For a hundred years, Tutankhamun was a rumour told in fragments — a gold mask behind glass in a crowded downtown room, and five thousand other things nobody ever saw, boxed in storage while the world queued for the highlights. That ended in November 2025. Two kilometres from the pyramid his ancestors built, in a building whose walls are aligned to Khufu and Menkaure, the whole tomb is finally in one place: the chariots, the sandals, the folding bed, the food packed for a journey — everything Howard Carter lifted out of the dark, laid out together for the first time since 1922. Climb six floors of statues and the museum opens onto a window, and there they are on the plateau, exactly where they have always been.
Twenty years in the building
A museum built for one collection
The Grand Egyptian Museum opened to the public on 4 November 2025, after a project that began with a land allocation in 1992. It stands at El Remayah Square on the edge of the Giza plateau, covering around fifty hectares with roughly 81,000 square metres of floor space, and holds more than a hundred thousand artefacts across twelve main galleries. The building's north and south walls are aligned with the pyramids of Khufu and Menkaure, and at the top of its six-floor Grand Stairs a window opens directly onto them.
Tutankhamun, whole, for the first time since 1922
Howard Carter's team removed 5,398 objects from tomb KV62 between 1922 and 1932, and for most of the century that followed only around two thousand were ever displayed. The rest sat in storage in Tahrir. GEM's two Tutankhamun galleries occupy roughly 7,500 square metres and show the entire assemblage together, arranged to reunite the four zones of the tomb — antechamber, annex, burial chamber, treasury. The gold mask is here, but so are the sandals, the folding beds and the food packed for a journey.
Both of Khufu's boats, one still being rebuilt
The old Solar Boat Museum that sat against the south flank of the Great Pyramid is gone. Its 4,500-year-old cedar vessel was moved to GEM in August 2021 and now hangs suspended in a purpose-built hall. Opposite it, the second boat found in the same 1954 excavation — roughly 1,650 cedar components, extracted and conserved in a joint Egyptian-Japanese project — is being reassembled on scaffolding in public view. Very few museums anywhere let visitors watch an artefact of this significance being put back together.
In-depth guides
Practical, independently checked guides to planning your visit — written from the source, not recycled from other listings.
GEM Tickets: Why You Must Book Online
On-site ticket sales stopped on 1 December 2025. Every visitor now needs a pre-booked timed entry slot bought before they travel.
Read the full visitor guide → Ticket tiersGEM Ticket Prices and What Each Includes
Three nationality tiers, three age bands, and a single ticket covering every gallery, the Grand Stairs and Khufu's boats.
Read the full visitor guide → TutankhamunThe Tutankhamun Galleries at the GEM
All 5,398 objects from the boy king's tomb are shown together for the first time since Howard Carter emptied it a century ago.
Read the full visitor guide → ArrivalThe Obelisk, Grand Hall and Grand Stairs
GEM choreographs your arrival: a suspended obelisk outside, an 83-tonne Ramesses II inside, then six floors of statues to a pyramid view.
Read the full visitor guide → Which museumGEM or the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir?
Tutankhamun moved to Giza and the royal mummies left in 2021. Here is what is genuinely still in each building.
Read the full visitor guide → One dayGEM and the Pyramids in One Day
Two kilometres apart, two entirely separate ticket systems, one workable order: plateau at dawn, museum through the afternoon heat.
Read the full visitor guide → Khufu's boatsKhufu's Solar Boats: Now Inside the GEM
The old Solar Boat Museum is gone. Both of Khufu's 4,500-year-old vessels are at GEM, and you can watch the second being rebuilt.
Read the full visitor guide → LogisticsGetting to the GEM and How Long to Allow
El Remayah Square on the Desert Road, Gate 2. There is no metro, monorail or shuttle to the museum — and three hours is the floor.
Read the full visitor guide →Frequently asked questions
Can I buy tickets at the entrance?
No. On-site ticket sales were suspended on 1 December 2025 and have not resumed. Every visitor needs a ticket bought in advance online with a timed entry slot, including at weekends and on public holidays. Travellers who arrive from a Cairo hotel expecting to pay at the door are turned away. Buy admission from the museum's own official platform, or book a guided tour that includes entry.
Does one ticket cover the Tutankhamun galleries and the Khufu boats?
Yes. GEM sells a single admission covering the Tutankhamun Galleries, the twelve Main Galleries, the Grand Hall, the Grand Stairs, Khufu's Boats Museum, the commercial area and the exterior gardens. There is no separate Tutankhamun ticket and no separate solar boat fee — the old Solar Boat Museum beside the Great Pyramid closed when the vessel moved to GEM in 2021.
What happens if I miss my time slot?
GEM's published terms state that tickets are valid only for the date and time specified, and that failing to use one does not entitle you to a refund or an exchange. Tickets are non-refundable regardless of where you bought them, except in cases of force majeure. Aim to arrive early in your window rather than late, and note that each ticket allows one entry only.
Can I see the pyramids and the museum on the same ticket?
No. They are run by different bodies with separate systems. GEM sells online only, with a timed slot; the Giza plateau sells online or on site, by card only. Plateau admission also excludes the pyramid interiors, which are bought separately on site. Any combo ticket advertised elsewhere is a reseller bundling two independent tickets together, or a guided tour covering both.
Is photography allowed inside?
Personal, non-commercial photography and video are permitted, using cameras or phones, except in designated areas within the Tutankhamun Galleries, where only mobile photography is allowed. Flash, tripods, monopods, selfie sticks, drones, external lighting and live streaming are prohibited throughout, and there is no camera fee. Commercial filming needs prior written approval.