Museums in Cairo

The Memphis Open Air Museum preserves the remains of the ancient capital of Egypt, Memphis, including a colossal limestone statue of Ramesses II housed in a purpose-built shelter. It is located about 24 km south of central Cairo.

The Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) near the Giza Pyramids is the largest archaeological museum in the world, purpose-built to house Egypt's entire collection of pharaonic treasures in a state-of-the-art facility spanning 490,000 square metres.

Located in Tahrir Square, the Egyptian Museum (Museum of Egyptian Antiquities) houses the world's most extensive collection of pharaonic artifacts, with over 120,000 items spanning 5,000 years of history.

The Ahmed Shawqi Museum honours Egypt's beloved 'Prince of Poets' in his Giza riverside villa. The house-museum displays Shawqi's manuscripts, personal effects, awards and library, set within a tranquil garden overlooking the Nile.

The National Museum of Egyptian Civilization (NMEC) in Fustat is a modern museum telling the story of Egyptian civilization from prehistoric times to the present, uniquely covering all eras including Coptic, Islamic, and modern periods.

Abdeen Palace is the official residence of the President of Egypt and a vast 19th-century palace in Downtown Cairo. Several wings have been converted into museums open to the public.

The Coptic Museum in Old Cairo houses the world's largest collection of Coptic Christian art and artifacts, spanning Egypt's early Christian period from the 3rd to the 19th century.

The Manial Palace and Museum on Roda Island is a lavish early 20th-century royal residence built by Prince Muhammad Ali Tawfiq, uncle of King Farouk. Its rooms are an extraordinary showcase of Ottoman, Moorish, Persian, and Art Nouveau decorative styles.

Inside the Manial Palace, Prince Muhammad Ali assembled one of Cairo's most eclectic private collections: Ottoman silk carpets, Iznik tiles, illuminated Qurans, taxidermied hunting trophies and royal silver. Each salon follows a different decorative theme — Moorish, Persian, Rococo — in sometimes dizzying succession.

The Museum of Islamic Art, located on the edge of Fatimid Cairo, holds one of the world's finest collections of Islamic art, with over 100,000 artifacts spanning from the 7th to the 19th century collected from across the Muslim world.

The Gayer-Anderson Museum consists of two beautifully restored 16th- and 17th-century Ottoman houses joined by a covered bridge, filled with the eclectic personal collection of British Major R.G. Gayer-Anderson.

The Mahmoud Khalil Museum houses one of the finest collections of Impressionist and post-Impressionist art in the Middle East. Monet, Renoir, Degas and Van Gogh share wall space with Delacroix and Rodin sculptures, all within an elegant Giza riverside mansion.

The Solar Boat Museum was a site that displayed an extraordinarily well-preserved 4,600-year-old wooden ship excavated from a sealed pit beside the pyramid of Khufu.

Bayt al-Suhaymi is a superbly restored 17th-century Ottoman merchant's house on al-Muizz Street. The mansion's inner courtyard, mashrabiya screens, reception halls and rooftop terrace illustrate the refined domestic architecture of wealthy medieval Cairo.

Tucked inside Cairo's magnificent Central Post Office on Ataba Square, the Postal Museum displays stamps, postal equipment and documents spanning 150 years of Egyptian postal history. Rare Suez Canal-era stamps and early airmail covers are among the highlights.

The Museum of Islamic Ceramics occupies a beautiful Art Nouveau villa on Gezira Island. Its focused collection showcases ceramic arts from across the Islamic world spanning the 7th to 19th centuries.