What to see/do in Tunis: travel guide
Tunis, the capital of Tunisia, is a dynamic city overlooking the Mediterranean, rich in history, culture and tradition. Less popular than other cities in the Maghreb, such as Marrakech, Tunis and its region offer visitors a unique blend of culture, history but at the same time relaxation and entertainment. Beach lovers will be able to enjoy the blue of the Mediterranean just a few kilometers from the city center, relax in luxury resorts without missing the opportunity to discover the countless vestiges of a glorious past that saw Tunis and nearby Carthage as the center of Mediterranean history.
Here are some tips for fully enjoying this city and its surroundings without losing the essence of the Tunisian capital.
General informations
The capital of Tunisia stands a few kilometers from the Mediterranean coast between ponds including Lake Tunis, connected to the sea by a canal that opens at La Goulette, the city’s port. Founded a few kilometers from the glorious Carthage, Tunis has about 690,000 inhabitants and is located at the center of a metropolitan area of almost 2 million inhabitants, the most important in Tunisia. The climate of Tunis is Mediterranean, with mild but sometimes rainy winters and very hot summers. It goes without saying that the best time to enjoy the city is spring and autumn. Getting to Tunis is very simple. Carthage international airport is located about 20 minutes from the Medina as is the Port of La Goulette, one of the stops on Mediterranean cruises. Sea lovers can opt to stay in one of the locations on the northern coast a few kilometers from the capital, such as La Marsa or Gammarth or the delightful Sidi Bou Said.
The Medina
The heart of the city, as in all Arab cities, is the Medina. Apparently a tangle of narrow streets where it is easy to get lost, the Medina is conceived, instead, with a real logic. At the foot of the palaces of power, the Kasbah (Place du Gouvernement and the Place de la Kasbah, where you will find the Town Hall and other government buildings), the Medina opens up with its main axes from which the alleys branch off where we find private homes almost protected from the chaos of the main commercial streets that wind in a whirlwind of souks and then open up into the main squares. To better appreciate the history and beauty of the Medina of Tunis, a UNESCO heritage site and the object of continuous enhancement and protection, my advice is to rely on a local guide. For my visit I relied on the greatest expert in urban planning and history of the city, Jamila Binous. With her you will discover the best that the Medina has to offer, giving you the keys to understanding a place rich in history and charm. In the center of the Medina you will find the city’s main mosque, the Al – Zaytuna Mosque, not visitable by non-Muslims except for the courtyard, whose square-shaped minaret stands imposingly among the narrow streets of the city. A few steps away you will also find the Sidi Youssef Del Mosque with its octagonal Turkish-style minaret and the nearby Mausoleum. The commercial area of the souks of Tunis extends for hundreds of meters. The suoks are distinguished based on the products sold. The most characteristic are the Souk El Attarine, specialized in perfumes, the Souk el Trouk with antique sellers and the Souk el Bey, specialized in the sale of jewelry. Shopping lovers will be ecstatic among the stalls of the commercial area of Tunis. To fully admire the Medina you will have to go up to one of the terraces of these shops or to the various cafés that offer rooftops with unmissable views over the roofs of the city. Among these, the Café el Mrabet, the Café du Souk and the Café Panorama El Madina Tunis are the most famous.
A tour of the Medina cannot fail to include a stop in the various noble palaces of the city, enriched with mosaics and majolica, such as the Dar Hussein Palace and the Medrasa El Bachia, an old Koranic school.
One of the most emblematic places of the Medina, and most instagrammable, is the Rue du Pacha with its magnificent portals of various colors.
The Ville Nouvelle and The Bardo
From the Medina, crossing the Bad al-Bhar gate you enter the most recent area of the city of Tunis, with a Western flavor. Here the French built a large tree-lined avenue with a Parisian inspiration, Avenue Habib Bourguiba, where you will find other iconic monuments of the city such as the Clock Tower, the Cathedral of St. Vincent de Paul, the Municipal Theater and the nearby Central Market of Tunis. This more modern area is full of shops, restaurants and hotels.
Another unmissable place in Tunis is a visit to the Bardo Museum, in the homonymous neighborhood of the city. Located in the sumptuous residence of the Bey, the Bardo Museum is the oldest museum in the Arab world and Africa and preserves artifacts of great artistic value from the various phases and eras of Tunisian history, from the prehistoric period, continuing through the Punic and Roman periods up to Arab-Islamic art.
The surroundings of Tunis
Beach lovers will not want to miss a stop on the northern coast of the country, just a few kilometers from the capital. The most famous locations are La Marsa and Gammarth, with their luxury hotels and resorts that are besieged by thousands of European tourists every year. Another unmissable stop on a trip to Tunis is a visit to the archaeological site of Carthage. A guided tour is highly recommended considering that the excavations extend over several sites and it can be complicated to visit them all alone. Finally, one of the most fascinating places in Tunisia is Sidi Bou Said, the blue city. This small village stands on the blue Mediterranean, offering unmissable views of its narrow streets surrounded by white houses with blue roofs, windows and portals. Full of art shops and charming cafes such as the famous Café des Délices, a tour of this town is a must on your trip to Tunis. The unmissable places to visit in Sidi Bou Said are the Galerie Saladin, the Rue Dr Habib and the Rue Habib Thameur and the Ennejma Ezzahra Palace.
Where to sleep and eat...
To conclude my little guide to Tunis, here are some restaurants and hotels that could be right for you during your vacation!
To stay in the Medina, the choice can only fall on the magnificent Dar El Jeld Hotel & SPA. In the heart of the old city, this finely restored historic building offers a 5-star service among luxurious suites, a typical restaurant that represents the best of all Tunisia, and a rooftop where you can enjoy a magnificent view of the Medina.
Another typical restaurant not to be missed, also in the Medina, is the Fondouk El Attarine with its internal courtyard and the excellent typical dishes of Tunisian gastronomy.
If you want to get away from the frenetic city life and take refuge on the coast, my advice is to choose the Four Seasons Tunis in Cap Gammarth. This luxurious resort offers a splendid beach, monumental swimming pool but above all a high-value 5-star service. The SPA with its indoor pool, hammam and wellness area completes the circle, in addition to the excellent gastronomic offer of the various restaurants of the resort.
In Sidi Bou Said, for a lunch with a view, my choice fell on Villa Bleue, but other top addresses are Le Golf and The Cliff.
