Wide balconies
On iron columns.
Moongateclimber — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Richard Mortel from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia — CC BY 2.0 · Richard Mortel from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia — CC BY 2.0
Stone Town's most famous and tallest building, a ceremonial palace built by Sultan Barghash bin Said in 1883, its storeys wrapped in wide balconies on iron columns and topped by a clock tower facing the sea. Zanzibaris called it the House of Wonders because it was the first building in East Africa with electricity, and it had a lift. The palace was shelled in the short Anglo-Zanzibar War of 1896, then became a government building and later a museum of Zanzibar's history and Swahili coastal culture. On 25 December 2020, during Omani-funded restoration work, a large part of its front facade and the clock tower collapsed. The building remains closed to visitors, wrapped in scaffolding, with no announced reopening date. So for now the visit means seeing it from outside, from Forodhani Gardens or the waterfront, together with the neighbouring Old Fort and Sultan's Palace. Check restoration news before you go, as things may change.
On iron columns.
With fort and palace.
His ceremonial palace.
Mizingani Road, between the Old Fort and the Sultan's Palace, Stone Town
Forodhani Gardens and Night MarketA seafront garden in front of the Old Fort and the House of Wonders, Stone Town'1 minute walk4.3
Old Fort of ZanzibarThe oldest standing building in Stone Town, a fort with high walls and crenellat1 minute walk3.9
Palace Museum (Beit al-Sahel)A white palace with crenellated walls on the Stone Town waterfront, home to the 2 minutes walk3.9
Hamamni Persian BathsPublic baths built in the late nineteenth century by Sultan Barghash bin Said in3 minutes walk3.5
Stone TownZanzibar's old town, a maze of narrow lanes and coral-stone houses blending Oman4 minutes walkNo, it has been closed since part of its facade collapsed in December 2020, and it is still under restoration with no announced reopening date.