أسوان

Aswan is Egypt at its gentlest and most beautiful — a smaller, calmer Nile city where the river braids around granite boulders and palm-covered islands, and the light softens as you move south toward Nubia.

Sail by felucca to Elephantine Island and the Botanical Garden, cross by boat to the island Temple of Isis at Philae, wander the colourful Nubian villages, and duck into the superb Nubian Museum. Aswan is also the launch point for Abu Simbel, Ramses II's colossal rock temples on Lake Nasser.

Many travellers find Aswan the most relaxing stop of a Nile trip — an easy place to slow down for a couple of days before or after Luxor.