The New Egyptian Museum of Cairo
After a long wait, the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) finally opened to the public on November 1, 2025 and is now fully open for visitors.
Located in Giza, near Cairo, less than two kilometres from the famous Pyramids, it is currently the largest Egyptian museum in the world and one of the largest archaeological museums ever dedicated to a single civilisation. It houses over 100,000 artefacts from ancient Egypt — including, for the first time in history, the complete treasure of Tutankhamun.
Below you will find a brief history and description of the museum, along with all the practical information you need to plan your visit: address, opening hours, ticket prices, guided tours, and more.
History and Description of GEM
The GEM – Grand Egyptian Museum (also known as the Giza Museum or the New Great Egyptian Museum of Cairo) houses over 100,000 artifacts and covers a massive surface area of 500,000 square meters.
It is located just outside Cairo, less than two kilometers from the famous Pyramids of Giza—one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. The museum was designed with the intention of offering stunning views of the pyramids.
The Grand Egyptian Museum was designed by a team led by Heneghan Peng Architects (HPARC), an architecture firm based in Dublin and Berlin. HPARC won an international design competition held by the Egyptian government in 2002.
Construction began in 2006 and was entrusted to BESIX, a large Franco-Belgian construction group. The project also received support from the Irish government and financial backing from Japan.
The museum features a modern architectural style and incorporates cutting-edge technologies to enhance the visitor experience. The building’s design was created to be harmonious with its surroundings, especially with the nearby Pyramids of Giza.
The museum showcases an extraordinary collection of over 100,000 artefacts, spanning from prehistory to the Roman period.
Notable highlights include:
- The colossal statue of Ramses II, moved from Ramses Square in Cairo to the museum’s Grand Atrium.
- The statue stands 12 meters tall and weighs 83 tons.
- It was created 3,200 years ago and discovered in 1820 by Genoese explorer and Egyptologist Giovanni Battista Caviglia in the Great Temple of Ptah, near Memphis, the capital of Ancient Egypt.
- The statues of Ptolemy II and Arsinoe II, also placed in the museum’s foyer.
- The stone sarcophagus of Thutmose I, placed at the top of the grand staircase leading to the museum’s twelve exhibition galleries. Originally created for Queen Hatshepsut (his daughter), it was later reshaped and adapted to hold the remains of her father, the great warrior king Thutmose I.
- The entire treasure of Tutankhamun, including the golden funerary objects from the famous tomb of the boy pharaoh (1341–1323 BCE), discovered by British archaeologist Howard Carter in 1922.
- The treasure consists of over 5,500 artifacts, now curated by Atelier Brückner, and displayed together for the first time in a dedicated 7,000 sqm gallery.
- The obelisk
- Thousands of other artifacts from the Egyptian Museum of Cairo and other museums and archaeological sites across Egypt.
The Road to Opening
The GEM opened gradually, in several phases over a number of years. A pre-opening phase began in 2023, during which the Grand Hall, the Obelisk Plaza, the Children’s Museum, and the garden, restaurant, and shopping areas were made available for preview visits as part of group guided tours. In October 2024, a partial opening of 12 galleries took place, though not yet including the two halls dedicated to the treasure of Tutankhamun.
The full opening of the museum, initially scheduled for July 3, 2025, was postponed by the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities due to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. The date was definitively set for November 1, 2025, with the museum opening to the general public from November 4.
Video
Here is a 5-minute video with a description of the Grand Egyptian Museum:
Address and Map
Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) – X4VF+V38, Cairo – Alexandria Desert Rd, Kafr Nassar, Al Haram, Giza Governorate 3513204, Egypt
How to Get There
There are several ways to reach the Grand Egyptian Museum, depending on your location and mode of transport:
- By car: The museum is located on the Cairo-Alexandria Desert Road, about 20 km (12 miles) from downtown Cairo. You can take a taxi or rent a car.
- By bus: Public buses are available from Cairo’s bus station to Giza, from where you can take a taxi or walk.
- By metro: You can take the metro to the final stop (Helwan) and then get a taxi to the museum.
- By tour: Many tour companies offer day trips to Giza that now include a visit to the GEM. Guided tours can be booked online — see the Guided Tours section below.
Contacts
Grand Egyptian Museum
Phone: +20 2 353 173 44
Email: tourism_info@easwaaqmisr.com
Opening Hours
Below are the opening hours for the GEM complex and its galleries.
Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Thursday & Friday
- Complex: 8:30 am – 7:00 pm
- Galleries: 9:00 am – 6:00 pm
Wednesday & Saturday
- Complex: 8:30 am – 10:00 pm
- Galleries: 9:00 am – 9:00 pm
The museum is open every day, with no fixed weekly closing days. During Ramadan, hours may be subject to change: we recommend checking the official GEM website for any updates.
Last entry is one hour before gallery closing time.
The recommended visit duration is 3–4 hours; if you plan to explore the Tutankhamun galleries in depth, allow at least 4–5 hours.
Last update: 2 September 2026
Ticket Prices
The ticket prices listed below have been sourced from the official GEM website. As tariffs in EGP are subject to periodic updates, we recommend checking the current prices on gem.eg before your visit.
EGYPTIANS
- Adults (21+ years): EGP 200
- Children (4–12 years): EGP 100
- Students (13–21 years): EGP 100
- Seniors (60+ years): EGP 100
ARABS AND OTHER NATIONALITIES
- Adults (21+ years): EGP 1,500
- Children (4–12 years): EGP 750
- Students (13–21 years): EGP 750
EXPATRIATES
- Adults (21+ years): EGP 750
- Children (4–12 years): EGP 380
- Students (13–21 years): EGP 380
Free admission: children aged 0–4; Egyptian citizens with special needs plus one companion; Egyptian tour guides (excluding weekends and public holidays); Egyptian military veterans (excluding weekends and holidays); first-degree relatives of Egyptian martyrs (excluding weekends and holidays); ICOM members.
Note – Foreign spouses of Egyptian citizens and their children may purchase tickets at the same rate as Egyptian citizens.
For group and travel agency bookings: legacy.booking@hassanallam.com
For school bookings: learning@gem.eg
On-site parking is available for a fee.
Food and drinks are not permitted outside the museum.
Personal, non-professional and non-commercial photography with mobile phones is allowed.
Professional recording equipment, cameras with detachable lenses, camera lighting, tripods and drones are prohibited.
All passes are non-transferable and non-refundable.
Other Visitor Info
- Parking is available on-site for a fee
- Food and drinks are not allowed outside the museum
- Personal, non-professional photography with mobile phones is allowed
- Professional equipment, detachable-lens cameras, camera lighting, tripods, and drones are prohibited
- All passes are non-transferable and non-refundable
Tickets
Entrance tickets to the Grand Egyptian Museum can be purchased online via this handy availability calendar on Tiqets, a platform offering tickets and guided tours worldwide:
Also available on Tiqets are a GEM admission ticket that includes transportation (with an optional guided tour) and a combined GEM + Pyramids ticket that includes transportation in an air-conditioned vehicle to and from the hotel, lunch, and a guided tour:
Guided Tours
Several guided tours and excursions are available for online booking via GetYouGuide:
• Free cancellation – with full refund – up to 24 hours before your selected entry time
Guidebooks
This is the official photographic book dedicated to the Tutankhamun Galleries of the Grand Egyptian Museum, published in 2026 to mark the museum’s opening, and available online on Amazon:
Tutankhamun
by Zahi Hawass and Sandro Vannini (photographer)
Publisher: Laboratoriorosso (2026)
352 pages
The volume follows the exhibition’s narrative through high-quality imagery, documenting both the pharaoh’s artefacts and the museum complex’s layout. A collector’s edition designed for enthusiasts of Egyptology, ancient history, art, and photography.
Here we suggest another two books about the Grand Egyptian Museum, both in English and available online on Amazon:
The Grand Museum of Egypt.
International Architecture Competition
by Camille Mansour
Publisher: The American University in Cairo Press (2003)
646 pages
2 volumes
The Grand Egyptian Museum.
The most important event in 2025
by Shady Mostafa
Publisher: Shady Mostafa (2025)
eBook
Hotels near the GEM
» Discover the best hotels located near the GEM and the Giza Necropolis on Booking.com. Some of them also have a beautiful view of the museum and/or the Pyramids.
A hotel with a view of the GEM is the GEM View Inn.
There are many hotels with views of the Pyramids: we offer you this list, with all establishments rated 9 or above and located less than 1 km from the Giza Necropolis.
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Top photo: Exterior view of the Grand Egyptian Museum in Giza (rendering).
Original title: “Grand Egyptian Museum built recently in Cairo”.
By AshyCatInc. via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)