The Virgil mosaic
The poet between two Muses.
Herbert Frank from Wien (Vienna), AT — CC BY 2.0 · Ovva olfa — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Selma JMII — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Sinda BF — CC BY-SA 4.0
Tunisia's largest museum and one of the world's great collections of Roman mosaics. It fills a palace of the beys in the Bardo district, opened as a museum in 1888 under the name Alaoui Museum, and has grown to cover the country's history from prehistory to the Islamic era. Mosaics cover the walls and floors of the palace's vast halls, with hunting scenes, sea creatures and country life from Roman Africa. The most famous piece shows the poet Virgil seated between two Muses; it was found in Sousse and dates from the third century AD. Another highlight is the Mahdia shipwreck: a Greek ship that sank off Mahdia in the first century BC and was found by sponge divers in 1907, carrying bronze statues, furniture and marble columns. The Islamic section holds manuscripts, ceramics and objects from Tunisia's Islamic centuries. Allow at least two hours and start on the first floor, where the grand halls are. The museum is closed on Mondays.
The poet between two Muses.
Bronzes from the seabed.
Manuscripts and ceramics.
Le Bardo, about 4 km west of central Tunis
30 TND for non-residents since 1 April 2026, rising to 45 TND in January 2027. Entry is free on the first Sunday of each month and on public holidays.
On Mondays; the rest of the week it opens from morning to late afternoon, with hours that vary by season.