Sousse Tunisia
Frequently Asked Questions
The landing is practically in the city centre: your first steps ashore take you from the quay to the gates of the old town in a few minutes. That is a rare privilege for a Mediterranean call, and it changes how you plan the whole day.
Yes, and that's the best way to do it. The medina, the ribat, the Great Mosque, the kasbah and its museum all lie within the walls or just beside them. A ten-minute walk then takes you from medieval lanes to the beach umbrellas.
One of the best-preserved medinas in the Arab world, inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage list. Inside the walls the lanes tighten and the stalls overflow with silver jewellery, wool blankets, hammered copper and carpets. Take the time to look up: old doorways, horseshoe arches and minarets.
A fortified monastery raised in the 8th century and rebuilt in 821 under the Aghlabids, at the heart of the medina. It housed warrior-monks who divided their time between prayer and watching the coast. You climb the spiral stair of its watchtower for a view that has scarcely changed in a thousand years.
A collection of Roman mosaics second in Tunisia only to the Bardo, housed in the kasbah at the top of the old town. The head of Medusa, the triumph of Bacchus and marine scenes of astonishing precision recall that Hadrumetum stood here, a Phoenician and then Roman city made prosperous by olive oil.
The medina, the ribat and the kasbah, in that order, then an hour on the beach before heading back. The three monuments frame the medina from above and below and combine without losing a minute to transport. Few Mediterranean calls offer so much within such a short distance.
Yes, and easily. Just outside the walls, Boulevard Hédi Chaker runs along a fine sand beach stretching nearly five kilometres. The water shelves gently, making it a family swimming spot popular with locals and holidaymakers alike.
Yes, it is the norm and nobody takes offence. Traders call out, you negotiate, you laugh, and you sometimes leave with an object you didn't know existed an hour earlier. Fix an acceptable price in your head before opening the discussion, and be ready to walk away: it is the most effective argument.
The Tunisian dinar, which can only be exchanged in the country and cannot be taken home: change on the spot, in small notes. Arabic is official, but French is widely spoken in shops and among guides, which makes the call very easy for French speakers.
Shoulders and knees covered in the medina and to enter the ribat or approach the Great Mosque. On the beach, swimwear is no issue, but you don't cross the old town in it. Bring good shoes as well: the lanes are cobbled and the ribat staircase is narrow.
