Ennejma Ezzahra — "Star of Venus" — is a palace built in the early 20th century by Baron Rodolphe d'Erlanger, a Franco-British orientalist painter who fell in love with Sidi Bou Said and spent his life there. The building is a masterpiece of neo-Moorish architecture: d'Erlanger employed the finest Tunisian craftsmen to create interiors of enormous intricacy, with carved plaster, painted wood, and tilework that rival anything in Morocco or Andalusia.
The palace now houses the Centre des Musiques Arabes et Méditerranéennes (CMAM), which maintains the collection d'Erlanger assembled and continues to research and promote traditional Arab music. Visits include the beautifully decorated reception rooms and some of the private apartments. The terrace garden, planted with jasmine and bougainvillea and overlooking the sea, is extraordinary. Don't miss it.