After two decades of construction and several partial openings, the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) opened in full in November 2025. It stands on the desert edge about two kilometres north-west of the Great Pyramid, a vast wedge of stone and glass whose walls are aligned on the three pyramids, and it holds around 100,000 objects — the largest archaeological museum in the world devoted to a single civilisation.
The headline is Tutankhamun. For the first time since Howard Carter opened the tomb in 1922, all of the more than five thousand objects buried with the boy king are displayed together: the gold mask and coffins, the shrines, chariots, thrones, jewellery, even his sandals and walking sticks. But the museum is far more than one tomb — it is the natural companion to a morning on the plateau, and deserves at least half a day.
What to see and do at Grand Egyptian Museum
Meet Ramesses II in the atrium
An eleven-metre, 83-tonne granite statue of Ramesses the Great, which once stood in the traffic outside Cairo’s main railway station, now presides over the entrance hall. The atrium, shops and restaurants can be busy; the galleries beyond are calmer.
Climb the Grand Staircase
A monumental flight of steps lined with some sixty statues of kings and gods, columns and sarcophagi, arranged roughly in chronological order. At the top a wall of glass frames the pyramids of Giza. There is a travelator alongside if you would rather not climb.
See the Tutankhamun Galleries
Two huge halls follow the king’s life, death and rediscovery. Go straight here at opening time or leave them for the last two hours of the day, when the tour groups have thinned. The gold mask has a room to itself.
Walk the twelve main galleries
Arranged by period from prehistory to the Romans and by theme — society, kingship and belief — so you can follow one thread through three thousand years. The Old Kingdom rooms, with objects from Giza itself, are the ones to prioritise after a visit to the plateau.
Visit the Khufu Boats Museum
A separate building in the grounds houses the 43-metre cedar boat buried beside the Great Pyramid around 2500 BC, found dismantled in a sealed pit in 1954 and moved here in 2021, together with a second boat being conserved and reassembled.
How to get to Grand Egyptian Museum
- By taxi or ride-hailing: 10–15 minutes from the Great Gate or from pyramid-view hotels; 40–60 minutes from central Cairo. Set the museum itself as your destination.
- From Sphinx Airport: about 20–30 minutes by car.
- On a tour: many day tours combine the museum with the pyramids, handling both sets of tickets and the transfer between them.
- On foot from the plateau: a pedestrian link has been planned; check whether it is operating before you rely on it.
Insider tips
- Tickets are for a timed entry slot and are sold online through the museum’s official website. Popular slots sell out in high season — book before you travel. You must generally bring your passport.
- A foreign adult ticket cost around EGP 1,450 at the time of writing; prices and categories are revised, so check the official site.
- Typical hours are roughly 09:00 to 18:00, with later closing on some evenings. Galleries close before the building does.
- The museum is enormous. Wear comfortable shoes, plan a coffee stop and do not try to see everything.
- Phone photography without flash is generally allowed; rules for cameras and video may differ in some galleries.
- Pair it with the pyramids as morning (plateau) and afternoon (museum), never the other way round in hot weather.
Best tours & tickets for Grand Egyptian Museum
These top-rated experiences are the easiest way to see Grand Egyptian Museum:
Entry ticket from €26 Cairo: Entry Ticket to Grand Egyptian Museum
A pre-booked ticket for the world’s largest archaeological museum dedicated to a single civilisation. Ideal if you prefer to wander on your own rather than follow a group — allow at least three to four hours.
- Admission to the Grand Egyptian Museum
- Tutankhamun’s treasures and the main galleries
- Explore at your own pace
Guided tour from €86 Cairo: Grand Egyptian Museum, Pyramids, Sphinx Tour & Lunch
Egypt’s two greatest sights in a single, well-organised day. Tour the plateau and the Sphinx with a guide, break for lunch, then explore the Grand Egyptian Museum’s statues and the Tutankhamun galleries. A long day, but the best use of one.
- Guided visit to the Grand Egyptian Museum
- Pyramids of Giza, the Sphinx and Khafre’s Valley Temple
- Lunch and hotel transfers included
Guided tour from €54 Cairo: Female-Guided Pyramids, Sphinx & Museum City Tour
A full day at the pyramids and a museum with a woman guide — a thoughtful option for solo women travellers, and just as popular with couples and families for the quality of its guides.
- Led by a female Egyptologist guide
- Pyramids, the Sphinx and the Valley Temple
- Museum visit and Cairo highlights
