Grand Egyptian Museum Opening November 4, 2025 (closed Oct 15 - Nov 3)
The Grand Egyptian Museum will fully open on November 4…or will it?
The Grand Egyptian Museum opening is on November 4, 2025! Cairo's new museum, the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM for short), has already opened all of its main galleries, Great Hall, Grand Staircase, and retail space with lots of restaurants and shops. But the official opening of the Tutankhamun Galleries, and the Solar Boat Museum (the final two areas of the GEM that have not opened) will finally happen this fall during the Grand Egyptian Museum's full opening on November 4.
In addition, the Grand Egyptian Museum will be closing between October 15, 2025 and November 3, 2025, in preparation for the grand opening, which will begin on November 1 for only world leaders, dignitaries, government and cultural representatives, and notable guests, and will culminate with the full opening to the public on November 4.
Note: This article was originally published on August 9, 2025, but has been updated on August 14, 2025 with the newly announced November 4 date for the museum’s public grand opening (was originally set for November 1).
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What is the Grand Egyptian Museum?
The Grand Egyptian Museum is Egypt's largest and newest museum, and it will be the biggest museum in the world dedicated to one civilization when it has its grand opening this fall. The Grand Egyptian Museum is located in Giza, right next to the Giza Pyramids and the Sphinx. When it fully opens on November 4 to the public, it will be an international event drawing millions of tourists to Egypt during the upcoming tourist season, for the first look at the more than 100, 000 objects that will be on display, with the highlight being the more than 5, 000 objects found in the tomb of King Tutankhamun, or "King Tut".
The Grand Egyptian Museum has been under construction for more than a decade, and every other announced opening date has not come to fruition, so when Egypt's Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly announced the news this August that the GEM would finally open the King Tut and Solar Boat Galleries in November, the big question is, will it actually happen?
Will the Grand Egyptian Museum open in 2025?
The Main Galleries of the GEM are already open!
I have been following the Grand Egyptian Museum closely for more than 5 years, and every single time there has been an advance announcement about the GEM's opening, it hasn't ended up happening. Various reasons have been blamed, like the Covid-19 pandemic, recent escalations between Gaza and Israel, recent escalations between Iran and Israel, construction projects out in Giza near the museum site, and more.
The Grand Egyptian Museum is currently around 60% open, and it's an amazing museum even now, despite the Tutankhamun artifacts and the ancient Solar Boat not being on display, but if someone is planning a trip to Egypt and the Grand Egyptian Museum being fully open is a must for their trip, I am still telling those travelers that they need to wait for the museum to have confirmed to be open before planning any travel. That way, if this opening does not happen, like it hasn't happened every other single time an opening has been announced, travelers will not need to cancel their trip or change plans.
And if you haven't already, follow my YouTube channel and sign up for my mailing list (at the bottom of my website homepage) to stay up to date about any announcements relating to the Grand Egyptian Museum.
When will King Tut's Mask Move?
King Tut’s Death Mask is currently on display at the old Egyptian Museum, but it will be moved soon to the GEM
The Mask of Tutankhamun is the most important ancient Egyptian artifact in the world, and at the time of writing, it is still on display at its original home in the Old Egyptian Museum in downtown Cairo.
Egypt will move the Tutankhamun Death Mask at some point from the old museum to the Grand Egyptian Museum, but we have no idea when this will happen. It will most likely happen sometime in October, probably during the GEM’s closure starting on October 15, to keep the mask on display for tourists as long as possible at the Egyptian Museum, but to move it in time for the GEM's Grand Opening on November 4th.
Almost all of the more than 5,000 objects from King Tut's Tomb are already in their homes at the Grand Egyptian Museum, but they have not been opened to the public - yet.
Will the Grand Egyptian Museum close down to prepare for the Grand Opening?
Yes, the Grand Egyptian Museum closing will be between October 15 until November 3, 2025. The museum will use this time to prepare the King Tut galleries and all other areas of the museum for the grand opening, which will begin on November 1 (just for VIPs), and will fully open to the public on November 4, 2025.
What to do in Egypt if the GEM is closed?
If your trip to Egypt is happening in between October 15 - November 3, you will not be able to visit the Grand Egyptian Museum, but there are still plenty of other amazing museums and sites to see in Cairo! Here are some good alternatives to visit if you happen to be in Egypt when the Grand Egyptian Museum is shut down:
The Old Egyptian Museum in downtown Cairo will never shut down, and it still has thousands of important artifacts!
The Egyptian Museum (Old Museum) in Tahrir Square
The Egyptian Museum (also referred to as the “old museum”) in downtown Cairo near Tahrir Square is a great alternative to the Grand Egyptian Museum, since this museum still houses thousands of priceless artifacts from pharaonic times. Some highlights that you can see at the Egyptian Museum include:
The Narmer Palette, the first ever depiction of an ancient Egyptian pharaoh, the first king who united Upper and Lower Egypt and started the storied history of the pharaohs
Statues of Old Kingdom Pharaohs, like Djoser (the builder of the Saqqara Step Pyramid), Menkaure (the builder of the 3rd largest pyramid in Giza), and even Khufu, the builder of the Great Pyramid, although his statue is one of the smallest ones in the museum!
The Amarna Room, showing gorgeous examples of Amarna Art, during the time of the pharaoh Akhenaten and his wife, Nefertiti
Spectacular black basalt triad statues, showing trios of gods from ancient Egypt, almost perfectly preserved
The Golden King Tut mask, sarcophagus, throne, and several other important artifacts of King Tut are still currently on display at the old Egyptian Museum, although we are not sure when these will be finally moved over to the GEM - stay tuned on my email list or subscribe to my YouTube channel for updates on this!
The fairly new National Museum of Egyptian Civilization, another modern museum dedicated to ancient Egypt, like the GEM, also contains artifacts from all periods of Egyptian history
The National Museum of Egyptian Civilization is another newer museum, like the GEM, that has a heavy focus on ancient Egypt
The National Museum of Egyptian Civilization
The National Museum of Egyptian Civilization, or NMEC, is a very well-curated, modern museum, located just 15 minutes from downtown Cairo. The highlight here is the mummy gallery, which houses 22 royal mummies of pharaohs and queens from the New Kingdom, including household names like Ramses the Great, and the queen Hatshepsut, at one point the most powerful woman in the world.
Besides the mummy gallery, the NMEC has a great selection of artifacts, from pre-pharonic history all the way up to the 20th century, with interesting thematic displays containing hundreds of ancient Egyptian artifacts, including cosmetics, building tools, musical instruments, clothes, and more!
Saqqara has the step pyramid of Djoser, along with dozens of other ancient sites waiting to be explored!
Saqqara is an amazing ancient site to visit, and is only a 30 minutes’ drive from the Giza Pyramids.
Saqqara
Just 45 minutes away from the Grand Egyptian Museum is Saqqara, the site of the ancient Step Pyramid, dozens of Old Kingdom tombs open to the public, a couple of pyramids that contain hieroglyphs in the burial chambers (the only pyramids you will find this in - not even Giza has this!), the mysterious Serapeum (an underground burial chamber containing dozens of gargantuan granite sarcophagi which used to house mummified bulls), and more! Saqqara is often cited by my guests as a more interesting site than even the Giza Pyramids and Sphinx, and if you are not able to go to the GEM, you can at least pay Saqqara a visit.
Is the Grand Egyptian Museum open to the public right now?
The Grand Egyptian Museum is already about 60% open to the public!
The Grand Egyptian Museum, at the moment, is open to the public, and even though the Tutankhamun Galleries and the Solar Boat Museum are not yet open, the majority of the museum's artifacts are on display and are visited by the public every single day!
The 12 Main Galleries of the museum have objects spanning all the way from the predynastic period (the historical time before the Pharaohs) through the time of the Greek and Romans (the time of figures like Cleopatra and Alexander the Great), with lots of objects from Egypt's Old Kingdom (the Pyramid Builders), the New Kingdom (big names like Ramses the Great and Hatshepsut), and everything in between (Middle Kingdom, Intermediate Periods, etc.).
The Great Hall has a colossal statue of Ramses II that is a highlight of the museum, plus a few other large statues and a column taken from an ancient Egyptian temple, while the retail area has the gift shop (with a great selection of local Egyptian souvenirs and high-quality products, books, clothing, and more), and great Egyptian restaurants like Zooba.
The Grand Staircase has more than 70 gigantic statues of ancient Egyptian Kings and Queens, pieces from ancient Egyptian tombs and temples, and ends with a beautiful view of the Giza Pyramids from the large windows at the staircase's top.
Grand Egyptian Museum Tickets
You can purchase tickets for the Grand Egyptian Museum directly through the Museum's website (although tickets for the full opening are not yet available), and also in person at the museum's ticket office. Visa and MasterCard are the only payment methods accepted, and the Grand Egyptian Museum ticket price is currently 1,230 Egyptian Pounds (around $25 USD at the time of writing).
Grand Egyptian Museum Hours
The Grand Egyptian Museum complex is open every single day from 8:30am - 7:00pm, with the galleries open from 9:00am - 6:00pm, and on Saturday and Wednesday the complex stays open late, until 10:00pm, and the Galleries stay open until 9:00pm.
Write a comment and let me know what you think about the Grand Egyptian Museum's full opening - do you think it will actually happen on November 1? What questions do you have about Cairo's newest museum? I love reading and responding to every comment, and I hope you can visit the GEM during your Egypt adventure!
