If you manage to leave your resort, do not hesitate.
For mornings, direction Sidi Bou-Saïd the must. It is a place to walk to taste early the smart before the massive arrival of tourists or after 18 hours, at the time when the youth of Tunis comes to meet in small cafes around a cup of tea or a soda. No more alcohol! One of the few places in Tunisia where you can find in a friendly atmosphere the Tunisian youth sitting together in a public place. Cafes are traditionally reserved for men.
And even if we already know “Sidi Bou”, we always come back with as much pleasure. Each time, an essential stop at the Café des Nattes, to enjoy a Jasmine tea, although I prefer, continuing the path, once past the adorable little charming hotel Dar Saïd, recently renovated, sip a tea with pine nuts on the right, at the Sidi Chabanne café.
On the hillside, the interior is carved into the cliff and outside, white terraces in espaliers, a serene view spreads there in front of you, Tunis in the distance, the small port at your feet bathed in a deep blue sea.
The gaze escapes and reverie sets in.
For the brave, stairs lead you to the Pol, the problem is that you have to climb them after having descended them so easily. And that’s another story. In “Sidi Bou”, cross the threshold of the new museum at the beginning of the village, the Dar Annabi museum. It is operated by the family who have lived there for several generations. It is a very lively museum about daily life and culture in “Sidi Bou’ Perhaps you will have the chance to meet the current owner, who will be happy to count you old stories and anecdotes. On the other hand, to enjoy this kind of magical encounter, avoid overcrowded hours. You will win.
Beauty treatment for the capital
Tunis benefited greatly from the Mediterranean Olympic Games, which took place in the capital in September 2001. The road network, especially around the city, has made a leap forward, facilitating trade. The facades of the main avenue, the “Champs-Elysées” of Tunis, the avenue Habib Bourguiba, freshly painted white have resumed a serious facelift and the storefronts have nothing to envy to those of Paris Even the traditional cafes with such uncomfortable and unsightly kitchen chairs, have given way to attractive terraces, with a little air of Fouquets…
Mysterious Medina
Lovers of authenticity do not panic, the medina, its souks and tangled alleys are still there. Essential. Starting with the Porte de France, in front of you, let yourself be tempted by a small bistro upstairs: the Pacha. While having lunch on the balcony of a succulent fish couscous for less than 4 €, washed down with water or tea, the
Place de la Victoire will reveal all its secrets. It is the entrance to the souk, the comings and goings, the negotiations, the appointments are numerous. Enjoy a slice of life.
For a discovery of Tunisian gastronomy, in the middle of the medina dinner at the restaurant Dar El Jeld. Hidden behind an august and anonymous wooden door patinated by the years, in an old house, it is a must for notables. Guests dine in the patio, or in the galleries that run upstairs along the walls. The pleasure of dining there surpasses by little, the pleasure of seeing and being seen.
And then there is also Carthage and its museum on the hill of Byrsa. To rediscover, the inevitable Marsa, former residence of the Bey, the Goulette and its nostalgia, and finally Gammarth and its avenues pulled to the cord, for leisure.
