Displaying over 150,000+ artefacts, a trip to Cairo isn’t complete without stopping by this Museum. It is unrivalled in terms of it’s collection of Antiquities from Pharaonic times. I spent a good few hours wandering around here & was in absolute awe! The Egyptians take great pride in their historical artefacts & as such this Museum is heavily guarded, I even managed to get an AK47 pointed at me on the outer perimeters of the site. Bonus tip; Do not walk towards the armed Police shouting “Museum Museum” (In a very rough & aggressive sounding Scottish accent) with a hand in your pocket 🥴
top tips!
Please note that there is no Cafeteria etc inside the Museum, so bring plenty of water. The Museum is well air conditioned, however it is massive so there is a lot of walking.
Once you exit the Museum into the gift store, the guards do not let you go back into the Museum that way. I stepped out into gift shop to grab a drink, but then they wouldn’t let me back in. I walked all the way round to the front again but my ticket wouldn’t open the barrier, a few guards said no to coming back inside, however I was lucky in that one guard came over & let me in.
After you have cleared the outer security to get into the Museum, whilst you are picking up tickets lots of unofficial tour guides will offer you a private tour. I had in my head that I didn’t want a tour, however I must say I came to regret that decision. Inside some of the tour guides I politely declined were then giving other people tours & they seemed very knowledgeable & passionate, so it is worth keeping an open mind when offered a tour.
Important Information
| Opening times | 09:00 – 17:00 everyday ( I would advise to check on Google the week before you arrive as there are all sorts of Public Holidays etc that might impact this). |
| Entry fee | 500 EGP (I believe it is cheaper for Egyptians, but they won’t be reading this so I haven’t researched it 😂). |
| Time to complete visit | This depends on whether you take a tour & if you are just interested in a look around vs actually reading through all of the materials. I spent around 3-4 hours (although this included the time haggling security to let me back in after I had went into the gift shop). You could realistically get through everything in 2 hours if you were short on time. |
| Tours | You can pre book tours with most of the big firms, Trip Advisor & Viator etc. However, you can also pick up a local tour guide before you enter the museum. I didn’t take one so can’t offer any advice of value, the local guides were offering very cheap prices when factoring in exchange rates etc. |
| Photography | You are allowed to take photographs in most areas, however there are some you cannot. A lot of people were sneakily trying to take photos in those areas, don’t be those people! The areas off limits to photography are there for a reason, respect the hosts & also the cops have guns, it would be wise not to upset them 🤷♂️ |
I am completely new to blogging & only set this up to help people out on their journeys. If you have any questions about the article or feedback, please do leave a comment & I will get back to you. You can also subscribe for free to get a notification when my next post goes live. Thanks for taking the time to read through ❤️
Tyler's Travel Tales 