The Bahia Palace, the beauty of Marrakech

Built at the end of the 19th century, the Palais de la Bahia was intended to be the grandest building of its time. For this reason, the building was decorated with superb stucco, high-quality paintings and mosaics that have retained their brilliance. In fact, the name of the Bahia Palace in Arabic means "beautiful, shining" and is said to have been built in honour of the wives of a wealthy vizier. It is one of the best-preserved tourist monuments, making it a must-see and a fine example of Moroccan architecture.

The building comprises a number of different areas, both personal and dedicated to business. In the past, the palace was used as the residence of Ahmed Ben Moussa, a Grand Vizier, to accommodate all his wives. The huge courtyard at the centre of the building is surrounded by the former concubine chambers. In total, there were more than a hundred rooms, but the most important part of the palace is the harem with its 16 rooms, 12 rooms for the concubines and 4 other rooms of equal size for the wives, which meant that they belonged to the same rank.

The Grand Riad

Dating back to the 19th century, this is the oldest part of the palace. It resembles a winter garden, opening onto two large rooms. The room is decorated in a traditional oriental style, with beautiful earthenware, Moroccan zellige tiles and sculpted elements. You have to look up to admire the magnificent cedar wood ceiling with its painted motifs.

The Petit Riad

Square-shaped and narrower, the Petit Riad is no less interesting. It is decorated in traditional Moroccan style, with wooden panels and carved door frames painted with colourful motifs. With the arrival of the French protectorate and General Lyautey, who decided to stay at the Palais de la Bahia during his visits to Morocco, a number of improvements were made, including the installation of fireplaces and an electric system to heat the cool winter nights.

The Little Courtyard

More classical, the small courtyard is surrounded by typical walls and alcoves painted white and with a marble floor embellished with fairly light zellige tiles. At its centre is a sumptuous fountain set into a mosaic floor. Despite the simplicity of the courtyard, it is nonetheless worth seeing for its cedar wood ceilings and pretty rounded oriental doors.

📍 Address: rue Riad Zitoun el Jdid, Marrakech

⏰Opening hours: open every day from 9am to 5pm

👛 Admission: €7 (70 DH) for adults and €3 (30 DH) for children under 12.