Egyptian Museum Cairo Guide (2026): Tickets, Hours & Tips

Quick answer

• Location: El-Tahrir Square, Ismailia, Qasr El Nil, Cairo.

• Hours: Daily 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM (Last entry 4:00 PM).

• Adult Admission: ~$11. Student: ~$6. Under 6: Free.

• Tickets must be purchased by card only.

• Main Tutankhamun artifacts are now at the Grand Egyptian Museum.

In **Cairo, Egypt**, you'll find not only the Pyramids of Giza but also museums where you can directly experience artifacts from ancient Egyptian civilization, thousands of years old.

Among them, the **Egyptian Museum** in Tahrir Square is home to a rich collection of diverse cultural treasures, including pharaoh statues, mummy-related artifacts, and papyrus scrolls.

On my Cairo trip, I tried to get there by taxi, but a mix-up with the English name led us to a different museum, forcing us to rearrange our plans and visit on another day.

I've put together all the essential details for the **Egyptian Museum in Cairo: its location, admission fees, luggage storage costs, whether it houses Tutankhamun's artifacts, and its most iconic exhibits.**

Egyptian Museum Cairo: Location, Admission Fees, Luggage Storage Prices, Tutankhamun, Guided Tours

1️⃣ Location, Operating Hours

2️⃣ Admission Fees, Luggage Storage

3️⃣ Tutankhamun

4️⃣ Iconic Exhibits

1. Location, Operating Hours

The Egyptian Museum in Cairo is a pink building located about a 6-minute walk from Tahrir Square.

Egyptian Museum Operating Hours

✔️ Daily 09:00 - 17:00

✔️ Ticket sales close at 16:00

One crucial point to remember is that there are similarly named museums in Cairo.

To get to the National Museum by taxi, we asked the driver to take us to the National Museum, but he understood it as the **National Museum of Egyptian Civilization** (National Museum of Egyptian Civilization), and we ended up going to the wrong place.

The place we intended to visit was The Egyptian Museum in Tahrir, which is also different from the recently opened Grand Egyptian Museum. So, when taking a taxi, you should show a photo of the exterior or specifically say "Egyptian Museum".

#EgyptianMuseum #NationalMuseumOfEgypt

2. Admission Fees, Luggage Storage

Egyptian Museum Admission Fees

✔️ Adult: 550 EGP

✔️ Student: 275 EGP

✔️ Under 6: Free

To get the student discount, you'll need to show your **student ID**, and remember that ticket payment is **by card only**, not cash.

Once you enter the museum, head left and you'll find a **free luggage storage facility**.

All four of us left our large suitcases there, and at the entrance, there was a sign advising against giving tips.

However, after our museum visit, when we went to retrieve our bags, the attendant openly asked for a tip, making it difficult to refuse.

In the end, we tipped 50 EGP for storing all four of our bags, which was about 1 dollar, and it wasn't a significant amount, so we didn't feel burdened.

#EgyptianMuseumLuggageStorage

3. Tutankhamun

The most famous artifact at the Egyptian Museum used to be **Tutankhamun's Golden Mask**.

Tutankhamun was a pharaoh who ascended to the throne at a young age and died around 19. His tomb's discovery in the Valley of the Kings in 1922 brought him worldwide fame.

Unlike the tombs of other pharaohs, a significant portion of his burial goods remained intact. This was thanks to the tomb entrance being concealed by later construction debris and earth, allowing many artifacts to survive.

When I visited, Tutankhamun's artifacts were housed in the Egyptian Museum, but with the opening of the **Grand Egyptian Museum** in Giza, the most significant Tutankhamun artifacts have been relocated there.

So, if your goal is to see Tutankhamun's golden artifacts today, you should head to the **Grand Egyptian Museum**.

While photography wasn't allowed inside the Tutankhamun exhibition halls at the Egyptian Museum, I was able to capture some artifacts and related information displayed at the front of the exhibition area!

The **diagram of Tutankhamun's tomb** was really well presented, making it even more fascinating to compare it with the actual artifacts and realize, "Ah, this was originally in *this* part of the tomb!"

What deeply impressed me were the Guardian Statues and Golden Throne of Tutankhamun!

The gold leaf decorations contrasting with the black felt truly magnificent, and it was awe-inspiring to think such intricate works were created over 3,000 years ago.

#EgyptTutankhamun #Tutankhamun

4. Highlighted Masterpieces

Even though Tutankhamun's artifacts have been moved, the Egyptian Museum in Cairo still holds many historically significant masterpieces.

Prominent Ancient Egyptian Artifacts:

✔️Narmer Palette

✔️Diorite Statue of King Khafre

✔️Wooden Statue of Kaaper

✔️Statues of Rahotep and Nofret

✔️Meidum Geese

Narmer Palette

It depicts King Narmer of Upper Egypt conquering Lower Egypt and achieving the unification of Egypt, all carved on a stone tablet.

As for the other key masterpieces... well, I didn't get to see them properly.

The day we originally planned to visit the Egyptian Museum, we ended up at the Museum of Civilization instead. So, we squeezed in a visit to the Egyptian Museum on our last day, which meant we didn't have much time for viewing.

Nevertheless, we were able to get up close to the colossal statues of Amenhotep III and Queen Tiye, and even sarcophagi that actually housed mummies in ancient times.

We also saw a statue depicting Horus protecting the young Ramesses II, and even a sphinx with the face of Hatshepsut, the very queen whose temple we had visited!

Although it was a pity we had to rush our visit to the Egyptian Museum on our last day of travel, it was still incredibly meaningful to see artifacts related to the sites we'd visited in Giza, Aswan, and Luxor.

The Egyptian Museum is quite large, a place with such a vast collection and scale that even intricate artifacts seem to be casually spread throughout its corners.

Even the staircase leading to the second floor is adorned with papyrus.

Naturally, it's a place visited by many tourists; at the entrance, there were people offering immediate guide services, as well as many tourists already exploring with their guides.

We were short on time, so our goal was just to see the Tutankhamun exhibition. However, Egypt is a much more fascinating travel destination if you understand the myths and history embedded in its artifacts. So, if you want to experience it with proper explanations, I highly recommend a guided tour of Cairo city.

🔻🔻🔻

OR

🔺🔺🔺

As a side note, the souvenir quality at the Egyptian Museum is quite good. After seeing the somewhat rough souvenirs in the Egyptian markets, looking at the museum's merchandise made me wish I hadn't bought souvenirs elsewhere and had just waited to buy them here!