Bahia Palace

The Bahia Palace is the finest surviving example of how Morocco's elite lived at the end of the nineteenth century, and it is the most rewarding palace visit in Marrakech. It was begun by Si Moussa, grand vizier to the sultan, and greatly expanded in the 1890s by his son Ba Ahmed, who became grand vizier and effective regent; its name means brilliance or beauty, and he spared no expense, employing hundreds of craftsmen from Fez and across the country over several years. The result is a rambling single-story complex of courtyards, reception halls and private apartments arranged to impress and to control access: the further you go, the more intimate and more richly decorated the rooms become. The highlights are the ceilings, painted and carved cedar in geometric and floral patterns that are worth stopping under one by one; the zellige mosaic tilework that runs along walls and floors; the carved and painted stucco; and the stained-glass windows that throw colored light across the floors. The Grand Courtyard, paved in marble and lined with a gallery of tiled columns, is enormous and dazzling at midday, while the smaller riad gardens, planted with orange trees, banana plants and jasmine around fountains, are cool and green. The rooms are largely empty of furniture, which focuses attention on the craftsmanship. After Ba Ahmed's death in 1900 the palace was stripped by the sultan's household, and in the French protectorate era it housed the Resident General. Today the state still uses parts of it, which are closed to visitors. The palace reopened about a month after the 2023 earthquake following emergency repairs, and restoration work has continued since, so occasional areas may be screened.

Practicalities: the Bahia stands on the southeastern side of the Medina, near the Mellah and the Place des Ferblantiers, about fifteen minutes on foot from Jemaa el-Fna. It opens daily from the morning to late afternoon, and since a government decree in 2024 foreign adults pay a hundred dirhams, with lower prices for Moroccan visitors and children. It is busy with tour groups from mid-morning to early afternoon; arrive at opening or in the last ninety minutes before closing for the quietest rooms and the softest light in the courtyards. There are few labels inside, so a guide or a good guidebook adds a lot. Allow an hour to an hour and a half.

The Tiqets option: the linked product is a three-and-a-half-hour small-group walking tour with a live guide in English or Spanish, limited to around ten people, that includes entry to both the Bahia Palace and the Ben Youssef Madrasa and walks through the Medina and the Mellah, passing the exterior of the Koutoubia. It starts outside a restaurant on the Place des Ferblantiers, close to the palace, and does not include hotel pickup. For a first visit it is an efficient way to see two of the city's most beautiful interiors with context, and to learn the lanes of the Medina from someone who knows them, without negotiating with unofficial guides.

Around the palace: the Mellah, the old Jewish quarter, lies just south, with the Lazama Synagogue and the Miaara Jewish Cemetery, and the Place des Ferblantiers is lined with metalworkers making lanterns. Dar Si Said, a museum of Moroccan woodwork and carpets in another grand house, is a few lanes away. Watch out for faux guides near the palace entrance who tell you it is closed and offer to lead you elsewhere: the Bahia is open, the entrance is well signed and the men are steering you towards shops.