With approximately 2.7 million residents in its metropolitan area, this coastal city (above and top) grew into a major Islamic and Ottoman administrative center before serving as the capital during French colonial rule. And it blends eras seamlessly. Its medieval, UNESCO-World-Heritage Medina (market quarter) contains narrow alleys filled with mosques, traditional markets, and artisan workshops. Modern Tunis, meanwhile, expands outward with French-influenced boulevards such as Avenue Habib Bourguiba, lined with cafés, theaters, and government buildings. Dining ranges from traditional couscous and seafood to French-inspired cuisine, while nightlife remains understated but lively in hotel lounges, beach clubs, and urban cafés.
Highlights include the National Bardo Museum, with a rich collection of art and artifacts from classical antiquity as well as the Islamic period, and especially notable for one of the world’s most important collections of Roman mosaics; the Medina´s Zitouna (al-Zaytuna) Mosque, dating back to the early 8th century; the Roman Catholic Cathedral of St. Vincent de Paul, built by the French in 1897 in a mix of Moorish, Gothic, and Neo-Byzantine styles; and various Medina souks (markets) such as el Attarine (the most famous), el Trouk, and Chéchias.
Read more in my post The Tug of Tunisia, and 14 of its Top Destinations.
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