Royal Carriages Museum Cairo: tickets, opening hours and rules

The Royal Carriages Museum in Bulaq, Cairo, is open every day from 9am to 5pm, and the ticket window closes at 4pm. An adult ticket is EGP 30 for Egyptians and EGP 300 for foreign visitors, and students pay EGP 10 and EGP 150, according to the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities.

Ticket prices

For Egyptians: EGP 30 for an adult and EGP 10 for a student.

For foreign visitors: EGP 300 for an adult and EGP 150 for a student.

The ministry's page does not list a separate price for foreign residents or for children over 6.

Who gets in free

The ministry lists five groups who enter free: Egyptians aged 60 and over, Egyptians with special needs, orphaned children, children under 6, and primary and preparatory school trips from government and Al-Azhar schools booked in advance through the Rehla platform.

Opening hours

The museum opens from 9am to 5pm every day of the week, Friday included, and the last ticket is sold at 4pm. In Ramadan the hours are 9am to 3pm, and the ticket window closes at 2pm.

What the museum is

The idea for the building goes back to Khedive Ismail, who ruled from 1863 to 1879 and wanted a home for the khedive's horses and carriages. It began as the Khedivial Carriages Service, and in 1922, under King Fouad, its name became the Royal Stables Department, or Royal Mews. The palace gave it specialist staff and skilled workers. After the 1952 revolution the building became a museum. The ministry calls it one of the earliest museums of its kind in the world, in both its building and its collection, and notes that only a handful of museums anywhere, in Austria, France, Russia and England, show this kind of collection.

What to see

The collection is the carriages of the Muhammad Ali dynasty, in many sizes and types. The star is the grand Alay carriage, known for its fine workmanship and rich decoration. Emperor Napoleon III and Empress Eugenie gave it to Khedive Ismail for the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869, and King Farouk later had it restored and rode in it to open Parliament. Around the carriages are horse harness and riding equipment, the uniforms of the men who worked in the carriages service, and oil paintings of kings and princesses from the same period.

Photos and rules

Personal photography is allowed once you have paid for your ticket, without flash and without tripods or monopods. Filming or photographing for commercial use, such as television, cinema, adverts or documentaries, needs permission from the authority and payment of the daily rate. Please do not photograph other visitors or staff.

Inside the galleries: do not touch the exhibits or the cases, no food or drink apart from small bottles of water, no smoking, no audio players, no flashlights or laser pointers, and appropriate dress. Children must stay with an adult at all times.

Large bags, large backpacks, luggage and parcels bigger than 40 by 40 centimetres go in the cloakroom, as do umbrellas, sharp objects and anything dangerous. Pets, musical instruments, folding seats and banners are not allowed, and bags may be searched. Art students may sketch in pencil only, on sketchbooks no larger than 18 by 24 inches.

Services

The ministry lists toilets, accessible toilets, a ramped entrance, a lift, parking, a gift shop, Braille labels and sign language.

Common questions

Is the museum open on Friday? Yes, from 9am to 5pm, like every other day.

Where is it? In Bulaq, in central Cairo. The ministry's page names the district but does not give a street address or a phone number.

Does it cost extra to take photos? The ministry says personal photography is allowed after paying the ticket fee and does not list a separate camera ticket. Prices can change, so the ticket window has the final word.