Things to do in Tunis

Tunis sits at the back of a shallow lagoon, a few kilometres in from the sea. The walled city and the French one meet at a single gate. Bab el Bhar marks the line.

Inside the medina

The old city is World Heritage listed and holds some seven hundred monuments. The Zitouna Mosque, built in 732 and rebuilt in 864, is its centre. The souks spread out from it by trade.

• Souk el Attarine — the perfumers, and the oldest of the covered lanes.
• Souk des Chechias — where the red felt caps are shaped and dyed.
• Dar Ben Abdallah — an eighteenth-century palace, now the museum of the city.
• Tourbet el Bey — the mausoleum of the Husainid beys, under tiled domes.
• Avenue Habib Bourguiba — the colonial boulevard outside the walls, with the cathedral and the theatre.

Carthage and the coast

Carthage lies about fifteen kilometres north-east, on the shore. Rome destroyed it in 146 BC and refounded it as a colony in 44 BC. What you walk today is mostly that second city.

The Byrsa hill holds the Punic quarter. Below it lie the Antonine Baths, the two round harbours and the tophet. Sidi Bou Said, blue and white above the gulf, carries a World Heritage listing of its own.

Where the day trips go

Two long days leave the city. Dougga and Bulla Regia go west into the hills; Kairouan and El Jem go south. The Sahara circuits start here too, since this is where the flights land.

Practical

• The Bardo. Its Roman mosaics are among the largest collections anywhere and deserve half a day. The museum shuts on Mondays, and rooms are still being rehung after the rebuild.
• Heat. July and August average around 34C. April, May, October and November are the months for walking.
• Airport. Tunis-Carthage is about eight kilometres out, twenty minutes by taxi. Ask for the meter before you set off.
• The TGM. The coast railway from Tunis Marine serves Carthage, Sidi Bou Said and La Marsa. It has been in and out of service for rebuilding, so check before you rely on it.
• Medina hours. The souks work Monday to Saturday and go quiet on Sunday. Friday midday empties the lanes around the mosques.
• Carthage tickets. One ticket covers the sites, and they are scattered over several kilometres. A taxi or a guided run saves an afternoon of walking.
• Cash. Change only what you will spend, because dinars cannot leave the country. Souk prices are negotiated; cafe prices are not.