcohol evening. If you want a longer trip, felucca cruises to Aswan run over two days, and cruise ships doing two to three nights between Luxor and Aswan can be booked along the pier before noon.
6. Sunset hot air balloon flights
Balloon flights run in the morning for sunrise and in the evening for sunset. Flights last at least 45 minutes, weather permitting, and the sources warn that sunset tours generally do not include the sunset, depending on wind.
This is an evening-adjacent activity rather than a night out, and it is not a romantic ride for a few people: baskets are often filled with around 21 passengers. Prices given are LE950–1,900, and it is worth asking at your accommodation and at travel offices for the best deal. The sources also flag a poor safety record and advise checking what is included before booking.
How a night out unfolds
The sources do not describe a fixed evening timetable for Luxor. What they do show is that much of the day's activity is built around heat and light: archaeological sites such as the Valley of the Kings are best visited early in the morning, especially in summer, because temperatures become extremely high by midday, and balloon flights and felucca rides are timed to sunrise and sunset. Evenings are therefore when eating, drinking and riverfront time tend to happen, and the duty-free shop near Luxor Temple closes at 10PM. Beyond that, the sources give no reliable picture of how late venues stay open, so plan around your own hotel and the places you find on the ground.
Festivals and events worth timing a trip around
- Armed Forces Day — 6 October, with a day off on 8 October in 2026.
- Coptic Christmas Day — 7 January.
- Revolution Day January 25 — 25 January, with a day off on 28 January in 2027.
- Ramadan — begins around 9 February in 2027, on a tentative date.
- Eid el Fitr — around 10 March in 2027, with holiday days on 11 and 12 March, on tentative dates.
- Sinai Liberation Day — 25 April.
- Coptic Maundy Thursday and Coptic Good Friday — 29 and 30 April in 2027.
Frequently asked questions
Can you drink alcohol in Luxor?
Yes. Many restaurants above the basic street level sell lager and wine, generally made obvious by Stella signs outside or by people drinking inside, and there is a duty-free shop near the north end of Luxor Temple. The sources do not state a legal drinking age.
Is it acceptable to drink in public?
The sources note a social stigma attached to public drunkenness, and state that drinking in the street or in parks, although fairly widely done by locals, is illegal and not recommended for foreigners. Alcohol is generally cheap enough in restaurants that there is little reason to.
Is Luxor's nightlife suitable for a woman on her own?
The sources advise caution: most local pubs are described as hard-drinking places where lone foreigners, and especially lone women, may feel uncomfortable. Restaurant terraces and hotel venues are the more comfortable options.
How do you find a pub in Luxor?
Look for Stella signs outside restaurants, and remember that "cafeteria" can be a euphemism for a pub. Pubs can be hard to find if you do not know exactly where to go, so asking your hotel staff for directions is a reasonable approach.
Decide where you want to eat and whether you want a drink with it, then build the rest of the evening around the river and an early start the next morning.