Dar Batha Museum

Dar Batha Museum occupies a late-19th-century Hassanian palace on Place de l'Istiqlal in the Batha district of Fes, in Morocco's Fès-Meknès region. The palace was turned into a museum in 1915, and its rooms are arranged around a shaded Andalusian garden courtyard with fountains and mature trees. The collections show the arts and crafts of Fes and are widely regarded as the best single stop for them. Displays include Fassi ceramics, carved and painted wood, astrolabes and scientific instruments, manuscripts and Moroccan embroidery. The building itself, with carved plaster, painted ceilings and tilework, is part of the exhibit. Admission is MAD 60 for adults and children, and the museum is open daily from roughly 9am to 5pm except Monday. A visit takes one to one and a half hours, and the garden courtyard is a calm place to pause. It lies about a 10-minute walk south-east of Bab Bou Jeloud, and a petit taxi to Place de l'Istiqlal is an alternative. Weekday mornings are the quietest, and the garden is best before midday, when the light is soft and the shade is cool. Tour groups can add to numbers late in the morning. Labels are limited, so a guidebook or local guide adds context to the ceramics and woodwork. Photography is usually allowed in the courtyard, though rules for individual rooms may vary, so visitors should check at the entrance. The museum sits next to Jnan Sbil Gardens, and the two combine into a restful half day away from the medina crowds.