Cairo Museum Guide

Opened 2024

The Grand Egyptian Museum

The Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM), situated at the foot of the Giza Plateau and visible from the Pyramids, is the largest archaeological museum in the world by floor area — approximately 480,000 square metres of total site, with 45,000 square metres of exhibition galleries. Construction began in 2002 and proceeded in phased openings; the final galleries, including the complete Tutankhamun collection across three dedicated floors, opened to the public in November 2024.

The museum's holdings include some 100,300 objects drawn from the Egyptian Museum's reserves, Luxor Museum loans, and previously unstudied excavation material from storerooms across Egypt. Many of these objects have never been publicly displayed before. The curatorial approach emphasises thematic organisation — visitors move through galleries arranged by period and theme rather than a simple chronological march through dynasties, which makes repeat visits yield different emphases.

The centrepiece is the Tutankhamun collection. For the first time in history, all 5,398 objects recovered from KV62 by Howard Carter between 1922 and 1932 are displayed together in a single museum. The golden death mask, the four guardian statues that stood at the corners of his gilded shrine, the ritual couches, the canopic chest, and Tutankhamun's two foetal mummies (displayed with full scientific context) are presented across three specially designed galleries on consecutive levels. The route is one-way and takes between two and four hours depending on how carefully you read the interpretive panels.

Beyond the Tutankhamun halls, the GEM's highlights include the Royal Statues Gallery — a corridor 28 metres wide containing 87 colossal royal statues including a 13-metre quartzite colossus of Ramesses II moved from Memphis — and the Children's Museum, an interactive chronological installation designed for ages six to sixteen that is notably rigorous by international museum standards. The photography policy is generous: personal photography without flash is permitted in virtually all galleries. Tripods and professional camera equipment require a separate permit booked through the GEM website.

Ticket pricing for 2026: International adults pay 700 EGP for general admission. The Tutankhamun galleries are included in the standard ticket. An optional IMAX film screening in the museum's dedicated theatre costs an additional 200 EGP and covers the story of the GEM's construction and the Tutankhamun discovery. Timed-entry slots are issued in 90-minute increments beginning at 09:00; the last entry is at 17:00, with the museum closing at 19:00. Tickets sell out routinely during October through April — booking three to five days in advance through the official GEM portal (in Arabic; our guide page includes annotated screenshots) is the reliable approach.

Est. 1902

The Egyptian Antiquities Museum, Tahrir Square

The Egyptian Museum on Tahrir Square — often called the Cairo Museum or the Egyptian Antiquities Museum (EAM) — is the older and in some respects the more atmospheric of Cairo's two major collections. The neoclassical pink building was designed by Marcel Dourgnon and opened in November 1902; it has operated continuously ever since, surviving two world wars, the 1952 revolution, and the 2011 uprising (during which the building was briefly entered by crowds, though no collection damage occurred).

Since the GEM's opening, the EAM has repositioned as a specialist institution rather than a general overview museum. The Tutankhamun headline artefacts have transferred to Giza, but the EAM retains a vast holding that remains essential for serious students of ancient Egypt. The Royal Mummy Room contains 22 royal mummies including Ramesses II (identified definitively by DNA analysis in 2021), Seti I, Thutmose III, Hatshepsut, and Merenptah. Admission to the mummy room requires a separate ticket (500 EGP for international adults), purchased at the ground-floor desk before ascending. Photography inside the mummy room is prohibited; phone storage must be in your bag.

The EAM's ground floor is organised geographically and by material type — papyri, jewellery, Middle Kingdom wooden models, Ptolemaic bronzes, and Coptic transitional material are all represented in depth that the GEM's broader thematic approach does not replicate. The statuary collection on the ground floor, which could not be transferred due to weight and fragility, remains extraordinary — including the pair statues of Rahotep and Nofret, the Menkaure Triads, and the Old Kingdom painted limestone bust known as the Reserve Head from Giza.

Practical details: The EAM opens at 09:00 and closes at 17:00 daily (last entry 16:30). International adult admission is 450 EGP, plus the separate mummy room supplement. The museum does not currently operate an online booking system — tickets are purchased at the door. Queues at the entrance are manageable except on Friday afternoons and Egyptian public holidays. The museum's air conditioning is effective in the ground-floor galleries but less reliable on the upper floors during July and August.