Cours de la Révolution

Bône la Coquette (the Elegant) they used to call it, and the centre of town has retained some of its charms, if a little jaded. The Cours de la Révolution was the centrepiece of the French city and remains the bustling heart today.

A long, broad street, its lanes separated by a broad, tree-shaded esplanade, it also boasts the city's most elaborate architecture, where, with buildings such as the Amphorae and the Lion & Caryatid, colonial architects vied to outdo each other in the extravagance of their facades. In the middle, palms and giant fig trees provide shade for a number of popular outdoor cafés, where the city's elderly and idle while away the day.