Bahia Palace

The Palais de la Bahia (Palace of the Beautiful) is Marrakech's architectural masterpiece — built at the end of the 19th century by the Grand Vizier Si Moussa and his son Ba Ahmed. The palace is a labyrinth of 150 rooms grouped around planted courtyards — each room a work of art with Zellige mosaics, carved cedar wood, stucco ceilings, and painted wooden ceilings.

Highlights

• The Great Courtyard: A huge courtyard surrounded by arcades with a marble fountain in the center and a geometrically planted garden. The proportions are breathtaking.
• The Private Chambers: The rooms of Ba Ahmed's favorite wife — the most elaborate in the palace: gilded stucco ceilings, colored glass windows, and Zellige mosaics in perfect geometry.
• The Zellige: Moroccan mosaic art in perfection: hand-cut ceramic pieces in geometric patterns — no piece like the other, yet a perfect whole.

The Bahia Palace has no furniture — after Ba Ahmed's death in 1900, the Sultan completely looted the palace. But the architecture alone suffices: The rooms, courtyards, and ceilings are so beautiful that they take your breath away.