The choice of “Badira - as luminous as the full moon” seemed obvious to us.  The principle of light and shadow, so dear to the artists who came to Hammamet, and the Arabic resonance of the name inspired a poetic setting bathed in serenity, the very essence of our hotel. In La Badira the universe of travel in the 1930s has been recreated. This was a time when the name of Hammamet first became known around the world – a time when a large foreign community, consisting mainly of Europeans, took up residence there and developed  a new approach  to architecture, interior decoration and handicrafts.  Dozens of artists came to Hammamet in search of the very special quality of its light, artists such as Paul Klee and his celebrated house in the Medina, André Gide, Arletty, Oscar Wilde and August Macke.