The Grand Egyptian Museum and a Nile evening

Is the Grand Egyptian Museum fully open now?

Yes. It was inaugurated on 1 November 2025 and opened to the public on 4 November 2025, Tutankhamun galleries included.

Khaleej Times reported the ceremony on 1 November and the public opening on 4 November. Before that, the museum ran a partial soft opening from October 2024 without the Tutankhamun treasures.

It is big. National Geographic gives almost 872,000 square feet of floor space and 12 main galleries on the upper floor, arranged by period and theme. You enter past a 3,200-year-old colossus of Ramesses II in the Grand Hall, then climb the Grand Staircase, lined with statues, to windows that look out on the pyramids.

What can you see in the Tutankhamun galleries?

The complete collection from the boy king's tomb, around 5,000 objects, shown together for the first time since its discovery in 1922.

The gold funerary mask, the chariots, the jewellery and the ritual furniture are all here, in one sequence instead of scattered between museums. The official GEM ticket site says general admission includes the Tutankhamun Galleries, the Main Galleries and the Grand Hall, with no separate Tut ticket. Personal photos are allowed except in designated areas inside the Tutankhamun Galleries.

Pure Nile Tours suggests at least 1.5 to 2 hours for the Tutankhamun rooms alone. We would block the whole morning for the museum and not try to see everything. Do the Grand Staircase, the Tutankhamun galleries, then one or two of the main galleries that interest you.

What are the Grand Egyptian Museum's opening hours and ticket rules in 2026?

Galleries 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., and to 9 p.m. on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Foreign tickets are set in US currency, paid in Egyptian pounds, and go up from 1 November 2026.

Hours are from the official tickets.gem.eg site, with last entry one hour before the galleries close. Foreign visitors' tickets are set in US currency and charged in Egyptian pounds. At the opening the GEM's chief executive set out separate foreign rates for adults, for children and students, and for guided visits, Parlmany reported. The pound amount moves with the exchange rate: Masrawy noted it is updated monthly against the US currency.

From 1 November 2026 the foreign ticket goes up, as the tourism ministry announced (Egypt Today). Children under six enter free. Tickets are non-refundable and allow one entry only, so you cannot pop out for lunch and come back.

Where is the Grand Egyptian Museum, and how far is it from the Nile boats?

On the edge of the Giza plateau, about two kilometres from the pyramids and about 25 km from Tahrir Square. The dinner boats and feluccas sail from the city's riverbanks, east across Giza.

Khaleej Times puts the museum about 25 km from downtown Cairo, a 30 to 40 minute drive, with Giza the nearest metro station and a 10 to 15 minute taxi from there. In Cairo traffic, the drive across Giza to the river can take longer than that at rush hour. Leave room in the plan.

The boats are where the river is. The Opal dinner cruise boards at the Nile Crystal Gate marina, the private felucca dinner at the Cafelluca desk in Dokki. No boat on the Cairo Nile shows you the pyramids. The museum's staircase windows are the closer view. Felucca or dinner cruise compares the boats.

How do you pair a GEM day with a sunset felucca or dinner cruise?

Museum at 9 a.m., out by early afternoon, a rest, then a felucca at sunset or a dinner cruise at night. Do not try to squeeze both the pyramids and the museum in before the boat.

Sunset in Cairo falls around 5 p.m. from November to January. That leaves enough time after a morning at the GEM, and nothing after a full day on the plateau. The private felucca sail picks up in Giza, Al Haram and central Cairo by private car and gives you an hour on the water. If you would rather eat and watch a show, the Opal dinner cruise sails for two hours in the evening.

On Wednesdays and Saturdays the galleries stay open to 9 p.m. Use those days for a slower afternoon visit after the pyramids, and keep the river for another evening.

A private felucca for your group, one hour on the water at the time you pick, with hotel pickup by private car.

★ 4.4 · 2 hours

Explore the private felucca sail → Tour details

Frequently asked questions