The Grand Egyptian Museum, which no one calls anything but "GEM", is a newly built monumental archaeological museum of Egyptian civilization and one of the largest of its kind in the world.

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The museum fully opened to the public on November 1, 2025. All the exhibits from the existing Egyptian Museum, located in the center in Tahrir Square, were moved to the new museum.

With 81,000 square metres of exhibition space , the GEM is the largest museum in the world by area. It is housed in a monumental new building about 2 km north of the Giza metropolis.

My tips and recommendations:

• 🕙 Allow at least 2 hours to visit the museum, but more likely 3-4 hours.
  • Add to that more than 1 hour from/to the centre of Cairo
• 🎫 It is not necessary to buy a ticket online, you can only pay on the spot with a credit card
• 🚕 I recommend using Uber to get to the museum
• Free luggage storage is available on site

Museum collections and what to see at GEM

The museum covers the complete archaeological history of ancient Egyptian civilizations and boasts over 100,000 objects, of which over 20,000 are on permanent public display.

Unlike the old Egyptian Museum, a large section is dedicated to modern technology and virtual reality, through which you can visit the ancient Egyptian civilizations in person.

The Great Hall

You enter the GEM through the main entrance, in front of which stands the obelisk of Pharaoh Ramesses II.

Inside, you'll find yourself in a huge space dominated by the 11-metre-tall statue of Pharaoh Ramesses II, one of the most famous artefacts in the entire museum.

The grand entrance hall divides the museum into an exhibition area (left) and a section with shops, cafes and restaurants (right).

Khufu Boats Museum

From the Great Hall, I recommend heading straight to the smaller building opposite, where two exact replicas of King Khufu's wooden ships are on display.

This section is relatively small and you can only see the ships from the outside - you cannot enter them.

I only spent about 20 minutes in the Khufu Boats Museum, and the visit is included in the basic admission to GEM.

The grand staircase and the view of the pyramids

After the Khufu Museum, I went back to the main building and climbed the Grand Staircase, which is lined mainly with various statues, to the top floor.

There are also escalators and a wheelchair lift along the staircase.

At the top is a spectacular view of the Pyramids of Giza.

The main gallery

A total of 12 main galleries occupy the largest part, displaying most of the artifacts from small statues to large fragments of temples.

It took me about an hour and a half to visit this section, and I'm not usually a museum buff. I liked it here, though.

Tutankhamun galleries

But the biggest attraction of the Great Egyptian Museum is undoubtedly the artifacts of one of the most famous pharaohs, Tutankhamun, who ruled from approximately 1333-1323 BC.

Here you will discover several golden coffins from the Tutankhamun period.

A part of his personal life is very interesting, where furniture or even the chariots on which the pharaoh rode are on display.

The absolute highlight of the exhibitions is the golden mask of Tutankhamun.

You'll have to stand in line to get a close-up photo of it, but it usually passes quickly and I didn't wait more than 10 minutes.

Shops and restaurants

Roughly a third of the entire museum building is dedicated to restaurants, cafes and cake shops. You'll also find well-known chains like Starbucks. Prices here are much higher than in central Cairo, but still lower than in Europe.

In the shops you can buy quite nice souvenirs and also especially jewellery.

Practical information - luggage lockers, drinking water...

Very practical is the luggage room in front of the main entrance, where you can leave even bulky suitcases.

I used this locker on the way from Sphinx SPX airport to the center of Cairo - the GEM museum is located exactly halfway and I did not have to stop with my suitcase at the hotel first.

Luggage storage is free, you just have to fill in your phone number and name and go through the security frame.

There are plenty of free clean toilets throughout the museum, plus there is always drinking water. You can even conveniently fill your own bottle from the fountain.

Entrance fees and opening hours

The museum is open every day from 9:00-18:00. The last entry is possible at 17:00.

On Wednesdays and Saturdays it is open until 21:00 (last entry at 20:00).

Official museum website: gem.eg/visit.

Ticket prices for international visitors are as follows:

• 1 450 egp - Adults
• 730 egp - students with ISIC card (13-25 years old) and children 6-12 years old

Is it necessary to buy tickets online?

You can only buy tickets online through the official website visit-gem.com. However, this has its advantages and disadvantages.

The online ticket is bought for a precise time, which can be a problem to estimate in Cairo traffic - it can take up to 2 times longer to get there from the centre than originally planned.

• 👉 find out our experience with transport around Cairo

Additionally, the amount of tickets purchased online for a given time is limited.

On the other hand, you won't spend any more time on site in the queue at the ticket office.

Especially in the morning between 9:00 and 11:00, the queues can be as long as 30 minutes.

However, there is no limit to the number of visitors when you buy on site, so you can always get inside the museum. Tickets can only be paid for with a credit card!

Tickets are only ever purchased at the official ticket offices inside the GEM grounds, which can be accessed by going through security.

How to get to the museum?

The GEM is located in the eastern suburbs of Giza about 25 km from downtown Cairo, 30 km from Sphinx SPX Airport and 40 km from Cairo CAI Airport.

Taxi and Uber

By far the easiest and quickest way to get there is by taxi.

However, we strongly recommend using the services of Uber, which operates without problems here and therefore without inflating prices. This is why it is also advantageous to have a local data SIM card in Cairo, which you can arrange online from the comfort of your home, for example via airalo.com.

The normal Uber price from central Tahrir Square is between 180 egp and 250 egp depending on peak times.

Taxis can be negotiated by really clever travellers for similar prices, but you're much more likely to get a ride for between 250 egp and 400 egp.

The taxi and Uber stand is on the main road outside the complex.

By metro

Directly in front of the museum will be a station on the newly built Purple Line 4 metro, which will run through the Giza pyramids towards the centre.

At the "Giza" station there will be a transfer to the red line 2 and at the "El Malek El Saleh" station there will be a transfer to the blue line 1.

Line 4 is expected to open in the second half of 2027.

• 🚇 find out full information about fares and routes in the Cairo Metro chapter

By bus

You can't get anywhere near the museum by regular bus at the moment. The nearest stop from the entrance is about 1.5 km south, where bus number 2002 leaves from Giza Metro Station or directly from downtown Cairo.

By minibus

There are also a considerable number of unmarked minibuses running along Al-Haram Street from the Giza Metro towards the museum. The price is around 10 egp per ride. You just need to consistently make sure that the van is going directly to the museum, or in the direction of the centre that it is indeed going to the metro.

This mode of transport is only suitable for adventurers and those who are not in too much of a hurry. The minibus drivers don't speak any English and it can be difficult to even tell if the minibus is passing the museum.

Accommodation at GEM

If the museum or the nearby pyramid complex is your only destination in Cairo, we recommend staying at a nearby hotel to minimize travel time.

• Cairo Pyramids Hotel ***** - In general, a good quality hotel with good prices from 100 usd, but in reality it deserves more 3 to 4 stars
• Steigenberger Pyramids Hotel ***** - quality without compromise, moreover at more than decent prices from 200 usd

For more tips on hotels elsewhere in the city, check out the Accommodation in Cairo section.

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