
Tunisia
Here a blinkered camel walks in a circle, drawing water from a 17th-century holy well that legend says is connected to the Zamzam spring in Mecca. It's…
These are the best places to travel this summer
Tunisia
Here a blinkered camel walks in a circle, drawing water from a 17th-century holy well that legend says is connected to the Zamzam spring in Mecca. It's…
Tunisia
The wealthy merchant family that commissioned this 17th-century courtyard house in the medina didn't stint when it came to the decorative detailing, and…
Tunis
Barrel-vaulted Souq El Berka dates from Ottoman times: this was the slave souq where prisoners of Muslim corsairs were sold from a wooden block. Later,…
Northern Tunisia
This beach begins at the marina and stretches eastward around the bay, past the big hotels of the Zone Touristique. The further from the marina you go the…
Northern Tunisia
This neatly tended cemetery contains the graves of 500 Allied soldiers who died in the winter of 1942 following the Axis landings in Tunisia. Sixty of the…
Tunisia
Built in the 9th century, this Aghlabid building is a severe, fortress-like structure whose facade is only enlivened by graceful horseshoe arches at the…
Tunisia
Outdoor cafes shaded by trees and vines offer the perfect places to relax and contemplate the ornate arched doorway and octagonal minaret of the Mosque of…
Tunis
Ali Pasha, ruler of Tunisia from 1735 to 1756, commissioned this religious building as a memorial to his murdered son Suleiman. Entered from the street…
Southern Tunisia
Just outside Nefta, you'll find this shrine to Sidi Merzoug, an important Sufi saint. The followers of Sidi Merzoug, known colloquially as the Black…
Cap Bon
Off the beaten track for most travellers but lurking in plain sight, the town beach in Menzel Temime stretches for several kilometres. This slice of…
Northern Tunisia
The Great Mosque has a square minaret with terracotta tiles on the sides and candy-striped Moorish arches up top. About 150m northwest is the fish-scale…
Sousse
The rooms surrounding the courtyard of this funduq (caravanserai) contain naff mannequin displays of day-to-day life under the Ottomans. The building is…
Cathedral of St Vincent de Paul & St Olive
Tunis
There are some fine examples of colonial architecture in Centre Ville, ranging from the elegant to the exuberant to the bizarre. This custard-coloured…
Northern Tunisia
Across from Tabarka's old harbour bay (Ancien Port) from the peninsula, Les Aiguilles (pronounced layz ai-gwee) are a grouping of spiky pinnacles of rock…
Southern Tunisia
This huge ksar (traditional fortified granary) sits on a low hill just east of the modern village of Debbab. It was occupied until several years ago, and…
Northern Tunisia
This fine statue of Tunisia's first president in reflective pose commemorates the exile of Habib Bourguiba to Tabarka by the French in the early 1950s…
Southern Tunisia
The Romans pools are Gafsa’s main attraction, and it’s a pleasant spot although you’ve seen all there is to see after a few minutes. Apart from the…
Tunisia
The El Jem Amphitheatre was not the first such structure to be built at Thysdrus. Opposite the Archaeological Museum and across the railway line to the…
Tunis
Named after the palm tree in the courtyard, this Ottoman Quranic school was constructed in 1714 on the site of a funduq (caravanserai or travellers’ inn)…
Djerba
Built in the 13th-century by the Aragonese, this fort was captured by the Ottomans in 1560 and has been allowed to slowly crumble in recent times – be…
Djerba
Houmt Souk’s busy little fishing port is at the northern end of Ave Habib Bourguiba, about a 25-minute walk from town. Early mornings are the busiest and…
Tunis
This mosque dates from the early 13th century. Its minaret has a lozenge design that pays tribute to Moroccan Almohad style and was hugely influential,…
Tunisia
This large fortress stands on the highest point of the peninsula, rising above Mahdia's medina with a brooding and unadorned severity. It was built in the…
Southern Tunisia
The 8m-high waterfall below old Tamerza is popular with local day-trippers. In happier, wetter times, the falls made a pool large enough to swim in – a…
Tunisia
Mahdia's fortress-like Great Mosque is a modern replica of the Fatimid original built by Obeid Allah in AD 921, which was destroyed when retreating…
Tunisia
This museum occupies a former presidential palace at Raqqada, 9km south of Kairouan; a taxi from the town centre will charge around 12DT for a return trip…
Tunisia
This museum in the Office National de L'Artisanat headquarters houses a collection of rugs. This is the organisation that accredits all carpets sold in…
Tunis
Souq El Attarine leads into the Souq El Trouk (the Turkish Souq), traditionally the tailors’ souq, and still selling some outfits among the souvenirs. It…
Musée de l’Architecture Traditionnelle de Sfax
Tunisia
Originally built by the Aghlabids as a watchtower and steadily expanded into a kasbah, the fort built into the southwest ramparts of Sfax's medina walls…
Cap Bon
Around the coast from Plage de la Mansoura, Petit Paris is a smaller beach but still clean and loved by locals. A number of restaurants vie for space a…
Tunis
Housed in a building elegantly revamped by Richter+Partner with Karim Jeddi-Gonzales, the Institut Française hosts a rich program of cultural activities…
Tunis
This palace dating from the late 17th to early 18th centuries was the Husseinite rulers’ city pad, but the beys preferred the Bardo, so it was used as an…
Tunis
This 16th-century mausoleum was built on the site of a funduq (caravanserai or travellers' inn), in which the 13th-century mystic and professor once lived…
Sidi Bou Saïd
This highly regarded gallery showcases the work of contemporary Tunisian artists in individual and group shows; the latter are usually thematic in…
Tunis
Harmoniously designed and richly decorated, this 17th-century mosque reflects the prosperity of that period. Its witch’s-hat minaret is octagonal, which…
Tunisia
Desperately in need of a refresh, this small museum offers dusty, ill-lit exhibits of traditional costumes, with a focus on female attire. The wedding…
Tunisia
The museum across the road from Sufetula has a small collection of mosaics, sculptures, stelae and other artefacts that have been found on the site and…
Tunis
Inland from Marsa plage (beach), this palace was constructed in 1500 and now functions as a cultural centre where occasional performances and arts events…
Sousse
The splendid octagonal stone minaret belongs to the 17th-century Zaouia Zakkak, the medina’s leading example of Ottoman architecture. Its blue-green stone…
Tunisia
A good example of colonial-era architecture, this building dates from the late 19th century and initially functioned as the French consulate. It now…