Tunis, Sidi Bou Said & the North

About the Trip

Trip Highlights

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• The UNESCO-listed medina of Tunis, one of the finest medieval Arab cities, is a captivating highlight. At the heart of the capital lies the medina of Tunis, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the best-preserved medieval Arab cities in the world, a dense and atmospheric labyrinth of covered souks, mosques, madrasas, palaces and hammams. You wander its lanes fragrant with spices, perfume and leather, centred on the great Zitouna Mosque with its ancient columns, and browse souks specialising in gold, textiles, chechia hats, copper and carpets. You visit beautifully restored palaces and rooftop terraces with sweeping views over the sea of domes and minarets.
• Sidi Bou Said, the blue-and-white clifftop village above the sea, is a beautiful and romantic highlight. Perched on a headland above the Gulf of Tunis, Sidi Bou Said is one of the most picturesque villages in the Mediterranean, a cascade of whitewashed houses with sky-blue doors, wrought-iron windows and bougainvillea spilling over the walls. You climb its cobbled lanes past artists' studios and craft shops, pause at the famous Cafe des Nattes or a clifftop terrace for sweet mint tea and pine nuts while gazing over the sea, and admire the harbour and marina far below.
• The Bardo Museum, with the world's finest Roman mosaics, is a cultural highlight of this journey. Housed in a magnificent former beylical palace, the Bardo Museum holds one of the greatest collections of Roman mosaics on earth, an astonishing treasury recovered from Carthage, El Jem, Dougga and cities across ancient Tunisia. Room after room is carpeted with brilliant scenes of gods and myths, the seasons, hunting, fishing, farming and daily Roman life, including the famous portrait said to be of the poet Virgil. Alongside the mosaics are Punic, Roman, Christian and Islamic treasures. The richness and beauty are captivating.
• The evocative ruins of Carthage, the great Punic and Roman capital, are a magnificent highlight. Once the rival of Rome, Carthage was destroyed and rebuilt as one of the grandest cities of the Roman world, and its ruins spread across a beautiful headland above the sea just outside Tunis. You walk among the Antonine Baths, among the largest in the Empire, with columns rising against the blue Mediterranean, explore the Punic ports and the Byrsa hill, and take in the Roman theatre, villas and vast cisterns. The layered history, from Hannibal's Carthage to Roman splendour, and the beauty of the coastal setting are captivating.
• A full-day excursion to the superb hilltop city of Dougga is a magnificent highlight. Set on a green hillside amid rolling countryside and olive groves west of Tunis, Dougga is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the best-preserved Roman town in North Africa. On a full-day excursion you wander its remarkably intact streets and monuments, the elegant Capitol with its towering columns, the great theatre with sweeping views over the valley, the forum, temples, baths, market and even a Roman public latrine. The scale, preservation and beautiful setting are captivating, and you often have this astonishing site almost to yourself.
• Above all, this journey offers an elegant, relaxed taste of Tunis and the beautiful north. Tunis is one of the most rewarding city bases in the Mediterranean, and this relaxed journey immerses you in it and its surroundings. Over six days you explore the UNESCO medina and world-class Bardo of Tunis, the ruins of Carthage above the sea, the blue-and-white village of Sidi Bou Said, the superb hilltop city of Dougga and the beautiful Cap Bon coast, all at an elegant pace and warmed by genuine hospitality. The combination of atmospheric capital, ancient ruins, romantic village and beautiful countryside.

Day by Day

A detailed day-by-day plan for this 6-day journey.

Where You Will Travel

Frequently Asked Questions