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View of Cairo Citadel by By Melaad2009 – Wikimedia

Top 10 Best Museums to visit in Cairo

Cairo is the largest city in Egypt and famous too. There are many tourist attractions and famous landmarks such as the Cairo Tower and Coptic Cairo.

The museums here have a lot of history to share and not many the visit consider them.

The most popular museums include the Egyptian Museum and the Luxor museum. I will share more museums that you can visit while in Cairo, some of which are true hidden gems.

Here are the top 10 best museums in Cairo.

1. The Egyptian Museum

As mentioned earlier this is one of the most popular archaeological museums in Cairo. It has more than 120,000 artefacts and impressive displays from ancient Egypt.

There are mummies, sarcophagi, pottery, jewellery, and precious treasures from King Tutankhamen. Among the treasures include a death mask made up of pure gold and is said to be the most beautiful object ever made.

The precious collection from the Pharaohs attracts thousands of tourists to this museum. These artefacts are displayed on two floors of the Museum, depicting the chronological journey of History 5,000 years ago.

Majority of the artefacts here are more than 200 years old.

Practical Information:

Opening hours: Monday to Thursday 09:00 am – 7:00 pm

Friday: 09:00am – 11:00am; 1:30pm- 19:00pm

2. Gayer Anderson Museum

Mohamed Ali Room inside the Museum by By Roland Unger-Wikimedia

This museum is named after a British national that was a big fan of Egyptian culture and traditions. It is in the Sayyida Zeinab area near the Ibn Tulun Mosque.

Inside the museum, one will see furniture, carpets, medieval textile among other artefacts.

Students of Islamic art and history frequent this place among other tourists. The place is made up of two adjacent houses that were constructed in 1540 and 1631 respectively.

The houses were previously occupied by different families including John Gayer Anderson himself, he was a British major and an army doctor. He lived in the house between 1935 to 1942.

Anderson collected artwork, carpets, antiques and pieces of furniture that he kept in his house. He left in 1942 and many tourists flocked the house to see some of the unique collection he had. This led to the being converted into a museum.

Fun fact about the museum, it was a location in a James Bond movie: The Spy Who Loved Me.

Practical Information:

Address: As Sayedah El-Sayeda Zainab, Egypt

3. Islamic Art Museum

The Islamic Museum is located in central Cairo and is one of the largest museums in the world dedicated to Islamic art. It was officially opened to the public visits on December 28, 1903.

It is home to more than 100,000 artefacts from various times. there are original manuscripts from various Islamic Sciences such as medicine, engineering and astronomy.

Other fascinating artefacts include jewellery, weapons, wood and ivory objects, textiles and carpets. All these depict the excellent craftmanship of ancient Islam.

The museum suffered damage in 2014 by a car bomb and unfortunately, many artefacts were destroyed. After renovations and salvaging the remaining artefacts, the Museum was reopened in 2017.

It also has a collection of some Quran pages with elaborate designs on the borders in silver ink.

Practical Information:

Address: Shar’ a Bur Bab El Khalk Square, Cairo, Egypt

Opening Hours: Sunday to Thursday: 9 am to 5 pm

Friday: 9 am to 11 am; 1 pm to 5 pm

Saturday:  9 am to 9 pm

4. The Egyptian National Military Museum

This museum is located inside one of Cairo’s most visited landmark, the Cairo Citadel. This military museum exhibits some rare ancient artefacts that go back to the Pharaohs time.

It was established in 1937 and officially opened to the public in 1949. The museum current home was once a palace and this can be seen from the high ceilings decorated with plasterwork.

The displays have military artefacts and sculptures of previous Kings, army officials and prominent politicians.

The museum is divided into themed sections such as the Suez Canal. One can also get to view the beautiful landscape of the Citadel and the beautiful Muhammed Ali Mosque that is within the compound.

A visit here will give a detailed history of the military from the pre-historic period to its present state.

Practical Information:

Address: Salah Salem Street, Cairo Governorate, Egypt

Opening Hours: Open daily, 9:30 am-4:30 pm

Bus numbers 174 and 173 stops at Midan Salah ad-Din, in front of the Citadel

5. The Coptic Museum

By Djehouty – Wikimedia

The other interesting museum that tells the journey of Christianity in Egypt is the Coptic Museum. It was founded in 1908 and has detailed exhibits of Cairo’s multi-culturalism.

There are several Coptic art pieces from the onset of Christianity in Egypt. A section of the Museum showcases elaborate woodcarvings, sculptures, religious relics, textiles and murals from the monastery.

The pieces in there are from different cultures such as Egyptian, Ottoman, Roman, Greek, and Byzantine.

The first floor of the museum is dedicated to one of the world’s oldest books of psalms, psalms of David and two other original wooden covers.

Information on these items is explained in French, English and the local language. There are more than 1,200 pieces to explore in there.

Practical Information

Address: 3 Sharia Mar Girgis, Coptic Cairo

Opening Hours: Open Daily 8 am-4 pm

6. Abdeen Palace Museum

This museum was previously a royal palace that was converted into a historical site. Abdeen museum has many collections ranging from weaponry, presidential gifts, royal acquisitions and silver plate.

The palace housing the museum was built in 1863 and sits on a 25-acre land. The palace served as the headquarters of the government in 1872. Engineers from Egypt, Turkey, Italy and France were commissioned to build the palace.

Later in the 80s, the palace was restored and became part of the national heritage. A strong earthquake destroyed the palace in 1992 and this extended the restoration process.

The ground floor of the museum contains the Silver Museum, Arms Museum, Royal Family Museum, Presidential Gifts Museum, and the Historical Documents Museum.

Practical Information

Address: El-Gomhoreya Square, Cairo Governorate, Egypt

7. Umm Kulthum Museum

This museum is set on the Nile side garden at the Monastrili Palace that was built in 1851. The palace was occupied by Ottoman pasha who originated from Greece.

There is a public square that was built for official functions, and a shrine area set aside for Umm Kulthum. She was a famous singer who diligently worked for Egypt and its people.

Her reading glasses, shoes, bags, ornaments, medals, shimmering gowns and her music are displayed here.

A 15-minute film about her with English subtitles is usually played and you can watch it too. It tells of her journey in the arts and also her funeral.

Practical Information

Address: Sharia Al Malek As Salih, Roda Island

Opening Hours: Open Daily at 9 am-4 pm

8. Agriculture Museum

Egypt’s agricultural development has always been of great importance to the formation of Egypt as a nation. Egypt has also been featured in the history of the agrarian revolution.

This museum is, therefore, testament enough to take you through this elaborate history. The museum is located in the palace that previously belonged to Princess Fatima Ismail.

This choice was influenced by its proximity to the Ministry of Agriculture. The ministry has succeeded in relaying the efforts of its various departments at the museum.

The displays in there showcase Egypt’s agriculture since the Pharaonic era. It is the second most important dedicated museum in agriculture, after the Agricultural Museum in Budapest.

There are two other museums in the palace compound; the Egypt-China friendship Museum, the Wildlife & Natural museum, and Environment museum.

Practical Information

Address: Ad Doqi, Giza, Egitto

9. October War Panorama Museum

Statue of Egyptian Soldiers at the museum By David Lisbona -Wikimedia

This museum is dedicated to the memory of the 1973 October war, it is also known as the Arab-Israeli war. it is in the Heliopolis area of Cairo.

The displays in here are military vehicles, tanks, aircraft and other weapons used during the war.

Two films are shown about the war and are projected on a 360-degree screen that rotates. North Korean artists helped in building the museum.

The museum was built in a cylindrical shape that borrows from Islamic architecture.

The artefacts and other information materials in the museum tell of the victory of the Egyptian army over Israel during that war.

Practical Information

Address: Salah Salem St, Al Estad, Nasr City, Cairo Governorate, Egypt

10. Memphis Museum

Memphis Museum is one of the best museums in Egypt and a World Heritage Site.

It is also unique in the sense that it is an open-air museum. The artefacts at this place are from the ruins of Memphis city.

One can find the figure of Ramses II, sphinxes, statues, artefacts, and many more. The name of the museum was after the city when it was seen as the capital of Egypt.

The city was home to the god Ptah and was worshipped together with his wife goddess Sekhmet and their son, the god Nefer Tom.

Practical Information

Address: Ramsis Square, Downtown Cairo, Egypt

Open Daily: 9 am to 7 pm