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Writer's pictureLocal's Guide To Egypt

Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM): A Local’s Guide To Everything You Need To Know


Grand Egyptian Museum Interior

For years now there’s been a huge buzz about the Grand Egyptian Museum in Cairo – a museum several decades in the making, which, when finished, will be the largest archaeological museum in the world. It’ll be the permanent home for over 100,000 Ancient Egyptian artifacts, including the complete King Tut treasure collection, for the first time ever.



Is the Grand Egyptian Museum open yet?


Grand Egyptian Museum Exterior

There’s some good news and some bad news. The good news is that the museum IS pretty much finished, but it's still in its soft opening phase, meaning there's still limited access to the entirety of the museum. You can see the Grand Hall, Grand Staircase, Main Galleries, commercial area and outside gardens, but the long-awaited King Tut Galleries are still closed to the public.


It’s predicted that once fully open, the Grand Egyptian Museum will receive 15,000 visits daily - 5 million a year, which is triple what the current Egyptian Museum of Antiquities (Cairo Museum in Tahrir Square) receives annually.



GEM Admission Tickets & Guided Tours


Grand Egyptian Museum Obelisk

Visitors to the GEM have two options: they can either purchase an admission ticket to explore the open galleries themselves, or they can book a 90 minute guided tour (which includes the admission ticket price).


The guides are incredibly well-versed in not only the history of the museum, but the history of Egypt as a whole. Not only will they explain clearly to you everything you’re looking at, but also will be able to answer any questions you may have.



Here’s the most important information about the tickets and tours:


  • You can book and pay for the admission tickets and tours from the Grand Egyptian Museum’s booking site: www.visit-gem.com (don’t be weirded out if the website looks a little dated; it is in fact legit and safe to use)


  • Tickets are available to be purchased at the museum itself, but because tickets and tour slots are limited, it's always safest to book online in advance


  • GEM's operating hours are from 8:30 am to 6 pm (with the galleries open from 9 am to 5 pm)


  • Last available time to buy a ticket on-site is 4 pm


  • There are seven daily Grand Egyptian Museum guided tour slots a day: 9 am, 10 am, 11 am, 12 pm, 1 pm, 2 pm and 3 pm


  • Each tour lasts about 90 minutes


  • The guided tours are either in English or Arabic, and you select which language you prefer upon buying your ticket. If you would like a different language besides English or Arabic and you’re a big enough group, please contact: legacy.booking@hassanallam.com


  • There's on-site parking for a fee


  • There’s free museum entry for children under 4 years old


  • There’s a Children Museum Tour for kids ages 6-12, with its own programs and tickets (more info about this below)


  • You’re not allowed to bring in food or drinks into the museum (you can purchase from the Grand Egyptian Museum’s restaurants and cafes, we listed the different restaurants they have below)


  • You can only take pictures with your phone or small handheld camera, professional cameras, tripods, etc. are not allowed (and there are certain areas where you’re not allowed to take pictures at all, but a museum attendant will inform you of those places)



So what WILL you see in the Grand Egyptian Museum?


Grand Egyptian Museum. Ramses II

This is a summary of what you’ll see in the Grand Egyptian Museum (reminder that the King Tut Galleries are still closed:


  • The Grand Egyptian Museum’s outer gardens, where you can take in the beautiful architecture of the museum and its surrounding courtyard – including a hanging obelisk


  • The museum’s inner Grand Hall, where you will see a 3,200 year old statue of Ramses II towering at 11 meters high and a victory column of King Merneptah


  • The Grand Staircase with over 60 ancient statues and artefacts flanking both sides


  • 12 Main Galleries: these galleries (with over 15,000 pieces!) each feature a different era in Ancient Egyptian history, from prehistoric times up to the Roman era. The exhibitions of each era showcase the daily practices, architecture, industry, spirituality, royalty and personal lives of these extraordinary Ancient Egyptians


  • You can get something to eat or drink at the Grand Museum’s food court/dining establishments


  • You can browse the gift shop and curated Egyptian goods stores, and buy everything from Egyptian cookbooks to souvenirs to locally made clothes and bags.


*Note if you're part of a guided tour:


You’ll meet your tour guide in the museum’s outer courtyard past the ticket gates. He or she will introduce themselves, and distribute headphones (free of charge) so that you can hear them clearly throughout the tour.


Grand Egyptian Museum
The Grand Staircase

Grand Egyptian Museum Children's Tour


Grand Egyptian Museum Children Tour

GEM offers different tours and programs made especially for kids, ages 6 to 12. These aren’t daily however, so make sure to check their website to see what children tours or programs are coming up.


These programs are usually themed and based on the age of the kids, so for example there’s a program about learning about Pyramid engineering (where kids learn the principles of how the Pyramids were built, and then get to build their own with blocks), and this is for the younger kids, ages 6-9.


For the older kids (ages 9-12), there’s a program about discovering archaeological sites via robots, and the kids learn how to actually use functional robots.


There's also been other children's programs themed around chariot making and gaming in Ancient Egypt.


All programs include a guided tour of the museum dedicated just for kids (and their guardians). Please note though that the kids’ programs change so make sure to check GEM’s website for their current running programs.



GEM Admission Ticket & Guided Tour Prices


Ticket prices for non-Egyptians:


GEM admission (adult): 1,200 EGP

GEM admission (child, age 4 - 12 years old): 600 EGP

GEM admission (student, age 13 - 21 years old): 600 EGP


Guided tour including admission ticket (adult): 1,700 EGP

Guided tour including admission ticket (child): 850 EGP

Guided tour including admission ticket (student): 850 EGP


Children Museum Tour (age 6 - 12 years old): 500 EGP


Ticket Prices for Egyptians:


GEM admission (adult): 200 EGP

GEM admission (child, age 4 - 12 years old): 100 EGP

GEM admission (student, age 13 - 21 years old): 100 EGP


Guided tour including admission ticket (adult): 350 EGP

Guided tour including admission ticket (child): 175 EGP

Guided tour including admission ticket (student): 175 EGP


Children Museum Tour (age 6 - 12 years old): 150 EGP



Please note that ID and student ID will be required on site.



Restaurants & Cafes in the Grand Egyptian Museum


Grand Egyptian Museum Restaurants

Your purchased tour ticket allows you access to GEM’s commercial area, which includes a selection of small restaurants, cafes and shops to relax, have something to eat or drink, and shop for souvenirs.


Here’s a list of the restaurants that have opened or are opening soon in GEM:


  • Zooba (upscale Egyptian street food)

  • 30 North (cafe)

  • Beano’s (cafe)

  • Starbucks (no explanation needed)

  • Dolato (ice cream)

  • Bittersweet (restaurant & cafe)

  • Ratios Bakery

  • Ladurée (world-famous pâtisserie)





Should You Stay in the Area & Neighborhood Around the Grand Egyptian Museum?


So now that we filled you guys in on what exactly GEM is and what to expect when you’re actually there, let’s talk a little bit about the area where GEM is and whether or not you should pick your hotel or accommodations there.


Like we said above, GEM is right next to the Great Pyramids of Giza (for our full guide to the Pyramids, head here). The area is called Haram (translating to ‘Pyramids’), or Nazlet El Samman. Honestly it’s not a great neighborhood currently, but there’s huge development plans for the area over the next few years.


Staying near the Pyramids or GEM makes sense if you want to dedicate more than one day to the Pyramids of Giza, or if you want to also go visit nearby sites like the Step Pyramid at Saqqara or the Bent Pyramid and Red Pyramid at Dahshur.


However if you’re only going to see the Pyramids of Giza and just do the 90 minute GEM guided tour, then it’s not necessary to actually stay in the area; all the good restaurants, bars and other spots of sightseeing interest are more towards central Cairo, so it makes more sense to stay there.



Hotels Nearby to the Grand Egyptian Museum


Hotels nearby the Grand Egyptian Museum

If you do choose to stay near the Pyramids and GEM, there are a couple 5 star hotels there. Our personal favorite is the Marriott Mena House (which is on our list of 7 best hotels in Cairo as well as our list of 11 Historical Hotels in Egypt You Can Still Stay In Today). There’s also the Steigenberger Pyramids Hotel close by with great views, but it can in no way compete with the Mena House.


A new fad that we’ve witnessed thanks to Instagram and Tiktok, is people getting great Pyramid view content from little hole-in-the-wall ‘hotels’ in that area. These are definitely a case of something looking better on social media than they do in real life; while these motels DO have great views, some are actually shabby as hell and the area around is not great. A lot aren’t even registered as official hotels or motels with the government, so do your research before you book anywhere that seems a bit iffy.



Other Museums To Check Out in Cairo


Cairo Museums

If your guided tour of GEM got you all excited and wanting more, then you’re in luck! There are other museums in Cairo that you can peruse to your heart’s desire; the main ones being the Museum of Egyptian Antiquities (Cairo Museum) in Tahrir Square in Downtown Cairo, where the King Tut Room is; and the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization where the Royal Gallery of Mummies is.




We hope this extensive guide to the Grand Egyptian Museum was helpful, and we’ll be sure to update it as soon as we have new information about the opening – and when of course, we can actually visit it in its entirety, because it truly looks like it’ll be spectacular.



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