Dar Lasram

Dar Lasram is one of the grandest surviving palaces of the Tunis medina, a sprawling eighteenth-century mansion built for a prominent family of the city's ruling elite. Occupying a prime position in the upper medina, it exemplifies the refined domestic architecture that flourished under the Husseinid beys.

The house is organised around a magnificent courtyard. A colonnaded patio paved and clad in marble and ceramic tiles opens onto lofty reception rooms with painted wooden ceilings, carved stucco friezes and walls sheathed in colourful zellij. The layout, with its cool arcades and richly decorated salons, was designed both for family life and for receiving guests in suitable splendour.

Today the building serves a fitting public role, housing the association responsible for safeguarding the medina of Tunis, a UNESCO-listed historic city. That means the palace is generally open to visitors and often hosts exhibitions, so its restored interiors can be admired as a living example of how the city's leading families once lived.

Its location makes it an ideal stop on a walk through the upper medina, close to other historic mansions, mosques and the covered souks that radiate from the central Zitouna Mosque. Because it lies slightly apart from the busiest shopping lanes, it offers a quiet and dignified interlude. Entry is inexpensive or sometimes free during exhibitions, and staff can point out the finest details of the decoration. Come in the morning light to appreciate the courtyard, and take time to look up at the painted ceilings and the carved plasterwork that frame the reception rooms. As both a splendid patrician house and the headquarters of the medina's guardians, Dar Lasram gives visitors a rare chance to step inside the domestic world of old Tunis.