Must-see attractions in Tunis

  • Souq of medina at night

    Medina

    Tunis

    This sprawling maze of ancient streets and alleyways is one of the most impressive medieval medinas in North Africa and one of Tunisia's great treasures…

  • Overhead of Bardo Museum interior.

    Bardo Museum

    Tunis

    The main draw at the Tunisia's top museum is its magnificent collection of Roman mosaics. These provide a vibrant and fascinating portrait of ancient…

  • Souq des Chechias

    Tunis

    A medina highlight, this hugely atmospheric souq is filled with exquisitely decorated shops producing and selling chechias, Tunisia's traditional blood…

  • Marché Centrale

    Tunis

    Tunisian food markets offer a great introduction to local culture, and Tunis' Marché Centrale is particularly atmospheric. The original market building…

  • Youssef Dey Mosque

    Tunis

    This was Tunis’ first Ottoman-style mosque (1615), designed by Andalusian architect Ibn Ghalib in a colourful mishmash of styles. Surrounded by Turkish…

  • Zaytouna (Great) Mosque & street in Medina

    Zitouna Mosque

    Tunis

    Located in the heart of Tunis' medina, this important mosque was founded in 734 and built on a site once occupied by a church. It was totally rebuilt in…

  • Dar Lasram

    Tunis

    Once home to the Lasram family, who provided the beys with scribes, this magnificent building dates from the early 19th century and was one of the first…

  • Bab El Bhar

    Tunis

    Also called the Porte de France or French Gate, this huge freestanding arch was the medina's eastern gateway until the surrounding walls were demolished…

  • La Marsa Beach

    Tunis

    Join the local crowds flocking to this urban beach to escape the summer heat with a dip in the clear waters of the Med. In colder months, the sand becomes…

  • Clocktower

    Tunis

    Built to commemorate former President Ben Ali’s assumption of power on 7 November 1987 (hence the name of the surrounding plaza), this 38m-high clocktower…

  • Palais Kheïreddine

    Tunis

    Fronting onto a pretty, palm-shaded square, this 19th-century palace, later split to house two schools – one for Jews, one for Muslims – is grandly named…

  • Galeri El Marsa

    Tunis

    Occupying a beautiful vaulted space behind a grand wooden door in the heart of La Marsa, this is one of Tunisia’s most respected and internationally…

  • Souq El Attarine

    Tunis

    Souq El Attarine (the Perfume Makers’ Souq) dates from the 13th century and is still home to shops selling fragrant oils and waters. Its location on one…

  • Galerie Saladin

    Sidi Bou Saïd

    This tiny gallery down a small alleyway is worth a quick visit. Though its exhibition program is nowhere near as stimulating as some of the other…

  • Dar Ennejma Ezzahra

    Sidi Bou Saïd

    Built between 1912 and 1922 for French-born Baron Rodolphe d’Erlanger and his Italian-American wife Elizabetta, this palace residence is an exhilarating…

  • Sidi Mehrez Mosque

    Tunis

    This mosque, hidden behind a yellow door and topped with a cluster of white domes, was constructed in 1692 and is ranked as one of Tunis' finest Ottoman…

  • Tourbet El Bey

    Tunis

    This building has the green fish-scale domes typical of Ottoman mausoleums. Inside is an intricate mix of tiles and stucco built during Ali Pasha II’s…

  • Saheb Ettaba Mosque

    Tunis

    This mosque dates from the 19th century (though the minaret was added only in 1970), when Halfaouine was an emerging fashionable quarter. It forms part of…

  • Dar Othman

    Tunis

    This building was constructed for Othman Dey in the late 16th century. His business – piracy – was obviously lucrative, and he also happened to be…

  • Grande Synagogue de Tunis

    Tunis

    The winning entry in an architectural contest held in 1911, this concrete building with a huge Star of David on its facade was designed by French-Tunisian…

  • Souq des Étoffes

    Tunis

    Running behind the Zitouna Mosque, the Souq des Étoffes (Fabric Souq) is the geographical heart of the medina's main mercantile enclave, leading to the…

  • Dar Hussein

    Tunis

    Constructed in the late 18th century and rebuilt a century later, this handsome palace has functioned as a private residence, as the headquarters of the…

  • Dar El Monastiri

    Tunis

    Built at the beginning of the 19th century for the son of Mahmud Bey, the seventh leader of the Husainid Dynasty, and then gifted to M'hamed El Monastiri,…

  • Pont de la République Street Art

    Tunis

    In 2016, local street artists including Abdelmejid Ben Messaoud, Khalil Gouiaâ, Mourad Harbaoui, Brahim Azzabi, Samir Fitouri, Abdelmonem Sehili, Walid…

  • Mosque of the Dyers

    Tunis

    This mosque was built in 1717 for Hussein Ben Ali, founder of the Husseinite line of beys (provincial governors). It has an adjoining madrassa (school for…

  • Souq El Berka

    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,…

  • Madrasa Slimania

    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…

  • Madrasa Palmier

    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)…

  • Kasbah Mosque

    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,…

  • Souq El Trouk

    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…

  • Institut Française de Tunisie

    Tunis

    Housed in a building elegantly revamped by Richter+Partner with Karim Jeddi-Gonzales, the Institut Française hosts a rich program of cultural activities…

  • Dar El Bey

    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…

  • Zaouia of Sidi Ben Arous

    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…

  • Galerie A.Gorgi

    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…

  • Hamouda Pacha Mosque

    Tunis

    Harmoniously designed and richly decorated, this 17th-century mosque reflects the prosperity of that period. Its witch’s-hat minaret is octagonal, which…

  • Abdelliya Palace

    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…

  • Madrasa El Bachia

    Tunis

    This former madrassa (school for study of the Quran) near the Hammam El Kachachine was built in 1752 and has a small, non-functioning public fountain…

  • Selma Feriani Gallery

    Sidi Bou Saïd

    Just off the main drag in Sidi Bou Saïd's upper village, this commercial gallery exhibits the work of up-and-coming Tunisian and international…

  • Zaouia of Sidi Mehrez

    Tunis

    Final resting place of Sidi Mehrez, Tunis’ patron saint. Women offer prayers here to be endowed with a husband or children.

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