Where Is the Grand Egyptian Museum and How Do You Get There?

The address and the landmark

The Grand Egyptian Museum is a national archaeological museum in Giza, Egypt, dedicated to Egyptian civilization and its culture, society and artifacts. It stands at El Remayah Square on the Cairo-Alexandria Desert Road, right at the edge of the Giza plateau. The site is near the Great Pyramid of Khufu.

The complex is one of the largest museum complexes and covers over 500,000 square metres. It holds some 100,000 artefacts. Both exhibition halls are reached through the Grand Hall, so every visit starts in the same place.

Not to be confused with the old museum

The Grand Egyptian Museum is in Giza while the Egyptian Museum in Cairo is a separate institution in the city centre. They are two different museums with two different collections, about 25 kilometres apart. If your driver heads for Tahrir Square, you are going to the wrong one.

Walking from the pyramids

About 2 kilometres sounds short, but the desert edge offers little shade, so plan the hop by car in the midday heat. A combined tour solves the transfer between the two sites in one booking, such as the Grand Egyptian Museum, Pyramids and Sphinx Tour with Lunch at $97 per person, with entry tickets to both sites and hotel pickup in Cairo or Giza included.

Every way to get there

The museum's own site details only arrival by car, exiting onto the Cairo/Alex Desert Road and entering through Gate 2. Without a car, a tour with hotel pickup is the simplest option, and the Grand Egyptian Museum, Pyramids and Sphinx Tour with Lunch also bundles both entry tickets.

The route step by step

Exit onto the Cairo/Alex Desert Road and follow it to El Remayah Square at the edge of the Giza plateau. Vehicle entry to the complex is through Gate 2. The trip from downtown Cairo is about 25 kilometres, slower at peak traffic.

A taxi or ride-hailing car follows the same road. Tell the driver El Remayah Square and Gate 2 to avoid a detour to the old museum in Tahrir.

Daily schedule

On Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday the complex opens 8:30 AM to 7:00 PM and the galleries 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM. Saturday and Wednesday are late days, with the galleries open until 9:00 PM. No closed day is listed in the official hours, so the museum shows hours for all seven days.

Late days are the quiet bet

Last entry is one hour before the galleries close. On a Saturday or Wednesday you can still go in until 8 PM, after the 5 PM last entry of regular days. The Children's Museum's last ticket is at 4 PM.

How to get tickets

Booking offers an Admission Ticket or a Guided Tour Ticket, which is a group tour with other visitors, not private. You choose date, ticket type, tour language, entry time and quantity. Visitor categories are Egyptian, Arab or Other Nationality, and Expatriate. Discounts and free entry require valid ID.

Children under 6 and visitors with disabilities enter free on every day of the week, with valid ID. Children under six who join a guided tour still pay the guided-tour difference.

If you prefer a set price in dollars, the Grand Egyptian Museum Entry Ticket costs $35 per person, is non-refundable and covers the main galleries, the Tutankhamun galleries and the solar boat museum. The museum's own group guided tour lasts about 2 hours.

Tickets are non-refundable after purchase, whatever the sales channel. The only exception is force majeure as determined by GEM. Tickets are valid only for the date and time booked, allow a single entry and carry the visitor's name.

What you see and the rules inside

The galleries hold the full Tutankhamun collection. Photography is banned in designated areas there, so check the signs before you raise a phone or camera. Elsewhere, personal-use photography is allowed.

Flash photography, tripods, selfie sticks, drones and live streaming are not permitted anywhere. Do not touch artefacts. Bags larger than 40 x 40 cm go to the cloakroom, and no outside food or drink is allowed.

A separate immersive show called Eternal Sun runs after closing hours. Its tickets do not include gallery admission, under-6s cannot attend and under-15s need an adult.

The four official options

The group guided tour lasts about 2 hours and is the same format as the Guided Tour Ticket sold at booking. The private tour covers the GEM only, is booked by email and has no published price. The sunrise tour runs daily from 6:30 to 8:30 AM by prior booking and lets you see the galleries before the crowds. The after-hours tour is an evening visit booked in advance by email.

None of these include the pyramids. If you want the GEM and the plateau in one day, book an outside tour instead, such as the 8-Hour Private Tour of the Pyramids and the Grand Egyptian Museum at $35 per person, entrance fees not included.

Group and school bookings

Corporate and travel agency bookings go to booking@gem.eg. School bookings go to learning@gem.eg.

Day trips from the Red Sea resorts

The Sharm El Sheikh to Cairo by Flight day trip runs 16 to 18 hours at $240 per person, with the return flight and entrance fees for the pyramids, the Sphinx and either the GEM or the old museum, depending on the option you pick. The Hurghada to Cairo by Bus day trip takes 1 day at $49 per person and rates 4.9 from 1,489 reviews, and it visits either the GEM or the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization by option, so pick the GEM option when you book.

The museum opened to the public after the official ceremony on 1 November 2025 and lists hours for all seven days.