Egyptian Museum

The museum opened in 1902 in a purpose-built neoclassical hall and it has never really stopped being full: the collection runs to well over a hundred thousand objects and the galleries were laid out when a fraction of that was expected. The Tutankhamun treasures that made its name have moved to the Grand Egyptian Museum, and the royal mummies have gone to the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization, which changes what a visit is for. What remains is the density of the thing, room after room of statuary, coffins, stelae and everyday objects arranged more by chronology than by argument, with handwritten labels from a century ago sitting beside modern ones. The building itself is part of the interest, its central atrium stacked with colossal figures and its upper galleries running on wooden floors. It rewards a slow, unhurried walk rather than a checklist.

What you actually see

• The colossal statuary hall - the atrium stacked with royal figures.
• Old Kingdom masterpieces - including the seated Khafre and the Rahotep and Nofret pair.
• The Amarna gallery - the strange elongated art of Akhenaten's reign.
• Handwritten labels from 1902 - the museum as its own historical object.

When to go

October to April for the walk across Tahrir; the museum is not air-conditioned throughout and summer afternoons are heavy. Open daily, later on some evenings. Three hours is a reasonable first visit, and going early avoids the tour-group waves that arrive mid-morning.

Honest expectations

It is crowded, dusty and poorly signed in places, and the lighting in some galleries is genuinely bad. The star objects that most visitors come for are no longer here, so check what has moved before you plan. Photography rules change; buy the photo ticket if you want to shoot. There is little seating and no good cafe.

Nearby

Tahrir Square and downtown Khedivial Cairo are at the door; Coptic Cairo is a short metro ride south.