Grand Egyptian Museum opening DELAYED until end of 2025
The GEM is currently around 60% opening, but the full opening has been delayed to the end of 2025.
The Grand Egyptian Museum is opening at the end of 2025, even though the museum previously announced it would have it's grand opening on July 6. Let’s talk about why Egypt’s new museum is delaying the official opening, when the new opening date will be, what to expect at the museum's full opening, and what you can currently see in the GEM's main galleries (which are already open).
Grand Egyptian Museum opening delayed until 2025
Even though the news has been full of announcements regarding the Grand Egyptian Museum opening date scheduled for July 6, 2025, the museum announced on June 14, 2025 that it's full opening would be delayed until "The Last Quarter of the Year". Egyptian authorities shared that the recent escalation between Israel and Iran is the reason for the museum's delay, and whether this is the actual reason (or just an excuse since the museum will not be ready by July 6) is anyone's guess!
The newest museum in Giza has already had delay after delay, citing the Covid-19 Pandemic, construction projects like the new Cairo Metro, and the escalation in hostilities between Israel and Gaza as some of the reasons, so this latest delay should not come as a surprise to anyone. Culturally, Egyptians are not strong with setting realistic schedules, timelines, and sticking to deadlines (the common phrase "Insha 'Allah, bokra, ma'alish" meaning "God willing, tomorrow, sorry" is a common phrase in any workplace, school, and home in Egypt). There are countless times in Egypt that very ambitious timelines are set and lofty promises are made, only to have reality set in and those deadlines and promises are not able to be kept, so to anyone who knows Egypt well, exact dates and times are taken as suggestions instead of definitives.
When will the Grand Egyptian Museum have its full opening?
Statue of Queen Hatshepsut in the GEM Main Galleries, which are currently open to the public.
The whole world is asking this question, and so many tourists are trying to plan their travel to Egypt around Cairo's largest museum's full opening, but unfortunately we don't have a concrete answer to this question. The GEM announced that the museum's opening will happen sometime in the last quarter of 2025, which means it will happen sometime in September, October, November, or December 2025, and that the exact opening date would be "announced in due course, following coordination with all relevant authorities to ensure the organization of an event that reflects Egypt's prominent cultural and tourism status on the international stage".
Knowing this, we should be seeing an announcement of the new official opening date sometime over the summer or early fall, and that the opening should happen before the end of 2025. However, we have been let down by these announcements and expectations time and again, so I am telling any of my guests who are planning a trip to Egypt in order to see the GEM's full opening, including the Tutankhamun Galleries and the Solar Boat Museum (which are the last remaining parts yet to open), to wait to plan any travel to Egypt until after the GEM has actually opened, and I have personally been inside and made a YouTube video and written a blog post detailing the new museum's full opening. Planning any travel before the museum has actually 100% opened is futile, since the last several times we have been promised a full opening by the GEM, it has not come to fruition, spoiling travel plans and disappointing tourists excited about the grand opening.
What to expect at the GEM's grand opening
When the GEM is fully open, the King Tut Mask will move from the old Egyptian Museum to its new home at the Grand Egyptian Museum
The Grand Egyptian Museum wants to have an opening that befits the museum's moniker and tagline of being the largest archaeological museum in the world dedicated to a single civilization, and so for the grand opening, we can expect the museum to put on several days of celebrations, shows, and events. Originally when the opening was scheduled for July 6, 2025, the Museum announced they would have three days of celebrations open only to foreign diplomats, dignitaries, celebrities, and the media, spanning July 3, 4, and 5, so when the GEM has its actual opening, we can expect something similar.
Another thing to look forward to is the movement of the boy king, King Tut's, mask, sarcophagus, and the few other objects from his spectacular tomb that are still on display at the original Egyptian Museum in downtown Cairo at Tahrir Square. I anticipate they will move these objects with a lot of pomp and circumstance, like Egypt did when it moved 22 royal mummies from the old museum to the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization, and when they opened up the avenue of the Sphinxes between Luxor Temple and Karnak Temple back in 2022. At some point, the last remaining king tut artifacts will go off display at the old Egyptian Museum and will move over to the Grand Egyptian Museum, and when this happens, we will know that the GEM's full opening will be happening soon after.
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Once the Grand Egyptian Museum is fully open, it will be the largest display of ancient Egyptian artifacts in the world, with around 100, 000 objects spanning over 7,000 years of Egypt's history. The GEM will be the first major museum dedicated to ancient Egypt in the Giza area, and will be connected via bridge to the Giza Plateau where the Pyramids and Sphinx are.
The full opening will see the Solar Boat Museum (housing a gigantic boat built for the Pharaoh, Khufu, and buried alongside his Great Pyramid in Giza) and the King Tut galleries finally open, and these two galleries will join the other areas on site that have already opened, like the Grand Staircase with over 60 massive statues, pieces of ancient temples, and sarcophagi, The GEM's 12 Main Galleries, including thousands of statues and ancient artifacts, the Great Hall containing a colossal statue of Ramses the Great, and the commercial area, full of delicious local restaurants and well-curated shopping experiences.
Is the Grand Egyptian Museum worth visiting now?
I currently take all my group tour to the GEM - it’s totally worth a visit!
The Grand Egyptian Museum is definitely worth visiting now, even though it's not 100% open, since over half of the museum is already available to experience, with the 12 Main Galleries, the Great Hall, Grand Staircase, and commercial area all open to visitors. I have already been taking all of my tour groups to the Grand Egyptian Museum, and we spend between 2-3 hours at the museum, and still don't have enough time to take in everything that is on display there. So even for the average tourist, the GEM is still worth a visit at any point before the grand opening.
Grand Egyptian Museum opening hours
You can find the Grand Egyptian Museum opening hours on the GEM’s official website.
The opening hours of the Grand Egyptian Museum are divided into the complex itself (the Great Hall, Grand Staircase, commercial area with restaurants and shops) and the Main Galleries (the areas that have the most artifacts on display).
The GEM complex is open for slightly longer hours; the main galleries open a bit later than the complex itself, and close a bit earlier.
The GEM complex is open from 8:30am - 7pm daily, and the main galleries are open from 9am - 6pm daily.
There are extended evening hours on Saturday and Wednesday, where the museum complex is open from 8:30am - 10:00pm, and the galleries are open from 9am - 9pm.
Grand Egyptian Museum ticket price
Grand Egyptian Museum ticket prices can be found online.
Grand Egyptian Museum tickets can be purchased on-site with a Visa or Mastercard, or in advance online, using the GEM's official website. You don't need to purchase tickets ahead of time, and tickets are not times, although if you purchase tickets online in advance, they are non-refundable and date-specific, meaning you have to select the date you will visit the museum and this date cannot be changed after you purchase the tickets. If you want to purchase Grand Egyptian Museum tickets online, be sure you are using the GEM's official website only, and not any third-party sites.
The Grand Egyptian Museum ticket price is currently 1,270 Egyptian Pounds for adult foreigners, and 635 Egyptian Pounds for students or children. Any students need to show a valid student ID (including a written expiration date) in order to gain access using a student ticket.
Frequently asked questions about the Grand Egyptian Museum
Is the Grand Egyptian Museum open?
Yes, the Grand Egyptian Museum is currently around 60% open. The only areas that have not yet opened are the King Tut galleries and the Khufu Solar Boat Museum.
When is the Grand Egyptian Museum opening 2025?
We do not know yet when the full opening of the Grand Egyptian Museum will be, but the museum announced an opening date will be set soon, and that it will happen sometime in the last quarter of 2025. Don't get your hopes up, though - this opening has been delayed time and again!
Should I visit the Grand Egyptian Museum, the old Egyptian Museum, or the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization?
I recommend visiting the old Egyptian Museum Cairo (sometimes referred to as the Cairo museum) if your number one priority is the King Tut death mask (the number one ancient artifact from Egypt). The Egyptian Museum in Cairo also has thousands of artifacts that will never go off display, and is in a beautiful, historic building, even though the museum layout is a bit disorganized.
The Grand Egyptian Museum is a great one to visit if the King Tut mask is not the top priority, but a tourist would rather see a modern, well laid-out museum that is easy to do a self-guided tour in and has thousands of objects, including many breathtaking colossal statues.
The National Museum of Egyptian Civilization is my last priority, as the main attraction here are the 22 royal mummies of New Kingdom Pharaohs, but other than this, there is not much else to see.
Will the Grand Egyptian Museum be the biggest in the world?
The GEM will be the biggest museum in the world dedicated to a single civilization once it fully opens.
Will the Grand Egyptian Museum ever open?
It seems like it will never open with all the delays and false starts, but the GEM is already around 60% open and has been for a couple years, and the grand opening should be happening by the end of 2025.
What will happen to the Old Cairo Museum?
The Old Cairo Museum (The Egyptian Museum) will never close - it still has thousands of artifacts that will remain on display. The focus of the old museum will be masterwork pieces of Egyptian statuary, smaller scale artifacts, and pre-dynastic objects, like the Narmer Palette.
When will the King Tut Mask be moved to the GEM?
Unfortunately we don't know yet when King Tut's mask will be moved to the GEM, but it will definitely happen before the museum's grand opening.
What questions do you have about the Grand Egyptian Museum? What are your thoughts about the continued delay of the grand opening? Leave a comment and let me know!
