Liberty, Order, Justice

Tunis, a vibrant modern capital city growing constantly in the shadow of its rich ancient history; beautiful, elegant, organised and safe yet often bypassed by the tourists seeking the resorts along the coast such as Sousse, Monastir or Djerba; however it really deserves a special mention and visit. This is a place where you will fill at times as if you were anywhere in France while at the turn of a street, in the middle of an Arabian Night tale, all in perfect harmony coexisting each others with care and respect. No wonder why Tunisia has gained its reputation as one of the most open and respectful country among the Arab world. A mosque, a Catholic church or a Synagogue on the same street? no problem, everyone is welcomed.

Having been a French colony, the architecture and language is clearly part of its heritage. French and Arab is understood and spoken across the nation, not so much with the English for what a little bit of French would help you going further and getting better deals when bargaining the shops of the bazaar in the Medina. While this is a maze of labyrinthine narrow streets completely filled with shops along both sides of the road, traditional Arab architecture in the mosques, houses, schools and palaces all of which now listed an UNESCO World Heritage Site; in the other hand, and side by side, is the Ville Nouvelle. The new city created by the French with planned tree-lined wide avenues and squares built with the architectural styles of that era. Expect to see mostly art-nouveau and art-deco.

Visiting the city, both the Medina and Ville Nouvelle is easy and straightforward. An entire day is generally a good calculation. Certainly less than that will be pointless to be honest, 2 days would be ideal, but any longer is unnecessary. Still, you need to include in your plans Carthage and Sidi Bou Said (explained later), and this means an extra day. Now if you ask me if the city and these places can all be visited in a weekend trip, then yes, but only if knowing how to move from a place to another without losing any time. But in a country where you can have some great beers and wine in nice bars (it is allowed to drink alcohol), with that many incredible coffee and shisha places, restaurants and shops, don’t rush this too much, 3 days is the ideal.

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