Tunis, Tunisia
National museum in Tunis, Tunisia
The Bardo National Museum, about four kilometres from central Tunis, is one of the most important museums in the Mediterranean and the second-largest in Africa after the Egyptian Museum, with one of the world's greatest collections of Roman mosaics. It was created by beylical decree on 7 November 1882 and opened on 7 May 1888 in part of the old beylical palace at Le Bardo; first called the Alaoui Museum after Ali Bey, it took the name Bardo Museum after independence. It traces Tunisia's history across thousands of years and successive civilisations, with around 130,000 objects in sections for prehistory, Punic Carthage, the Roman era, early Christianity and the Islamic period. Its fame rests on the Roman mosaics from Carthage, Sousse, Dougga, Utica and elsewhere, including the Virgil Mosaic, the only known portrait of the Roman poet, and scenes of hunting, the sea, farming and everyday life in Roman Africa. The palace is part of the visit, with gilded wooden ceilings, carved stucco and tilework, notably in the former reception halls, linked to a large modern wing.
Allow at least three hours; it is huge, so start with the mosaic halls on the first floor. Rooms can be hot in summer, so bring water. Wikivoyage lists it as closed on Mondays. The light metro runs from the centre, or a taxi takes about fifteen minutes.
Hours and prices change — check before you go. Source: en.wikipedia.org
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AttractionTunis, Tunisia
