Tunis

Overview

The Tunisian capital is a charming, well laid out city with white, low-rise buildings and broad, palm-lined streets. Ships dock at the commercial port, 40 minutes’ drive from downtown and 20 minutes from the ancient site of Carthage, a magnificent place to visit, rich in 2 nd century Roman antiquities and well-preserved buildings. Ten minutes from here, and usually part of the same excursions, is Sidi-Bou-Said, pretty seaside town with cobbled streets and photogenic whitewashed buildings with blue shutters.

In Tunis itself, although there is a lot of attractive Arabic architecture to see, most people head straight for the huge souk (market), a dense tangle of narrow streets packed with stalls selling silver, gold, mother-of-pearl, leather, perfumes and carpets. Prepare to get lost and be ready to haggle hard.