Booking choice: The private half-day museum tour, from $65 per person. Check dates Tour details
The Egyptian Museum lost its most famous object in October 2025, when Tutankhamun's gold mask left for the Grand Egyptian Museum. It kept around 170,000 others. Plenty of them are first-rank: the oldest life-size statue in Egypt, the palette that records the country's unification, a gold mask that most visitors have never heard of.
Below is a route for two to three hours, ground floor first, then upstairs. We list only objects that 2025 and 2026 sources place at Tahrir; where we could confirm a piece from one source only, we say so.
The quick answer
On the ground floor: the Narmer Palette, Djoser's statue, Khafre enthroned, Rahotep and Nofret, the Amarna room and the colossal Amenhotep III and Tiye. Upstairs: the Tanis treasures in the old Tutankhamun room, with the gold mask of Psusennes I and his silver coffin, then the burial of Yuya and Thuya, mummies included. Allow two to three hours.
What is still in the Egyptian Museum after Tutankhamun left?
Most of it. Around 170,000 objects stayed, including the Narmer Palette, Djoser, Khafre, Rahotep and Nofret, the Tanis gold, the Yuya and Thuya burial and the Amarna room.
The safest list, backed by 2025 and 2026 news and the Ministry's own page:
| Object | Floor | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Narmer Palette | Ground | About 3100 BC, the unification of Egypt in stone |
| Statue of Djoser | Ground | The oldest life-size Egyptian statue found |
| Khafre enthroned | Ground | The builder of the second pyramid, with a falcon at his neck |
| Rahotep and Nofret | Ground | Painted pair with inlaid crystal eyes |
| Amenhotep III and Tiye | Ground, atrium | About 7 m tall, the largest object in the museum |
| Akhenaten and the Amarna room | Ground | Colossal statues and a relief of the royal family worshipping the Aten |
| Tanis treasures | Upper | Gold masks of Psusennes I and Amenemope, a silver coffin |
| Yuya and Thuya | Upper | Gilded masks, coffins, furniture, their mummies, a 19 m Book of the Dead |
Sources: Cairoscene's 2025 list, The National and the Ministry page. Galleries get rearranged, so treat floor plans from before 2025 with care.
Let an Egyptologist find them for you: the half-day private tour covers both floors in about three hours.
Check dates for the private half-day museum tourWhere do you start on the ground floor?
Turn left after the entrance and go clockwise. The ground floor runs roughly in time order, from the Early Dynastic rooms through the Old, Middle and New Kingdoms.
The first rooms on the left hold the oldest pieces. Look for the Narmer Palette, a 64 cm slate found at Hierakonpolis in the 1890s: King Narmer in the white crown on one side, the red crown on the other. Close by is the seated statue of Djoser, from the Step Pyramid at Saqqara.
Then the Old Kingdom proper. Khafre sits on his throne in dark gneiss with the Horus falcon wrapping its wings round the back of his head; walk behind him to see it. Rahotep and Nofret still have their paint and their crystal eyes, and look disconcertingly awake. As of our last check, the wooden statue of Kaaper, the "Sheikh el-Balad", the tiny ivory Khufu statuette (the only secure portrait of the man who built the Great Pyramid) and the painted Meidum geese were in the same part of the floor. Ask a guard if you can't find them.
What should you see in the middle of the ground floor?
The colossal Amenhotep III and Tiye in the atrium, then the Amarna room with Akhenaten's statues. As of our last check, Mentuhotep II's painted statue sits in the Middle Kingdom rooms nearby.
The Amenhotep III and Tiye group is about 7 m tall, with three small daughters at their feet. You can't miss it: it fills the far end of the atrium. Their parents, Yuya and Thuya, are upstairs, which makes a neat thread to follow.
Nearby, the Amarna room shows Akhenaten's odd, long-faced statues and a limestone relief of the king, Nefertiti and two daughters worshipping the sun disc. A few Amarna pieces went to the GEM, but the room is still one of the strongest in the building. As of our last check, the black-skinned seated Mentuhotep II in his red crown, found at Deir el-Bahari, was in the Middle Kingdom section.
Where is the Tanis gold in the Egyptian Museum?
Upstairs, in the room that used to hold Tutankhamun's treasures. The Tanis collection was re-displayed there in 2022.
Pierre Montet found the royal tombs at Tanis in the Nile Delta in 1940, a few months into the Second World War, and the find never got the fame it deserved. The centrepiece is the gold mask of Psusennes I, solid gold inlaid with lapis lazuli, which the museum's own portal calls one of its masterpieces. Next to it lies his silver coffin: silver was rarer than gold in Egypt then, which is why he is sometimes called the Silver Pharaoh.
The room also holds the gold mask of Amenemope, the mask of Sheshonq II, more silver coffins and cases of jewellery, about 2,000 pieces in all. It is the best royal gold in Egypt after Tutankhamun's, and you will often have it to yourself.
A private Egyptologist takes you from the Narmer Palette to the Tanis gold in about three hours. Ticket and hotel pickup included.
Explore the private half-day museum tour Tour detailsAre Yuya and Thuya still at the Egyptian Museum?
Yes. Their burial is on the upper floor: gilded masks, nested coffins, chairs, chests, a 19-metre Book of the Dead and their mummies.
Yuya and Thuya were the parents of Queen Tiye and the great-grandparents of Tutankhamun. Their tomb, KV46 in the Valley of the Kings, was found almost intact in 1905, and until Tutankhamun's tomb turned up in 1922 it was the richest find in the valley. The museum's portal places Yuya's coffin on the upper floor.
Look for the gilded cartonnage masks, the chair of their granddaughter Princess Sitamun, and the Book of the Dead papyrus, about 19 m long. The two mummies themselves are among the best preserved anywhere. They are not royal, which is why they stayed when the kings and queens left for NMEC in 2021. More in where the royal mummies are.
What else is worth seeing upstairs?
The animal mummies, the papyri and the jewellery cases, plus Middle Kingdom models of boats and workshops. Skip the long corridors of coffins if time is short.
- Animal mummies: crocodiles, baboons, cats and a large fish, wrapped with the same care as people.
- Middle Kingdom models: little wooden boats, granaries and workshops. Egypt's share of the Meketre models is split between Tahrir and NMEC, so you may see only some.
- Papyri and jewellery: small rooms, easy to walk past. Worth ten minutes.
- Greco-Roman and late material: at the end of the circuit, if you still have energy.
What you won't see: Tutankhamun's mask and coffins (at the GEM since late October 2025), the royal mummies (at NMEC since April 2021) and, despite what some tour listings claim, the Rosetta Stone, which is in London.
Two museums in a day: Tahrir in the morning, then the royal mummies at NMEC, with a private guide.
Check dates for the Egyptian Museum and NMEC dayHow long do you need to see the highlights?
Ninety minutes for the ground floor and the Tanis room. Two to three hours for both floors. Half a day if you read every label.
Our route for two and a half hours:
| Time | Where | See |
|---|---|---|
| 0:00 | Ground floor, left side | Narmer Palette, Djoser, Khafre, Rahotep and Nofret |
| 0:45 | Atrium and Amarna room | Amenhotep III and Tiye, Akhenaten |
| 1:15 | Upstairs, former Tut room | Tanis gold, silver coffin of Psusennes I |
| 1:45 | Upstairs | Yuya and Thuya, then the animal mummies |
| 2:15 | Ground floor | Gift shop, cafe, or the late rooms you skipped |
Arrive at 9 am and you will have the Old Kingdom rooms nearly empty. Phone photos are free; flash is not allowed. Ticket details are in the tickets guide.
Is the Egyptian Museum worth visiting without Tutankhamun?
Yes, if you care about ancient art more than celebrity. It costs a third of the GEM, it is quiet, and the Old Kingdom and Tanis rooms are world class.
One guest on the private tour, in March 2026: "Disregard comments suggesting this museum is old and dirty. Restoration underway and a wonderful collection. I recommend a guided tour." Another, in May 2025, liked the old building itself: "The building had a lot of character and charm as well as several great exhibits."
If Tutankhamun is the only thing you came for, though, go to the GEM. Tahrir or the GEM helps you decide.
Frequently asked questions
What is the most famous object in the Egyptian Museum now?
The Narmer Palette, about 3100 BC, and the gold mask of Psusennes I from Tanis. Tutankhamun's mask left for the GEM in late October 2025.
Is there a gold mask in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo?
Yes, though not Tutankhamun's. The Tanis room upstairs has the gold masks of Psusennes I and Amenemope, and Yuya and Thuya's gilded masks are nearby.
Are there mummies in the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir?
A few. Yuya and Thuya and a room of animal mummies stayed. The 22 royal mummies are at NMEC in Fustat.
How long does it take to see the Egyptian Museum?
Two to three hours for the highlights on both floors, 90 minutes for the ground floor and the Tanis room.
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Private Half-Day Egyptian Museum Tour
- A private Egyptologist guide for your group
- Entry ticket to the Egyptian Museum
- Hotel pickup and drop-off by air-conditioned minivan
Egyptian Museum, Citadel & Khan el-Khalili
A private Egyptologist and lunch on a Nile island
Egyptian Museum, Citadel & Old Cairo Day
- A private English-speaking Egyptologist
- Entry fees to every site on the route
- Lunch at a local restaurant, water in the car
