Helwan Corner Museum

The Helwan Corner Museum is a pavilion King Farouk built in 1942 in the shape of a sailing boat on the Nile, in Helwan, about 25 km south of central Cairo. It shows Muhammad Ali dynasty keepsakes, opens 9 am to 4 pm, and charges a modest fee on site.

Hardly any visitors make it to Helwan, a spa town that was once fashionable and is now an industrial suburb 25 km south of central Cairo. The Helwan Corner Museum is a good reason to go. King Farouk put it up in 1942 as a small private pavilion on the Nile, shaped on purpose like a sailing boat: long and narrow, with a pointed bow aimed at the river. It sat neglected for decades before a careful restoration and a public reopening in 2016.

The collection is small and personal: photographs, oil portraits, figurines, gifts and private souvenirs of the Muhammad Ali royal family, along with replica furniture from Tutankhamun's tomb (the originals are in Cairo and at the new GEM). The bigger surprise is the garden, home to rare plants including a group of mango trees brought from Albania, said to reflect a personal interest of King Zog of Albania, who swapped seedlings with Farouk.

What to see

• The boat-shaped pavilion (1942)
• Royal family photographs and portraits
• Replicas of Tutankhamun's furniture
• The rare mango trees in the garden
• A quiet walk along the river

Visiting

• Opening hours: 9 am – 4 pm
• Tickets: modest fee on site
• Best time: a weekday afternoon, when Helwan is at its sleepiest
• Nearby: Helwan's old sulphur baths, Wadi Hof, the end of Cairo Metro Line 1