Bardo National Museum — Local services in Tunis

It is one of the most important museums in the Mediterranean region and the second museum of the African continent after the Egyptian Museum of Cairo by richness of its collections. It traces the history of Tunisia over several millennia and across several civilizations through a wide variety of archaeological pieces.

Housed in an old beylical palace since 1888, it has been the setting for the exhibition of many major works discovered since the beginning of archaeological research in the country. Originally called Alaoui, named after the reigning bey at the time, it takes its current name of Bardo Museum after the independence of the country even if the denomination is attested before that date.

The museum houses one of the largest collections of Roman mosaics in the world, thanks to excavations at the beginning of 20th century in various archaeological sites in the country including Carthage, Hadrumetum, Dougga and Utica. Generally, the mosaics of Bardo, such as the Virgil Mosaic, represent a unique source for research on everyday life in Roman Africa. From the Roman era, the museum also contains a rich collection of marble statues representing the deities and the Roman emperors found on different sites including those of Carthage and Thuburbo Majus.

The museum also houses pieces discovered during the excavations of Libyco-Punic sites including Carthage, although the National Museum of Carthage is the primary museum of the Carthage archaeological site. The essential pieces of this department are grimacing masks, terracotta statues and stelae of major interest for Semitic epigraphy, and the stele of the priest and the child. The museum also houses Greek works discovered especially in the excavations of the shipwreck of Mahdia, whose emblematic piece remains the bust of Aphrodite in marble gnawed by the sea.

The Islamic Department contains, in addition to famous works such as the Blue Qur'an of Kairouan, a collection of ceramics from the Maghreb and Anatolia.

In order to increase the reception capacity and optimize the presentation of the collections, the museum is the subject of a vast operation which was to be completed initially in 2011 but was not finished until 2012 due to the Tunisian Revolution. The work concerns the increase of the exhibition surfaces by adding new buildings and redeploying the collections. The project aims to make the museum a major pole for a quality cultural development, so that the visitor can appreciate the artistic...

Bardo National Museum building was originally a 15th-century Hafsidpalace, located in the suburbs of Tunis.

The Bardo is one of the most important museums of the Mediterranean basin, and the second largest on the African continent after the Egyptian Museum. It traces the history of Tunisia over several millennia and through many civilizations through a wide variety of archaeological pieces. Being in the former palace, it offers many major works discovered since the beginnings of archaeological research in the country. Originally called Museum Alaoui (المتحف العلوي), the name of the reigning bey at the time, it has had its current name of Museum of Bardo only since the country's independence.

In addition to famous works such as the Blue Koran of Kairouan, the Islamic Department contains a collection of ceramics from North Africa and Asia Minor.

The Bardo brings together one of the finest and largest collections of Roman mosaics in the world thanks to the excavations undertaken from the beginning of the 20th century on archaeological sites in the country including Carthage, Hadrumetum, Dougga, or Utica. The mosaics represent a unique source for research on everyday life in Roman Africa. The Museum also contains a rich collection of marble statues representing the gods and Roman emperors found on various sites including those of Carthage and Thuburbo Majus.

The Bardo has also rich pieces discovered during the excavations of Libyco-Punic sites including mainly Carthage, although the Carthage National Museum also possesses an important collection. The main parts of this Department are grimacing masks, terracotta statues and stelae of major interest for the Semitic epigraphy, the stele of the priest and the child being the most famous. The Museum also houses Greek works discovered in particular in the excavations of the ship of Mahdia, whose iconic piece is a marble bust of Aphrodite.

The museum underwent a major refurbishment, completed in 2011, that was interrupted due to the Tunisian...

Cannot recommend this enough. If you are travelling around Tunisia and visiting some of the ancient sites then definitely come here as the collection at the Bardo Museum will provide valuable information. The mosaics in particular were spectacular. There is a lot to see and you could easily spend half a day here. I did just over two hours as I started to have information overload and it was incredibly hot inside. The entrance fee is very cheap. Information is in English, French and Arabic. I would suggest starting at the top and working your way down as most of the important pieces are here. Go early in the day. I went when they opened, as I said it is very warm inside and the top floor is exposed to sunlight with no air conditioning. Easy to navigate but at the same time, rooms don't follow an order. I would have given this a 4 rating but I feel the museum could enhance the experience for visitors. It does after all house a valuable collection as well as being the finest museum in Tunisia. They could have audioguides and also maybe highlight the important pieces. It can be easy to bypass some. I had a guide book with me which pointed out the main pieces to look out for. Another thing is if you go alone like me, try and avoid the tour groups as they can be very loud and tend to crowd over everything! In some respects, it may be better to have a guide but depends on the individual. Security is tight as you can imagine due to the terrorist attack in 2015. I used Bolt to request a ride from my hotel near Médina de Tunis which was super cheap. The museum appeared to have WIFI in the reception but it didn't work. They are located on a busy road so you could hail a taxi after you have finished or if you have data and able to connect, just order a ride back with BOLT. Much easier than...