MAJOR EGYPTIAN MUSEUM

Located at the foot of the Pyramids of Giza, the GEM - an acronym for Grand Egyptian Museum, as it's widely known - is not only the world's largest museum devoted to ancient Egyptian civilizations from prehistory to the Greco-Roman era, but also the world's largest "specialized" museum. Its opening has been a long time coming. The foundation stone was laid in 2002 and construction was completed in 2022, financed by the Egyptian government and loans from the Japanese Cooperation Agency. The building covers a total surface area of almost 480,000 m², with 120,000 to 130,000 works on display. Designed by a Sino-Irish architectural firm, the architecture is an audacious structure in the shape of a bevelled triangle. Its surrounding walls align perfectly with the two largest pyramids, creating a spectacular connection between ancient Egypt and its modern showcase. The huge bay window offers a breathtaking architectural perspective on the famous pyramids of Khéops, Khéphren and Mykérinos.

The most famous rooms are devoted to Tutankhamun's treasures. The rest of the galleries follow chronological order, detailing the royalty, society and beliefs associated with each period. The bombproof concrete basements house 17 ultra-modern laboratories and research centers. Hygrometry and temperature are constantly measured to preserve the collections. Before its official grand opening in November 2025, the GEM has already been awarded the Prix de Versailles as one of the world's most beautiful museums.

The museum also features a mall with a dozen restaurants, cafés and boutiques. The museum itself also features a children's museum.

Great Hall and Great Staircase. Upon entering, visitors are welcomed into a majestic Great Hall dominated by the 10.5-metre-high, pink granite statue of Ramses II, weighing over 80 tonnes, which was transferred with goldsmith's precision in 2018.

The Grand Escalier is a spectacular open gallery, rising six storeys. It is lined with over 60 large statues, steles and sarcophagi, offering a journey through Egyptian history, and leading to a panoramic bay window revealing the pyramids. The wow effect is guaranteed!

Tutankhamun Gallery. This is the first time that all the pieces found in Tutankhamun's tomb, discovered on November 4, 1922 by British archaeologist Howard Carter, have been brought together in a single room, or rather in an immense 5,000^m2 gallery. Several pieces, which had been gathering dust in the Egyptian Museum's storerooms in Tahrir Square, have been restored, including Tutankhamun's leather armour. This priceless treasure includes the famous Solid Gold Funeral Mask, the masterpiece, made of 11 kg of gold and inlaid with semi-precious stones, intended to cover the face of the deceased pharaoh; the Three Nested Coffins: with the last one, made of pure gold, containing the mummy of the young king; the Royal Chariots: Witnesses to the sovereign's prestige and lifestyle, one of which may be linked to the possible causes of his death; the Golden Statues, Chests and Thrones: Objects of unrivalled finesse and richness, illustrating the splendour of the 18th dynasty; the Jewels, Ornaments and Talismans: A sparkling collection of funerary and personal artefacts.

The solar bark. The royal bark of Cheops, long displayed in a small museum at the foot of the pyramids, is 4,500 years old. It was discovered in 1950 by Egyptologist Kamal el-Mallakh in one of the two pits dug alongside the pyramid, covered by a massive pavement. It had been deposited there, dismantled from its 1,224 constituent parts. Kamal el-Mallakh undertook its reconstruction. It was installed in 1968 and again in 2023 at the GEM. This boat belongs to Pharaoh's funerary furniture. It measures 43.3 meters in length and 5.9 meters in width.

Chronological galleries. The GEM houses a collection organized thematically and chronologically to present ancient Egypt from the angles of society, power and beliefs. The galleries are organized as follows:

Galleries 1 to 3: Prehistoric period, Predynastic period, Archaic dynastic period, Old Kingdom and Early Intermediate period

Galleries 4 to 6: Middle Kingdom and Second Intermediate Period

Galleries 7 to 9: New Kingdom

Galleries 10 to 12: Third Intermediate Period, Late Period, Greco-Roman Period

Here are a few of our favorites among the many pieces on display: in gallery 1, the statue of the Seated Scribe; in gallery 2, the funerary furniture of Hetepheres, Khufu's mother, whose tomb was found intact; in gallery 4, the sarcophagus of Mesehti with its alabaster eyes or the funerary bed of Osiris; in gallery 6, all the funerary furnishings that tell us a great deal about daily life, such as fishing tools, boomerangs and even bread preserved to this day; in gallery 8, the lintel of Seti^I; in gallery 10, the papyrus collection, where the Book of the Dead is set, or the stele of Isis and Horus..