Visit the Bardo Museum in Tunis
Ancient Roman mosaics and architecture in Tunisia’s capital
The Bardo Museum in Tunis has one of the world's most impressive collections of ancient Roman mosaics, and is housed in a palace on the outskirts of Tunisia's capital.
Even if you’re only holidaying at a beach resort in Tunisia, a day trip to Tunis and its famous Bardo Museum is a must. The Bardo houses exhibits covering the Prehistoric, Punic, Roman, early Christian and Islamic periods of Tunisian history but is most famed for its Roman relics, especially rooms full of enormous, colorful mosaics.
What You’ll See at the Bardo Museum
The outside comes first: it’s a seventeenth century palace, built on the site of a thirteenth century palace, and it was long known as the Bardo Palace, an official Husseinite residence. It’s an impressive building, but don’t spend too long admiring it from the outside: the artifacts that have graced the rooms inside since it becamse a museum in 1888 are just as worthy of your time.
The exhibition is arranged approximately by era, starting with the Prehistoric display – including artifacts up to 40,000 years old from the area. The Punic era exhibit focuses on the time of Hannibal, and masks, amulets and jewelry of the time can be seen. By far the most beautiful part of the museum starts in the Roman section, with grand mosaics adorning huge walls – plenty of fodder for the camera. Many of these mosaics are from nearby Carthage. A slightly different form of mosaics form the Christian era, and finally the Muslim display includes a self-contained Islamic museum room depicting daily life from a few centuries ago.
Visiting Information for the Bardo Museum
The Bardo Museum is found a little west of the Tunis city center, and it’s most easily reached by taxi. It is possible to take the tram to Le Bardo station, but with taxi prices being relatively cheap, it’s much easier to let someone else find it for you. The museum is open every day except Monday; with two and a half floors chock full of exhibits, leave yourself a good couple of hours to explore it. Unfortunately most explanations are in French and Arabic only but good guidebooks to Tunisia give you a detailed rundown of the displays.
Other Activities in Tunis
It’s worth basing yourself in Tunis for a few days, as there is more than the Bardo Museum to see. Mosques, markets and Tunisian meals are plentiful in the capital, and several interesting day trips can be made – for example, to see the historical ruins of Carthage or to enjoy the Santorini-like architecture and sea views of Sidi Bou Said.
