Getting there
How to get to the Egyptian Museum on Tahrir Square
Metro to Sadat, a taxi or ride-hailing app, or a walk from downtown: the easy ways to reach the museum, and how not to end up at the wrong one.
Check dates for the museum tour ↗Quick answer
The museum stands on the northern side of Tahrir Square in central Cairo. The nearest metro station is Sadat, under the square, where Lines 1 and 2 meet. A taxi or ride-hailing app works from anywhere in the city: ask for the Egyptian Museum on Tahrir Square, not the Grand Egyptian Museum at Giza. From downtown hotels and the Nile corniche you can walk.
First, make sure it is the right museum
Cairo has two museums with almost the same name. The Egyptian Museum is the salmon-pink 1902 building on Tahrir Square, in the centre of the city. The Grand Egyptian Museum is a new building beside the Giza pyramids, on the other side of the Nile. Maps, drivers and tour listings mix them up all the time. When you type the name into a map app, check that the pin sits on Tahrir Square, and say Tahrir out loud when you give a driver directions.
By metro
The metro is the cheapest way in and avoids the traffic on the surface. Sadat station lies under Tahrir Square and is an interchange between Line 1, the oldest line, opened in 1987, and Line 2, whose first section opened in 1996 and which runs in a tunnel under the Nile. Come up into the square and the museum stands on its northern side. Fares depend on the number of stops you travel, and the two middle cars of each train are reserved for women. Trains are crowded at rush hour, so a mid-morning ride is more comfortable.
By taxi or ride-hailing app
From hotels in Zamalek, Garden City, Dokki or along the Nile, a car is quick when the roads are clear and slow when they are not. Ride-hailing apps are popular with visitors because the route and price are set in the app before you start. With a street taxi, agree the fare first or ask for the meter. Either way, set the destination as the Egyptian Museum, Tahrir Square, or Midan el-Tahrir. Allow extra time around the middle of the day, when downtown traffic is at its heaviest.
On foot
If you are staying downtown, walking is often the quickest option. The museum faces Tahrir Square from the north, and its garden once ran down to the Nile before the land was taken for a municipal building in 1954, so it is still only a short walk from the river. In the middle of the square stands an obelisk of Ramesses II from Tanis, with four ram-headed sphinxes brought from Karnak, set up in 2020, which makes a handy landmark. The square is a busy roundabout, so cross with the lights or where other people cross.
From the Giza pyramids or the Grand Egyptian Museum
There is no metro from the pyramids to Tahrir, so most visitors take a taxi, an app car or a tour. The journey crosses the Nile and depends on traffic. If you are visiting both museums, it is easier to give each one its own day; if you do them on the same day, leave Giza early enough to reach Tahrir well before the last tickets are sold.
From Old Cairo and the civilisation museum
The National Museum of Egyptian Civilization, where the royal mummies now are, is in Fustat, south of the centre near Coptic Cairo. A car is the simplest way between the two museums. Tell the driver the Egyptian Museum on Tahrir Square, not the civilisation museum or the Grand Egyptian Museum.
Arriving with a guide
If you would rather not deal with transport at all, the private guided tour on this site picks you up from your hotel in Cairo, takes you to the museum by car and brings you back, with entrance tickets included. Pickup from outer areas such as the airport, New Cairo or Sheikh Zayed is offered at extra cost.
Frequently asked questions
What is the nearest metro station to the Egyptian Museum?
Sadat, under Tahrir Square, where Lines 1 and 2 meet. The museum is on the northern side of the square.
Is the Egyptian Museum near the pyramids?
No. It is in central Cairo on Tahrir Square. The museum near the pyramids is the Grand Egyptian Museum, a different museum.
Can I walk to the museum from downtown hotels?
Yes, from most of downtown and the hotels along the Nile corniche. Cross the square with care, as it is a busy roundabout.
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