What to Wear in Cairo in December
Cairo in December: 21°C / 70°F days, 12°C / 54°F nights, and the Grand Egyptian Museum open to 9pm twice a week.
- Camel belted trench — a 9pm museum exit comes as the night falls toward 12°C / 54°F
- White cotton shirt — the museum's written rule is appropriate attire at all times
- Cobalt crew-neck sweater — on over the shirt once the sun sets, at 4:55pm in early December
- Sand pleated wide-leg trousers — covered knees are the safe choice at Sultan Hasan and in the old city
- Cream leather sneakers — one pair from the Giza plateau to the Grand Stairs, where the museum's rules keep your shoes on
- Cognac zip crossbody — anything over 40 × 40 cm goes to the museum's cloakroom
- A backpack or big tote — the Grand Egyptian Museum sends bags over 40 × 40 cm to the cloakroom
- A selfie stick, tripod or monopod — the museum bans all three
- Stepping out of the museum for lunch — tickets allow a single entry, with no re-entry
- Leaving the trench at the hotel because noon reached 21°C / 70°F — the sun sets at about 5pm
December in Cairo is a month of short days and long museum nights. The Egyptian Meteorological Authority's normal for Cairo International Airport gives a 20.5°C noon and a night that falls to 11.7°C, with about one day with rain, and the sun sets at 4:57pm in mid-month. The Grand Egyptian Museum, open since 1 November 2025, writes that its galleries "are open daily from 9 AM to 6 PM, with extended hours until 9 PM on Saturdays and Wednesdays." Pack for both halves of one day: a white cotton shirt and sand trousers for Giza in the sun, then a cobalt crew and a camel trench for the galleries after dark.
Spend the light at Giza and the dark at the Grand Egyptian Museum. On Wednesdays and Saturdays its galleries stay open four hours past a December sunset.
The capsule
01Camel double-breasted trench, belted, to the kneeOn Wednesdays and Saturdays the galleries stay open to 9pm, about four hours after a 4:57pm sunset, and you walk out as the night falls toward 12°C / 54°F. A belted trench to the knee is the right weight for that, and for about one day with rain. You will not miss an umbrella: the museum makes you leave them in a designated area.
02White cotton shirt with a chest pocketGrand Egyptian Museum rules say "Appropriate attire is required at all times" and define it no further, so a plain white shirt buttoned to the collar settles it. Long sleeves keep the Giza sun off your arms at a 21°C / 70°F noon. In Cairo shops, look for the cotton-flower Egyptian Cotton logo that ALCOTEXA and the trade ministry developed in 2001.
03Cobalt fine-knit crew-neck sweaterCairo's earliest sunsets of the year come at 4:55pm, from 25 November to 10 December, so most of a late museum night is spent after dark. A fine crew goes on over the white shirt as the light goes and stays under the trench on the way out. Cobalt is the one strong colour against sand, white and camel, and it turns a day outfit into an evening one.
04Sand pleated wide-leg trousersCovered knees are the safe choice in the old city and at the mosque-madrasa of Sultan Hasan, built between 1356 and 1362, and a wide leg gives you that without trapping heat at a 21°C / 70°F noon. Front pleats and a pressed crease keep them smart enough for the museum's attire rule after a morning on the Giza plateau.
05Cream leather low-top sneakersShoes stay on at the Grand Egyptian Museum, whose terms say "Visitors may not remove their shoes, lie down on benches or floors". A late night after a Giza morning keeps you in one pair from the plateau until the galleries close at 9pm, across the Grand Hall and the Grand Stairs. Cream leather lace-ups take all of it and wipe clean.
06Cognac leather zip crossbody with gold-tone chain linksAnything over 40 × 40 cm goes to the Grand Egyptian Museum's cloakroom, and a ticket allows one entry, so carry a bag you can keep on you all day. A zip-top crossbody holds a phone with your timed ticket, a card and a small water bottle, the only drink the galleries allow. Gold-tone chain links pick up the gold scarf and flats.
07Gold silk scarfWound once at the neck, a silk scarf adds warmth as the night falls toward 12°C / 54°F, and it folds into the crossbody by day. Unwound, it covers your hair or shoulders if you step into Sultan Hasan or al-Rifa'i, which share one EGP 220 ticket for foreign adults. Gold is the palette's accent, sitting between the camel trench and the cobalt crew.
08Gold leather ballet flatsLate galleries are the dressed half of the day, and the museum asks for appropriate attire at all times. Flat gold leather lifts a cobalt crew and sand trousers for the Grand Hall and for dinner after 9pm, and a flat sole stays steady on the Grand Stairs. Since the rules keep your shoes on all evening, bring a pair you have already broken in.
Day to night
Giza morning. White cotton shirt · sand pleated wide-leg trousers · cream leather sneakers · cognac zip crossbody, with the camel trench until the sun is well up. Go at the plateau's 8am opening; the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities charges foreign adults EGP 700 for the area and EGP 1,000 more for the Great Pyramid's interior.
Museum night. Cobalt crew over the white shirt · sand trousers · gold ballet flats · gold silk scarf · camel trench. On Wednesdays and Saturdays the Grand Egyptian Museum's galleries stay open until 9pm, with last entry at 8pm, and the sun sets between 4:55pm and 5:05pm all month.
A suggested look — camel belted trench coat, white cotton shirt, sand pleated wide-leg trousers, cream leather sneakers.
What to avoid
- A bag over 40 × 40 cm at the Grand Egyptian Museum
- A selfie stick, tripod or monopod in the galleries
- Stepping out mid-visit on a single-entry ticket
- Cameras in the marked areas of the Tutankhamun Galleries
- Dressing a 9pm museum exit for the 21°C / 70°F noon
Frequently asked questions
Mild by day and cool at night: 21°C / 70°F afternoons and 12°C / 54°F nights. The Egyptian Meteorological Authority's long-term normal for Cairo International Airport gives December a mean high of 20.5°C and a mean low of 11.7°C, with 3.4mm of rain and about one day with rain. NOAA's daily records from the same airport agree closely, at 20.6°C and 11.3°C over 30 Decembers. The sun rises at 6:33am on 1 December and 6:51am on the 31st. It sets at 4:55pm until 10 December, the earliest sunsets of the year, and at 5:05pm by New Year's Eve.
Pack for two halves of one day. For a Giza morning: a white cotton shirt, sand pleated wide-leg trousers, cream leather sneakers and a cognac zip crossbody. For a Grand Egyptian Museum evening: a cobalt crew over the same shirt, gold ballet flats, a gold silk scarf and a camel trench. That covers a 21°C / 70°F noon on the plateau and a night that falls toward 12°C / 54°F. Covered shoulders and knees are the safe choice in the old city and at its mosques, and both outfits cover them.
Dress for hours on your feet, because your shoes stay on. The museum's visitor terms say "Appropriate attire is required at all times", forbid removing your shoes, send bags over 40 × 40 cm to the cloakroom and umbrellas to a designated area. The Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities asks the same at the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir: "Appropriate attire is requested." The Grand Egyptian Museum, which calls itself the world's largest museum dedicated to a single civilisation, writes that "In 2025, on the first of November, the Grand Egyptian Museum opened its doors." Its building is by the Irish firm Heneghan Peng, chosen in 2003, and the statue of Ramesses II has stood in its Grand Hall since 2018. One timed ticket covers the Tutankhamun Galleries, the Main Galleries, the Grand Stairs and Khufu's Boats Museum.
Early December has the earliest sunsets of the year, 4:55pm until the 10th, so a late museum night is almost all after dark; by the 31st the sun sets at 5:05pm. The Grand Egyptian Museum's late nights are spread evenly: Wednesdays 2, 9, 16, 23 and 30 December and Saturdays 5, 12, 19 and 26, with galleries open until 9pm and last entry at 8pm. Giza's prices hold all month, EGP 700 for a foreign adult's area ticket and EGP 1,000 for the Great Pyramid's interior. Of that pyramid, Khufu's tomb, the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities writes that it "was the tallest structure in the world for 3,800 years."
December is a little warmer. The Egyptian Meteorological Authority's airport normal gives December 20.5°C by day and 11.7°C at night; January runs 1.6°C cooler on both and is the coldest month of the year. Each has about one day with rain, January a little more in total (4.8mm against 3.4mm). The Grand Egyptian Museum keeps the same late Wednesdays and Saturdays in both months. December here is built around those late nights and a Giza morning; our January guide follows the Cairo International Book Fair, from 20 January to 2 February 2027, and Coptic Christmas on 7 January.
Yes, if you check the label. WIPO's account of Egyptian cotton says cotton stakeholders established the Alexandria Cotton Exporters Association (ALCOTEXA) in 1932 to organise the trade. In 2001 ALCOTEXA and the Ministry of Economy and Foreign Trade developed a logo, a drawing of a cotton flower with the words "Egyptian Cotton", and the same year registered it as a certification mark in the United States, for products made wholly or substantially from Egyptian cotton. Look for that mark before you pay for a white shirt like the one packed here; a plain white cotton shirt also meets the Grand Egyptian Museum's attire rule without a second thought.
Sources
- Egyptian Meteorological Authority — 1991–2020 climate normals, Cairo International Airport (62366) stationThe Egyptian Meteorological Authority's 1991–2020 normal for Cairo International Airport, as submitted to the WMO's normals collection.
- Egyptian Meteorological Authority — 1991–2020 climate normals, Cairo International Airport (62366), as submitted to the WMO's normals collection (NOAA NCEI accession 0253808) — accessed 2026-10-26
- NOAA NCEI — Global Summary of the Day, Cairo International Airport (62366099999), 1991–2020 — accessed 2026-10-26
- Grand Egyptian Museum — Museum story (opened 1 November 2025) — accessed 2026-10-26
- Grand Egyptian Museum — Plan your visit: hours and location — accessed 2026-10-26
- Grand Egyptian Museum — Official ticketing site: visitor rules, prohibited items and admission — accessed 2026-10-26
- Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities — Giza Plateau: tickets — accessed 2026-10-26
- Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities — The Great Pyramid: tickets — accessed 2026-10-26
- Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities — The Egyptian Museum (Tahrir): tickets and visitor policies — accessed 2026-10-26
- Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities — Mosque and Madrasa of Sultan Hasan (1356–1362) — accessed 2026-10-26
- WIPO — Cotton from the land of the Pharaohs: the Egyptian Cotton logo (2001) and ALCOTEXA (1932) — accessed 2026-10-26
