The crowds are unavoidable and there is no "good" time to visit but The Egyptian Museum is an absolute must see if in Cairo. For me it comes right after Coptic Cairo and the Pyramids. For most people, it would be right after the Pyramids. The hours are 9:00 to 6:45. I imagine it is closed on Fridays but I don't know this for certain. There is no way to see it all in one visit, no matter how long you stay, so it helps to have guide or a plan.

You will have to queue up to get in the courtyard. Take pictures here because there are absolutely no photos inside, (I even had a hard time finding good interior photos online) and then get in line to have them store your camera. Take a number and yes, your camera is safe. You also need to get in line for your ticket. Once inside, you may need to be strategic. The place is hella crowded - always!. I cannot emphasize this enough. Large tours may be congregating around something you want to see. Check something else off of your list and come back. Several of the exhibits - Like King Tut's - require another ticket once inside. A word of warning, there is no AC, so go early if it's a hot day.

Must sees include: King Tut's room on the second floor, The Royal Mummy Hall and Masterpieces of the Old Kingdom. The mummies are an absolute MUST SEE. I believe there were 11 mummies. Not just any old mummies, but famous rulers, like Ramses II. It's creepy but truly fascinating. There is much more as well; animal mummies, ancient Egyptian jewelry (I particularly liked this one) and ancient wooden ships to name a few. Only a fraction of the works available are actually on display at any given time.

The Egyptian antiquities service was created by French archeologist Auguste Mariette. The original museum was built in 1858 and moved into it's pink neoclassical location in 1902. Unfortunately, not much has changed with the building since. Woefully lacking in security, technology and space, the whole collection is scheduled to go to a new "Grand Egyptian Museum", called the Giza Museum near the pyramids in Giza. My Lonely Planet from 2008 set the date for early 2010. It almost 2011 at the time of this writing and still no museum. Another website is setting the opening for August 2011 and Wikipedia is saying early 2013. We shall see.

One could check with the official museum website at http://www.egyptianmuseum.gov.eg/ but it appears not to work at the time of this writing. There are some other good sites though. World Visitor Guide has a great page detailing some of the rooms and galleries. The Cairo Museum site (an official site?) has a lot of information, including a great list of collection highlights here.

Expensive (by Egyptian standards), hot, crowded and time comsuming...and oh so worth it.