Tunis for Culture Lovers: Mosaics, the Medina and the Ghosts of Carthage

Tunis is one of the Mediterranean's great layered cities. Carthage — Rome's most famous rival — lies in its northern suburbs; a medieval medina recognised by UNESCO fills its heart; and the French colonial new town adds boulevards and belle-époque facades. For travellers who come for history and art, these are the experiences that matter, ranked.

Key facts

• The Bardo National Museum holds one of the world's finest collections of Roman mosaics
• Ancient Carthage was destroyed by Rome in 146 BC and later rebuilt as a great Roman city
• The Medina of Tunis is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, founded in the early centuries of Islam
• Carthage and Sidi Bou Said are reachable from central Tunis by the coastal TGM light rail

1. The Bardo National Museum

Housed in a former palace on the city's edge, the Bardo is the single most important reason culture lovers come to Tunis. Its Roman mosaics — vast, vivid scenes of gods, hunts and the sea, gathered from sites across Tunisia — form one of the greatest such collections anywhere. Allow at least half a day, and check current opening arrangements before you go.

2. The Byrsa Hill and the ruins of Carthage

Spread across a leafy seaside suburb, the remains of Carthage ask for imagination — this is a site of fragments, not standing temples — but the story is overwhelming: the Phoenician power that fought Rome in the Punic Wars, razed in 146 BC, then reborn as a Roman metropolis. Start on Byrsa Hill for the overview and the museum, then work outward.

3. The Antonine Baths

Down by the shore, the Baths of Antoninus were among the largest bath complexes of the Roman world, and their surviving arches and foundations against the blue of the Gulf of Tunis make the most photogenic corner of ancient Carthage. Late afternoon light is best.

4. The Medina and the Zitouna Mosque

The old city's covered souks — perfume-makers, chechia hat-makers, brass and leather — wind toward the great Zitouna Mosque, the spiritual heart of Tunis for over a millennium. Non-Muslim visitors can typically view the courtyard rather than the prayer hall; the surrounding rooftop terraces, reached through carpet shops and cafés, give unforgettable views over white domes and minarets.

5. Sidi Bou Said

The clifftop village of blue shutters and bougainvillea, long a magnet for painters — Paul Klee and August Macke famously visited in 1914 — is touristy and completely worth it. Come early or at sunset, drink mint tea with pine nuts at a terrace café, and walk the lanes above the sea.

6. Avenue Habib Bourguiba and the colonial city

The ville nouvelle's central avenue, with its trees, theatres and the striking Cathedral of St Vincent de Paul, is a museum of French-era architecture and modern Tunisian life at once — the place to feel the contemporary city between historical excursions.

7. The Punic ports and Tophet

Two quiet, haunting Carthage sites: the once-mighty circular war harbour, now a placid lagoon, and the Tophet sanctuary with its fields of ancient stelae. Together they bring the Phoenician city closer than any ruin on the hill.

Tip: Do Carthage and Sidi Bou Said as one seaside day on the TGM line, and give the Bardo its own separate morning — mosaics deserve fresh eyes.