Is the Grand Egyptian Museum worth visiting? What you can see – and what’s missing – before it fully opens

Twelve of the museum’s galleries finally opened to the public in October 2024 - (Jack Lawes)

Almost a century ago, American archaeologists working near the Pyramids of Giza made an incredible discovery: a secret burial chamber littered with gilded treasures. They’d just uncovered the tomb of Queen Hetepheres I, the mother of King Khufu, along with a suite of royal bedroom furniture. The items inside were over 4,600 years old.

Through painstaking restoration work, the queen’s bed, throne, and belongings were carefully restored to their former glory. The Hetepheres collection now sits among the thousands of incredible artefacts at the newly-opened Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) in Cairo.