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.

The museum opened to the public in full in 2023. 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 new modern building about 2 km north of the Giza metropolis.

The museum's collections and what to see at the GEM

The museum covers the complete archaeological history of ancient Egyptian civilizations and boasts over 50,000 objects, of which over 18,000 are on permanent public display.

Compared to the old Egyptian Museum, almost a third of the space is dedicated to modern technology and virtual reality, through which you can visit the ancient Egyptian civilisations in person.

The biggest draw of the Great Egyptian Museum is the complete replica of Tutankhamun's tomb.

Entrance fees and opening hours

The museum is open every day from 9:00-17:00.

Ticket prices are as follows:

1 200 egp - Adults
750 egp - students with ISIC card

Tickets can be paid for on the spot by credit card only or online at the official website of the Ministry of Tourism: egymonuments.com/gem.

Official website of the new museum: visit-gem.com.

How to get to the museum?

The GEM is located in the eastern suburbs of Giza, about 25 km from downtown Cairo.

Taxi

By far the easiest and quickest way is by taxi. However, we strongly recommend using the services of Uber, which operates here without any problems and therefore without inflating prices. It is therefore 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 140 egp and 160 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 200 egp and 300 egp.

By bus

You can't get anywhere near the museum by conventional bus at the moment. The nearest stop from the entrance is about 1.5km south, where bus number 2002 runs from Giza metro station or directly from central 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 8 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.

Accommodation at GEM

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

Cairo Pyramids Hotel ***** - A good quality hotel with good prices from 73 eur/night, but in real life it deserves more 3 to 4*
Steigenberger Pyramids Hotel ***** - quality without compromise, moreover at more than decent prices from 110 eur/night

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