Decorated rooms
Wood, plaster and tiles.
Habib M'henni — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Houss 2020 — CC0 · Houss 2020 — CC0 · Houss 2020 — CC0
The palace of Baron Rodolphe d'Erlanger, a painter and musicologist who fell for Tunisia and settled here, building it between 1912 and 1922 on the slope of Sidi Bou Said. It is considered one of the finest examples of Moorish architecture in Tunisia, raised with craftsmen from Morocco and Tunisia. D'Erlanger gave his last years to the study of Arabic music and was one of the organisers of the 1932 Cairo Congress of Arab Music. Since 1991 the palace has housed the Centre of Arab and Mediterranean Music, which preserves Tunisia's musical heritage and hosts concerts. You walk through rooms with carved and painted wooden ceilings, pierced plasterwork and coloured tiles, opening onto gardens that step down towards the sea. A permanent exhibition shows historic instruments, from the oud and qanun to instruments of the wider Mediterranean, alongside an archive of early recordings. Photography inside the palace needs special permission from the management. Check the concert programme: hearing Tunisian malouf in these rooms is a rare experience.
Wood, plaster and tiles.
A permanent exhibition.
Stepping down to the sea.
8 Rue du 2 Mars 1934, Sidi Bou Said
10 TND for adults and 5 TND for students; the palace is closed on Mondays and public holidays.
