Egypt attractions · Giza & Memphis
Giza Pyramids Tickets & the Memphis Necropolis
Tickets for the Giza plateau and the pyramid fields of Memphis – the plateau pass, the Great Pyramid interior, Saqqara's Step Pyramid and the Bent and Red pyramids at Dahshur – with what each one buys you.
Old Kingdom · c. 2670–2180 BC
- Headline ticket
- Giza plateau pass
- Inside a pyramid
- Khufu interior
- Also covers
- Saqqara · Dahshur · Memphis
- Days needed
- 1–2 for the fields
- From Cairo
- 20–60 min
- Booking
- Plateau pass + inner tickets
The lay of the land
Attractions and tickets in Giza
The pyramids were not built all at once or in one place. Giza holds the three great pyramids and the Sphinx; thirty minutes south, Saqqara holds the Step Pyramid where the idea began; beyond it, Dahshur holds the Bent and Red pyramids where the true pyramid was worked out, and Memphis was the capital they all served. The plateau charges a base ticket with extra tickets for the chambers inside; the southern fields each charge their own. Here is what every ticket buys.
Old Kingdom · c. 2670–2180 BC
Where it all began, in stone
The story of monumental Egypt starts on this plateau and in the desert just south of it. Around 2670 BC, at Saqqara, the architect Imhotep stacked six stone mastabas into the Step Pyramid of Djoser, the first large building made of cut stone anywhere on earth.
Within a century the form was perfected. Sneferu worked out the true pyramid through trial and error at Dahshur, where the Bent Pyramid changes angle halfway up and the Red Pyramid stands smooth and complete. His son Khufu raised the Great Pyramid at Giza around 2560 BC, the tallest structure built by human hands for nearly four thousand years. Everything that follows in Egypt is, in a sense, descended from here.
Find your bearings
Where Giza sits on the Nile
Egypt reads south to north along one river, oldest sites upstream to newest down at the Delta and the sea. Giza is highlighted below; tap any other city to cross to its sites and tickets.
The whole story, hub and mapSite by site
The top historical sites in Giza
What each site is, what is worth your time inside, and the entry ticket booked right there.
GizaGiza Plateau – Khufu, Khafre, Menkaure & the Sphinx
The base ticket onto the plateau: the three great pyramids, the Sphinx and the valley temple. It lets you walk among them and up to the Sphinx; going inside a pyramid is a separate ticket.
Book the entry ticket
GizaInside the Great Pyramid
The interior ticket for Khufu – the Grand Gallery and the King's Chamber at the heart of the largest pyramid. Numbers are capped each day and it sells out; we hold it in advance.
Book the entry ticket
GizaKhafre & Menkaure Pyramids
The two smaller great pyramids, often open to go inside when Khufu is full and far quieter. Khafre keeps its cap of casing stones at the summit.
Book the entry ticket
GizaThe Khufu Boat
The reassembled 4,600-year-old cedar solar boat found sealed in a pit beside the Great Pyramid – the oldest large boat to survive from antiquity.
Book the entry ticket
SaqqaraSaqqara – Step Pyramid & the Serapeum
Djoser's Step Pyramid, the first monument in cut stone, and the Serapeum's vast granite sarcophagi of the Apis bulls in their rock-cut galleries. The birthplace of pyramid building.
Book the entry ticket
Mit RahinaMemphis Open-Air Museum
The scattered remains of Egypt's first capital – a colossal fallen Ramses II and a fine alabaster sphinx under a small open-air shelter among the palm groves.
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DahshurDahshur – Bent & Red Pyramids
The two pyramids of Sneferu where the geometry was solved: the Bent Pyramid that changed angle halfway up, and the Red Pyramid, the first true smooth-sided pyramid, which you can climb into almost alone.
Book the entry ticket
MeidumMeidum Pyramid
The strange tower-like pyramid south of Dahshur, its outer steps collapsed into a skirt of rubble – a dramatic, near-empty site for travelers who want the fields to themselves.
Book the entry ticket
SaqqaraImhotep Museum, Saqqara
The site museum at the foot of the Step Pyramid, named for its architect – finds from the necropolis and a clear, small introduction before you walk into the complex.
Book the entry ticket
GizaPyramids Sound & Light Show
The evening show on the plateau, the pyramids and Sphinx lit and narrated after dark – touristy, yes, but the floodlit Sphinx against the night is a fair way to close a day.
Book the entry ticketEvery other Giza ticket we book
Before you book
How Giza tickets work
How pyramid tickets work, before you book.
The plateau pass gets you in, not inside
The base Giza ticket lets you walk the plateau and reach the Sphinx. Going inside any pyramid – Khufu, Khafre or Menkaure – is a separate ticket bought on top, and Khufu's is the one that sells out.
Inner tickets are capped daily
Entry into the Great Pyramid is limited to a set number each morning and afternoon, released in two batches. We secure it ahead so a long queue does not end at a sold-out sign.
Tight in chambers, not for everyone
The passage into Khufu is low, steep and airless. It is a remarkable thing to do, but skip it for claustrophobia or knees and bad backs; the Red Pyramid at Dahshur is roomier and almost empty.
Pair Giza with the southern fields
Saqqara, Dahshur and Memphis sit thirty to sixty minutes south and are far quieter than the plateau. One ticket each, and together they tell the story of how the pyramid was invented before Giza perfected it.
The organized way
Or let us run Giza for you
Every ticket on this page is one we can book for you. Most travelers go a step further: a private day tour with a licensed Egyptologist and all entrance fees included, the hotel sorted and the airport handled. Cairo · Luxor · Aswan · Hurghada · Marsa Alam · Sharm El Sheikh, on the ground since 1988.
Guided day tours in Giza
Private tours led by a licensed Egyptologist, with every entrance fee included. The sites on this page, handled end to end.
Giza day toursWhere to stay in Giza
Hand-picked Giza hotels at our net rates, matched to how you want to spend your mornings.
Giza hotelsPrivate airport transfers
A flight-tracked meet-and-greet from the airport to your hotel door, with a driver who knows the run.
Airport transfersNile cruise packages
Add a Luxor to Aswan cruise with the temples, full board and an Egyptologist built into the sailing.
Cruise packagesCommon questions
Giza tickets, answered
01How much is a ticket to the Giza pyramids?+
The plateau charges a base entry ticket that lets you walk among the three pyramids and up to the Sphinx. Going inside a pyramid costs extra – the Great Pyramid interior is the priciest and most limited, with Khafre and Menkaure cheaper when open. The Khufu boat and the sound-and-light show are separate again. We list the current prices and book the combination you want.
02Can you go inside the Great Pyramid, and is it worth it?+
Yes – a capped number of tickets each day let you climb the Grand Gallery to the King's Chamber inside Khufu. It is a genuine experience, but the passage is low, steep and warm, and the chamber itself is bare. Worth it for most able visitors; skip it for claustrophobia or back and knee trouble, where the Red Pyramid at Dahshur is an easier, quieter alternative.
03Should I visit Saqqara and Dahshur as well as Giza?+
If you have a second day or a long first one, yes. Saqqara's Step Pyramid is where pyramid building started and the Serapeum is extraordinary; Dahshur's Bent and Red pyramids are where the smooth-sided pyramid was worked out, and you can often go inside almost alone. They are thirty to sixty minutes south of Giza and far less crowded.
04Is there a combined ticket for the pyramids and Saqqara?+
No single pass covers them all. Giza, Saqqara, Dahshur and Memphis each charge their own entry, and the inner-chamber tickets are extra on top of Giza. We assemble the right set for your itinerary and book them together, so you travel between the fields without stopping to buy tickets at each gate.
05What time should I visit the Giza pyramids?+
Open at opening time. The plateau is coolest and emptiest in the first hour, the light is best for photographs early and late, and the inner-pyramid tickets are most available in the morning batch. We start you early and route the southern fields for the afternoon when Giza fills up.
Tickets & guides
Plan your pyramids day
Tell us your date and whether you want to go inside a pyramid, and we hold the plateau pass and the capped inner tickets, add Saqqara and Dahshur, and put a guide on the plateau with you. Cairo · Luxor · Aswan · Hurghada · Marsa Alam · Sharm El Sheikh, on the ground since 1988.