Palais de la Zahia: Alain Delon's Riad in Marrakech

The Palais de la Zahia is the riad Alain Delon owned in Marrakech in the 1980s. Paris Ouest Sotheby’s International Realty traces the story of this house in the Sidi Mimoun quarter, passed from the Gettys to the actor, then to Arielle Dombasle and Bernard-Henri Lévy. An address where provenance matters as much as architecture.

Who has owned the Palais de la Zahia?

Three famous couples have owned the Palais de la Zahia. John Paul Getty Jr. and his wife Talitha bought it after their marriage in 1966. Alain Delon became the owner in the 1980s and lived there with Mireille Darc. In 1998, he sold it to Arielle Dombasle and Bernard-Henri Lévy.

The Getty years and the “pleasure palace”

The Gettys were the palace’s first famous residents. Son of oil magnate Paul Getty, John Paul Getty Jr. met Talitha Pol at a society dinner in 1965. The couple made the riad the setting for legendary parties, with guests including Mick Jagger, Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Bergé. Friends nicknamed the house the pleasure palace.

The couple separated. Talitha Getty died in Rome on 11 July 1971. The palace and its William Willis interiors awaited a new owner.

Alain Delon and Mireille Darc in Marrakech

In the 1980s, Alain Delon fell for Morocco and for the Palais de la Zahia. He spent most of his time there with Mireille Darc, between the lush garden and the pool. For the actress, the house would remain tied to some of the happiest years of her life, and selling it never dimmed her love of Marrakech.

A riad shaped by craftsmen

The Palais de la Zahia owes its character to master craftsmanship. Carved, hand-painted wooden doors, Turkish porcelain chandeliers, zellige tiles from floor to ceiling, stained glass included. In the main salon, a nineteenth-century fresco covers the ceiling. The master bedroom holds a four-poster bed set in an alcove.

Outside, a zellige path crosses the garden to a stone fountain. Up top, a roof terrace serves as a solarium, where Talitha Getty liked to scatter Berber rugs and cushions.

After Alain Delon: Arielle Dombasle and Bernard-Henri Lévy

Arielle Dombasle and Bernard-Henri Lévy bought the palace from Alain Delon in 1998. In 2003, Libération described a house whose garden and pool cannot be guessed from the lane leading to it, a short walk from the royal palace. When he died on 18 August 2024, Alain Delon no longer owned the riad. His property portfolio spanned Paris, Aix-en-Provence and Marrakech, and his final home was the Douchy estate in the Loiret.

Alain Delon in Paris: 42 avenue du Président-Kennedy

In Paris, the address most closely tied to Alain Delon is in the 16th arrondissement. At 42 avenue du Président-Kennedy, above the Seine, the actor lived with Romy Schneider in the early 1960s. Paris Ouest Sotheby’s International Realty presented an apartment in the building in 2012, and is presenting a new one there today.

• Address: 42 avenue du Président-Kennedy, Paris 16th
• History: the building where Alain Delon and Romy Schneider lived in the early 1960s
• 2012: an apartment in the building entrusted to Paris Ouest Sotheby’s International Realty at a record €46 million
• Today: a new apartment presented by the agency, with 3.20 m ceilings, Versailles parquet and views over the Seine, the Eiffel Tower and the Sacré-Cœur

A story alone does not set a price. Address, floor, view, volume and condition remain decisive, and only a tailored valuation reveals a property’s true worth.

FAQ: the Palais de la Zahia and Alain Delon

Did Alain Delon own a riad in Marrakech?

Yes. In the 1980s, Alain Delon became the owner of the Palais de la Zahia, a riad in Marrakech’s Sidi Mimoun quarter. He spent most of his time there with Mireille Darc. He sold the house in 1998 and no longer owned it when he died in August 2024.

Where is the Palais de la Zahia?

In the Sidi Mimoun quarter of Marrakech. In 2003, Libération placed it a short walk from the royal palace, at the end of a lane that gives nothing away of the garden or pool. That discretion comes from the riad layout, which turns towards its courtyards and gardens rather than the street.

What makes the Palais de la Zahia unique?

Its interiors and its history. William Willis designed rooms of hand-painted doors, floor-to-ceiling zellige, Turkish porcelain chandeliers and a nineteenth-century fresco. Add a rare provenance: the Gettys, Alain Delon, then Arielle Dombasle and Bernard-Henri Lévy. Few private houses hold so many stories.

What was the apartment in Alain Delon’s Paris building worth?

€46 million in 2012. That was the price at which an apartment at 42 avenue du Président-Kennedy, the building where Alain Delon and Romy Schneider lived, was entrusted to Paris Ouest Sotheby’s International Realty. A record at the time. The agency is now presenting a new apartment in the same 16th arrondissement building.

Who did Alain Delon sell the Palais de la Zahia to?

Arielle Dombasle and Bernard-Henri Lévy, in 1998. The couple, long attached to Morocco, took on a house that was already famous. Homes of this kind draw buyers who value privacy, craftsmanship and the history of a place as much as size or address.

How do you value a property with a famous history?

Start with the criteria behind any prime property: address, floor, view, volume, condition and extras. Provenance comes next, much as in art sales, where a work’s history weighs on its estimate. Street-level knowledge of the micro-market shows what that history really adds to the price.

Valuing a prime property in Paris with Sotheby’s expertise

Paris Ouest Sotheby’s International Realty advises owners in Paris 16th, Paris 17th, Neuilly-sur-Seine and western Paris on rare properties. To find out what your apartment or house is worth, request a tailored valuation from our team, or call +33 1 46 22 27 27.