Tunis Travel Guide: Travel and tourist information, things to do and see in Tunis

Compared with most mega-cities elsewhere in the world, Tunis comes across as little more than a large country town. The city centre is compact and easy to navigate, with almost everything important to travellers within the medina and the compact ville nouvelle.

The capital city of Tunisia has been the victim and the victor of a classic 'east-meets-west' saga that has seen great empires overthrown, armies defeated, fleets captured and palaces ransacked.

With each new ruling dynasty, the city has risen again, finally appearing as it does today - part modern metropolis, part mediaeval settlement.

Despite its relatively small size, Tunisia contains some of the North Africa's most varied landscape: from vast stretches of the Sahara to green valleys and lakes with abundant birdlife. Its coastline, projecting into the Mediterranean towards Sicily, has many historical sites from its occupations by the Phoenicians and the Romans - the most famous of these being the ruins at Carthage, on the outskirts of Tunis.

The climate is very hot from June to September; December to February much cooler in the north of the country.

For more than a thousand years, Tunis has been the crossroads where people from the continents of Africa, Europe and the Middle East have converged, collided and flourished.

The medina , or old quarter, of Tunis was built during the seventh century AD. From the 12th to the 16th centuries, Tunis was considered to be one of the greatest and wealthiest cities of the Islamic world and its medina is testimony to its former grandeur. Today, visitors can step back in time through the maze of narrow, winding streets and barter for souvenirs with the locals; goods on sale include colourful hand-made carpets, hand-crafted jewellery, copper and brassware, pottery and exotic spices.

The city of Carthage , which is located on the outskirts of Tunisia's capital city, Tunis, was, for many years, the arch-enemy of the ancient Roman empire. Between 264 and 146 BC, the two great cities were embroiled in a series of wars that saw Hannibal's famous attack on Rome, and Rome's subsequent sacking of Carthage in 146 BC. The Romans eventually settled in the conquered city, which went on to become the administrative capital of Roman Africa.

Matmata is one of the most famous villages in Tunisia as it was the setting for the opening scenes of the film 'Star Wars'. The village's lunar-like landscape and subterranean cave dwellings attract hundreds of visitors every day.

They come to see the home of the Star Wars characters Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru, which was located in the fictional town of Sidi Driss.

Suggest a change to the Tunis Things to do section (click to dropdown)

Population: 10.075.000
Languages: Arabic (official, commerce), French (commerce)
Currency: Tunisian dinar
Currency code: TND
Local Times:
Tunisia - Tunis

Country Dialling Code: +216
Voltage: 127/220V 50Hz
Electrical plugs:
2 Parallel circular prongs

2 parallel circular prongs with a female earth connector

'Schuko' type with two earth connectors on the sides

2 circular prongs with ft earth connector

2 circular prongs aligned with earth connector

Tunisia is the hospitable land of colors and contrasts, spices and scents invites you to enjoy its natural beauty, ancient cities , lively festivals and warm friendliness of its people. Welcoming visitors to its shores has long been an honored Tunisian tradition and an impressive infrastructure of modern hotels , restaurants , international airports , tourism offices and information centres has been developped to add to guests comfort and pleasure.

In this land of the familiar and the exotic one can watch the sunrise over the Sahara , enjoy a gourmet meal at a seaside resort and top off the evening with a midnight swim in the pool of a modern comfortble hotel .

Whether you prefer a long walk along miles of sparkling beaches, wind surfing the cool Mediterranean breezes, exploring ancient sites and legendary cities a game of golf or just a long lazy day relaxing on the warm golden sands, Tunisia has it all.

Well known seaside resort areas - Sousse , Monastir , Hammamet and Nabeul , Djerba and Tabarka offer their visitors the finest sand beaches and crystalline water along with a dizzying choice of waterfront hotels featuring sun and sea sports as windsurfing and sailing , underwater sightseeing, fishing and short boat rides. Nearly Hotels are built with the visitor's comfort and enjoyment in mind and their restaurants feature both international as well as Tunisian Cuisine .

During the peak summer season no effort is spared to provide the maximum of activities at the hotel and throughout the region .Summer festivals held nearby invite you join in with your Tunisian hosts to celebrate Father Neptune, share their local folklore, enjoy a concert or or just have fun.

While Tunisia has a justified deserved reputation for beautiful beaches and sparkling clean seas, with the mild year round climate,this blessed land is also a heaven for the sports minded. Sea sports enjoyed during the summer can well be practiced for most of the year in southern resort areas.
Sports such as golf, tennis, diving, hunting, riding, surfing, sailing, hiking and discovering the numerous sites, cities and museums are year round recreations.

Where some sports are not available at your hotel, clubs with small entry fees furnish additional facilities. For the amateur, these clubs can provide lessons at a very reasonable cost and som ewill rent the necessary equipment.

	Day	Night
Tue	N/A	Clear
Wed	PM T-Showers	Showers Early
Thu	Mostly Sunny	Clear
Fri	Sunny	Clear
Sat	Partly Cloudy	Partly Cloudy

Tunis Travel Guide

Tunis Suitability Profile