Location: Cairo
Top Things to do in Cairo
Countries
Things to do in Cairo, Cairo Governorate: The Best Art Museums
Cairo’s an ancient city that also happens to be a modern metropolis—it’s one of the biggest cities in the Middle East and has the traffic and noise issues to prove it. But as long as you’re not looking for solitude, Cairo—the City of the Thousand Minarets—is a splendid place to explore Egyptian history and culture. (Editor's note: Our list was compiled before political unrest prompted many countries to issue travel warnings for Egypt. If you're currently planning a trip to Egypt, please consider the risks and monitor your government's travel alerts.)
Restaurants in Cairo
1. The Coptic Museum
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 313 reviews
Housing some of the finest collections of Coptic art dating back to Egypt’s Christian era, this museum includes collections of ancient ankhs and Horus-like falcons, stone carvings from the era of the Mamluks, a 6th-century Coptic stone pulpit and the 1,600-year-old Coptic book of the Psalms of David.
Reviewed By limegreenchalk - Macon, United States
If you are interested in medieval or early Christian art, this museum is for you. There are countless beautiful objects: ceramics, frescoes, textiles, architectural stone, manuscripts, and so on. The building itself is beautiful and peaceful. All objects are labeled, unlike in the Egyptian Museum. Most of the galleries have dim lighting to protect the art. Not to be missed!
2. Gayer-Anderson Museum (Bayt al-Kiritliya)
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 204 reviews
This museum features the items of antiquity collected by John Gayer-Anderson, a British member of the Egyptian civil service in the 1930s and ‘40s, who restored two adjacent 16th- and 17th-century houses decorated with mashrabiyya screens and marble inlays.
Reviewed By kingzogofalbania
This is a real treat. A rabbit Warren of rooms stuffed full of mementos the owner collected over his career in the British army. Great collection of Islamic furniture screens and tiles and a peek at how sophisticated members of the colonial class lived. Hard to believe there’s a bustling city just a few feet away. There’s a guide on the premises to explain what you’re seeing.
3. Museum of Islamic Arts
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 139 reviews
Reviewed By Gaafar - Sandefjord, Norway
Very beautiful collection of artifacts from different historical eras starting from the Ummayad Caliphate (661-744), Abbasid Caliphate, Fatimid, Ayubbid, Mamluk, Ottoman and all the way to contemporary history (Muhammad Ali dynasty), each hall housing a collection from each of those eras and explaining a bit about the lifestyle in Egypt during that time. It's not a huge collection and can be covered in a couple of hours while savoring the details of the different artifacts. Highly recommended while in Cairo.
4. National Museum of Egyptian Civilization NEMC
5. Khalil Museum
Overall Ratings
3.5 based on 3 reviews
6. Museum of Islamic Ceramics
Overall Ratings
3.0 based on 12 reviews
Located in the palace of Prince Ibrahim in Zamalek, this museum offers a splendid collection of ceramics acquired from different Islamic countries.
7. Museum Of Illusions
Museum Of Illusions offers interactive, immersive and fun experience for children, parents, couples, grandmothers and grandfathers – a perfect, unusual and exciting place for all generations. Amusing and awesome tricks will teach you about vision, perception, the human brain and science so it will be easier to perceive why your eyes see things which your brain cannot understand.
