The Grand Egyptian Museum: tickets, Tutankhamun and how to plan your visit

The Grand Egyptian Museum, usually shortened to GEM, is the new national museum of ancient Egypt. It stands on the desert edge of Giza, about 2 km from the pyramids, and it is now the place to see the complete Tutankhamun collection. This guide covers what the museum holds, how tickets and timed entry work, how long to allow, how to get there from different parts of Cairo and whether you still need the old Egyptian Museum in Tahrir.

Ticket prices at the GEM are set in line with the US dollar and have been adjusted several times since opening. Treat the figures here as a snapshot and check the official ticketing site before you book.

The short answer

• It is fully open. Twelve main galleries opened to visitors in October 2024; the Tutankhamun galleries and the Khufu boat museum followed, and the whole museum opened to the public on 4 November 2025.
• Book online, in advance, on the official site only. Tickets are for a date and a time slot; on-site sales have been suspended.
• Allow at least three to four hours. Half of that can go on Tutankhamun alone.
• Combine it with the pyramids on the same day if you start early, or give each its own morning if you can. See visiting the Pyramids of Giza.

What the museum is

The GEM was built over two decades to replace the crowded 1902 museum in Tahrir as the main home of Egypt's antiquities. The building is a long, angled structure of stone and glass aligned with the pyramids, and several of its terraces look straight at them.

The main spaces, in the order most people see them:

• The Grand Hall. The entrance atrium is dominated by the colossal granite statue of Ramesses II, about 11 metres tall and more than 80 tonnes, which stood for decades in front of Cairo's main railway station.
• The Grand Staircase. A wide flight of steps rises six storeys and is lined with around 60 statues, sarcophagi and architectural pieces, arranged roughly by period. It works as an introduction to the history of the pharaohs and ends at a window framing the pyramids.
• The main galleries. Twelve themed galleries cover Egyptian history from prehistory to the Graeco-Roman period, organised around society, kingship and belief.
• The Tutankhamun galleries. For the first time since Howard Carter found the tomb in 1922, the full contents are shown together: more than 5,000 objects, including the gold funerary mask, the coffins, chariots, jewellery, beds, chests and the small personal items of the young king.
• The Khufu boats museum. The cedarwood boat buried next to the Great Pyramid about 4,600 years ago, more than 40 metres long, now has its own hall, with work on the second boat visible in progress.

There is also a children's museum, with a separate ticket, plus shops, cafés and gardens around the building.

Tickets and timed entry

Some points to understand before you buy:

• Prices follow the dollar. Egyptian press reported in April 2026 that GEM prices for foreign visitors are updated with the exchange rate, and that the board approved an increase of USD 5 for foreign visitors from 1 November 2026. Expect the price on the booking site to be slightly higher than the table from November.
• Book on the official site. In April 2026 the ticketing platform moved to tickets.gem.eg, and the older visit-gem.com address redirects there. The move was made partly because of fake ticketing sites; avoid resellers and links from social media.
• Your time slot is an entry time, not a limit. The official site says the slot does not limit how long you stay inside. Tickets are valid only for the date and slot chosen, are non-refundable and allow a single entry: once you leave, you cannot go back in.
• What the ticket covers. The standard ticket includes the Tutankhamun galleries, the main galleries, the Grand Hall, the Grand Staircase, the Khufu boats museum, the commercial area and the gardens (as of October 2026).
• Daily cap. Lonely Planet reports an official limit of 20,000 visitors a day; on busy days the morning slots sell out first.

Opening hours

As of October 2026, according to the official ticketing site:

Last entry is one hour before the galleries close. Hours are shorter during Ramadan. The two late evenings are a good option in summer, when the middle of the day is hot, and for a quieter visit after the morning tour groups have gone.

How long to spend and how to plan the visit

The museum is very large. A realistic plan:

• Two and a half to three hours for a focused visit: the Grand Hall, the staircase, the Tutankhamun galleries and a quick look at the Khufu boat.
• Four hours or more if you also want the main galleries at a reasonable pace, with a break for lunch.
• A full day, or two visits, only if ancient Egypt is your main interest.

Tour groups tend to fill the Tutankhamun galleries from late morning. If Tutankhamun is your priority, take an early slot and go there first, then come back to the staircase and the other galleries. Large bags have to be left at the entrance, and tripods, selfie sticks, drones and flash photography are not allowed.

Getting there

The GEM is on the Cairo–Alexandria desert road at Remaya Square, on the north-western side of the Giza plateau, around 20–25 km from Downtown. There is no metro station yet; one is planned as part of Cairo Metro line 4.

• From Downtown or Garden City: a ride-hailing car (Uber, Careem, inDrive) or taxi is the simplest way. Allow 30–45 minutes, and more at rush hour. Lonely Planet's author took the metro to Cairo University and an Uber from there for about EGP 120 (as of 2025), but the direct car is easier.
• From Zamalek: a similar journey across the Nile and through Mohandessin; allow 30–60 minutes depending on traffic. Avoid the evening rush between about 15:00 and 19:00 if you can.
• From the Pyramids area: about 10 minutes by car. The museum and the plateau's visitor centre are on different sides of the site, so you still need a car between them; do not count on walking.
• Getting back: pick-ups outside the museum can be slow, and mobile data can be patchy. Taxis that have just dropped someone off are an option, and Lonely Planet mentions a museum car service from near the ticket office.

Our where to stay in Cairo page explains the trade-offs between the Pyramids area, Downtown and Zamalek. For a short stay, staying near Giza, for example at the Marriott Mena House or the Steigenberger Pyramids, puts both the museum and the plateau within a short drive.

Combining the GEM with the pyramids

The two are close enough for one long day, and many tours sell them together. The order that works best for most people:

1. Arrive at the pyramids' visitor centre at opening time (around 07:00) and spend about three hours on the plateau while it is cool.
2. Have an early lunch, then take a car to the GEM for a late-morning or early-afternoon slot.
3. Spend three hours in the museum, finishing with the view of the pyramids from the upper terraces.

It is a lot for one day, especially in summer. If you have the time, split it: the plateau one morning and the museum the next, or the museum on a Wednesday or Saturday evening. Cairo in 3 days shows both versions.

The GEM or the old Egyptian Museum in Tahrir

The pink building on Tahrir Square has not closed. It still holds a huge collection, and it is cheaper: EGP 550 for foreign adults and EGP 275 for students, open 09:00–17:00 with the ticket office closing at 16:00 (as of October 2026).

What changed is that Tutankhamun has left. What remains includes the Narmer Palette, the life-size seated statue of Djoser, the colossal group of Amenhotep III and Queen Tiye, the royal treasures of Tanis with the gold mask of Psusennes I, and the burial goods of Yuya and Tjuyu.

• If you have one museum slot, choose the GEM.
• If you have a full day in central Cairo, the Tahrir museum is easy to combine with Downtown and Islamic Cairo; see Islamic Cairo. Its old display cases and crowded rooms are part of its character.

Before you go

• Book a few days ahead in high season (October to April) and for weekends; Fridays and Saturdays are busy with local visitors.
• Bring your passport; student and child tickets need valid ID.
• Keep your ticket on your phone and screenshot it, as data can be weak outside.
• Check the official site the week you travel: prices and hours change.