Bahia Palace
A 19th-century palace built to be "the most beautiful" of its time — and still one of the best half-hours you'll spend in Marrakech.
What it is
Bahia Palace ("brilliance palace") was built in the late 1800s by Si Moussa, grand vizier to the Sultan, and later expanded by his son Bou Ahmed. It's less a single building than a sequence of courtyards, each one more elaborately decorated than the last — carved cedar ceilings, zellige tilework, painted stucco, and a large formal garden with orange and banana trees. Unlike many historic sites in the Medina, it's still in excellent condition, so you're seeing the craftsmanship largely as it was intended.
What to look out for
- The grand courtyard — the largest open space, ringed with rooms that once housed the household's many wives and concubines.
- The ceilings — genuinely worth stopping and looking up in nearly every room; no two are decorated the same way.
- The garden courtyard — a shaded, planted space that offers a break from the sun partway through the visit.
Practical details
Best time to go: As early as possible after opening. Bahia Palace is on most tour itineraries and fills with groups by mid-morning — arriving at opening time can mean the difference between quiet courtyards and a crowd.
Allow 45 minutes to an hour. There's minimal signage inside, so a little background reading beforehand (or a guide) adds a lot — the architecture is beautiful even without context, but the history makes it more interesting. It's a flat, step-friendly site, one of the more accessible major sights in the Medina.
Getting there
Bahia Palace sits toward the southern Medina, an easy walk from the Kasbah area and combinable with El Badi Palace and the Saadian Tombs, all within a few minutes of each other — a natural half-day route.