Beyond Tunis: Kairouan, El Jem, Sousse & Tunisia’s Best Day Trips

There is so much more to Tunisia than Tunis. Within a few hours of the capital you can stand in the courtyard of the oldest mosque in the Maghreb, climb the tiers of a Roman amphitheatre almost as big as Rome’s Colosseum, and end the day on a pirate ship off the walls of a seaside medina. Rich history, layered culture and a long Mediterranean coast, all within easy reach, are what draw travellers from across Europe and beyond.

This guide covers the six places I think best capture Tunisia beyond the capital: holy Kairouan, Roman El Jem, the seaside medina of Sousse, the ribat-and-resort town of Monastir, beachy Hammamet and the working port of Sfax. Each one has its own signature, so each section opens with an “at a glance” box. After the cities you’ll find a full planning section: how to get there, whether to take a tour, hire a licensed guide or ride the train, sample 1-, 2- and 3–4-day routes, what to wear in mosques, the best seasons, and an FAQ.

If you are still planning the capital itself, start with my Tunis city itinerary, and for visas, money and customs see the Tunisia 101 country guide.

Tunisia Beyond Tunis at a Glance

Place	Signature	From Tunis (approx.)	Time needed
Kairouan	Religion and Islamic heritage	~160 km, about 2 h by road	Half day
El Jem	Roman history	~205 km, about 2–2.5 h by road or train	2–3 hours
Sousse	Seaside medina, pirates and the Ribat	~140 km, about 1.5–2 h by road or train	1–2 days
Monastir	Ribat plus resort	~160 km; ~20 km from Sousse	Half day
Hammamet	Beach resort	~65 km, about 1 h by road	1 day to a weekend
Sfax	Working port and walled medina	~270 km, about 3 h by road or train	1 day

Kairouan: The Holy City of the Maghreb

Where Tunisia prays: the Maghreb’s first great mosque.

At a glance: Kairouan

• Signature: Religion and Islamic heritage
• Best for: history, architecture, medina crafts and carpets
• Time needed: half a day
• From Tunis: about 2 hours by road; no convenient direct train
• Dress code: shoulders and knees covered; a scarf for women is wise
• Don’t miss: Great Mosque courtyard, Aghlabid Basins, Sidi Sahbi mausoleum, makroudh pastries
• Pair with: El Jem (the classic day loop)

Kairouan (also spelled Qayrawan or Kairwan) is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the spiritual heart of Tunisia. It was founded around 670 by the Arab general Uqba ibn Nafi under the Umayyad caliph Mu’awiya I, and for centuries it was a great centre of Sunni scholarship and Quranic learning. Kairouan is often called the fourth holiest city in Islam, after Mecca, Medina and Jerusalem.

A popular local belief holds that seven visits to Kairouan equal one pilgrimage to Mecca. That is a folk tradition rather than religious doctrine, but it shows how deeply Tunisians revere the city.

Legend says the site was chosen when Uqba’s horse stumbled on a golden cup half-buried in the sand. When the cup was lifted, a spring appeared, said to be connected to the sacred Zamzam well in Mecca.

Water was always the challenge here on the dry Kairouan plain. In the 9th century the Aghlabid emirs built an ambitious system of reservoirs fed by an aqueduct from the hills. Some fifteen basins are said to have existed; two linked ones survive today (see the Aghlabid Basins below).

The Great Mosque of Kairouan (Mosque of Uqba)

The Great Mosque, also called the Mosque of Uqba (Sidi Okba), is the heart of the city. It was founded in 670, at the time of the Arab conquest of North Africa, and is the oldest mosque in the Maghreb. Its present form largely dates to 836, when the Aghlabid emir Ziyadat Allah I rebuilt it. The Aghlabids were the first dynasty to rule the region with real independence from Baghdad. Later restorations barely changed its 9th-century look, and the mosque became a model for mosques across the Muslim West, as far as al-Andalus in Spain.

The mosque was never just a place of prayer. For centuries it was also a school, a forum for theological debate, a court, and the place where governors were appointed. It was from here that the Maliki school of Sunni law came to dominate Tunisia and the wider Maghreb.

At first sight the mosque looks like a fortress. High walls braced by heavy buttresses enclose an area of around 9,000 square metres, and that defensive look was deliberate in a frontier city. Inside, the complex divides into two parts: a vast marble-paved courtyard and the prayer hall.

The courtyard is lined with arcades, much of them restored in the 18th and 19th centuries.

Notice how the paving slopes gently toward a central drain that once fed the cisterns below. On the north side rises the minaret, built in three stepped tiers topped with crenellations. Dating from the early 9th century, it is the oldest minaret in the Muslim West and one of the oldest surviving minarets anywhere.

The prayer hall has a flat roof carried on horseshoe arches over a forest of antique columns, many of them recycled from Roman and Byzantine Carthage and other sites. It has 17 aisles (naves) and 8 bays.

The central aisle, on the axis of the mihrab (the niche facing Mecca), and the bay along the qibla wall are wider and higher than the rest. This T-shaped plan was copied across North Africa. Domes crown each end of the central aisle.

The ribbed dome in front of the mihrab, rising on shell-shaped squinches, is a masterpiece of Aghlabid art and a model later followed in Sousse’s Great Mosque and Tunis’s Zitouna Mosque. Non-Muslim visitors usually view the prayer hall from its doorways rather than entering.

The mosque was once lit by chandeliers and oil lamps, tended by a lamp keeper (the waqqad). One 11th-century chandelier, bearing the name of the Zirid emir al-Mu’izz ibn Badis, is now in the Raqqada museum near Kairouan.

Three treasures stand out inside:

• The mihrab (c. 862), lined with carved marble panels and framed by lustre tiles that tradition says were brought from Baghdad. They are some of the earliest surviving examples of this technique.
• The minbar (c. 862), a pulpit of carved teak panels. It is the oldest minbar in the Islamic world still standing in its original place.
• The maqsura, a carved wooden screen from the 11th century and one of the oldest surviving examples. Together with the minbar, it shows how sophisticated medieval Tunisian woodwork was, with floral, geometric and calligraphic ornament.

The Aghlabid Basins

Built in 862–863 under the emir Abu Ibrahim Ahmad, the Aghlabid Basins rank among the most ambitious waterworks of the medieval Islamic world. Water arrived by aqueduct and settled first in a smaller basin, where silt dropped out, before flowing into the great 48-sided reservoir. A pavilion once stood on a platform in the middle. Today you see them best from the rooftop of the tourist information building next door.

Mausoleum of Sidi Sahbi (Abu Zama al-Balawi), the “Barber”

This beautiful complex honours Abu Zama al-Balawi, known locally as Sidi Sahbi (“my companion”), a Companion of the Prophet Muhammad who died around 654–655 in fighting against the Byzantines. He was buried on the land where Kairouan would later grow. Tradition holds that he carried three hairs from the Prophet’s beard, which is why the site is nicknamed the Mosque of the Barber.

A simple domed tomb stood here for centuries. The complex you see today mostly dates to the 17th century, when the Muradid beys of Tunis, Hammouda Pasha and later Mohamed Bey el-Mouradi, enlarged it with a madrasa, courtyards and guest quarters.

Walking in, you pass a minaret in Hispano-Moorish style, similar to those of the Koutoubia in Marrakech and the Kasbah Mosque in Tunis, then a sequence of courtyards lined with ceramic tiles and delicately carved stucco. A doorway framed in white and red Italian-style marble leads to the tomb itself. The mix of Ottoman, Andalusian and Italian influences, all filtered through Kairouan’s own building tradition, makes it one of the loveliest interiors in Tunisia.

Kairouan Medina and Makroudh

After the monuments, wander Kairouan’s walled medina, also part of the UNESCO listing. Look out for carpet workshops (Kairouan is famous for its knotted rugs), blue doors, and the city’s signature sweet, makroudh: semolina pastries filled with dates, fried and dipped in syrup.

El Jem: Rome’s Colosseum in Africa

Gladiators in the olive country: Africa’s grandest Roman arena.

At a glance: El Jem

• Signature: Roman history
• Best for: history lovers, photographers, families
• Time needed: 2–3 hours, including the museum
• From Tunis: about 2–2.5 hours by road; SNCFT trains on the Sfax line stop at El Jem, a short walk from the amphitheatre
• Dress code: casual; bring a sun hat and water
• Don’t miss: the underground galleries, the upper tiers, the El Jem Museum mosaics
• Pair with: Kairouan or Sousse

El Jem (or El Djem) sits roughly 205 kilometres south of Tunis. It is a small, quiet town, yet it holds one of the most impressive Roman monuments in Africa. In Roman times it was Thysdrus, a city that grew rich on olive oil. Around 238 AD its citizens built an amphitheatre so vast that it still dominates the skyline. It has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1979 and is often ranked the third-largest Roman amphitheatre, after the Colosseum in Rome and the amphitheatre of Capua.

The amphitheatre is elliptical, about 148 by 122 metres, and could seat roughly 35,000 spectators.

For comparison, Rome’s Colosseum measures about 189 by 156 metres and held perhaps 50,000. Take time to walk the different levels. The higher you climb, the better you understand the scale.

Spectators came from the town and the surrounding countryside and sat by rank on the tiers. A clever system of stairs and corridors let thousands of people get in and out without crushing.

The games took place in the arena, above an underground level where wild animals and gladiators waited. Lifts and trapdoors brought them up for dramatic entrances. Shows included gladiator fights, wild-animal hunts and public executions. Today you can walk the underground passages, which are cool even on a hot day.

Before leaving, visit the El Jem Museum on the edge of town, which displays superb Roman mosaics and a reconstructed villa from Thysdrus.

Sousse: The Pearl of the Sahel

Pirates, ramparts and a seaside medina.

At a glance: Sousse

• Signature: Seaside medina, pirates and the Ribat
• Best for: a coastal base, medina wandering, boat trips
• Time needed: 1–2 days (and an ideal base for day trips)
• From Tunis: about 1.5–2 hours by road; frequent SNCFT trains
• Dress code: relaxed at the beach, modest in the medina and mosques
• Don’t miss: the Ribat tower, the medina souks, the Archaeological Museum mosaics, a pirate-ship cruise
• Pair with: Monastir (by Sahel metro) or El Jem

Sousse lies about 140 kilometres south of Tunis. It is one of Tunisia’s oldest cities: the Phoenicians founded it, and it later became Roman Hadrumetum. Today it is a favourite holiday spot for Tunisians and visitors alike. Its walled medina is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and a long strip of resort hotels, including international chains such as Mövenpick, lines the beach north of the old town.

We stayed in a hotel with suites whose balconies looked straight out over the sea, and it was only a short walk to the city’s most popular market. What I loved about Sousse is the contrast. The resort strip has the sun-and-sea ease of a big beach destination, while the medina keeps a small-town charm that international brands haven’t smoothed out. It reminded me of what makes Havana or Cancún special, but with a North African soul.

We went up to a rooftop café with a panoramic view over the town centre, then dived into the market, which was buzzing with stalls of local products and souvenirs. Try fresh dates, a local kebab, or whatever smells best at a neighbourhood bakery. I felt safe walking the alleys and people were generally friendly. Drivers even stopped to let us cross the road. It is a Muslim community, but headscarves are a personal choice here, and you’ll see plenty of women without one.

Pirates of the Barbary Coast

Piracy along the North African coast is ancient, but it became a political force in the 16th century, when the Barbary corsairs of Algiers, Tunis and Tripoli fought under the Ottoman flag.

Hayreddin Barbarossa (c. 1478–1546) was born on the island of Lesbos and rose from corsair to grand admiral of the Ottoman fleet. He turned Algiers into an Ottoman stronghold and seized Tunis in 1534, only to lose it the next year when Emperor Charles V captured La Goulette and Tunis in 1535.

In 1538 he won a decisive victory over the Holy League at Preveza, which secured Ottoman dominance in the Mediterranean for decades. He is buried in Beşiktaş, Istanbul, where his tomb and monument still overlook the Bosphorus (more in my Istanbul city highlights). Film fans may notice that the name of Captain Hector Barbossa, played by Geoffrey Rush in Pirates of the Caribbean, echoes Barbarossa’s.

Jack Ward (c. 1553–1622), also called Jack Birdy and later Yusuf Reis, was an English sailor who turned corsair and made Tunis his base from the early 1600s.

He became one of the most notorious Barbary corsairs of his day, and he died in Tunis in 1622. The Barbary corsairs as a whole raided far beyond the Mediterranean, along Atlantic coasts and as far as Iceland.

So one of the must-dos in Sousse is hopping on a pirate-ship cruise and seeing the city from the Mediterranean. The boat sails a loop off the harbour, and there is more to it than the view: once the ship stopped, performers put on a show to entertain everyone. We were lucky with a beautiful clear day and could see the whole city from the water, including the landmark Ribat.

The Ribat of Sousse

The Ribat was begun in the late 8th century (around 787) and is one of the oldest Islamic monuments in Tunisia. A ribat was a fortified monastery where volunteer warrior-monks, the murabitun, combined prayer with guarding the coast. Its builders reused stone and columns from ancient Hadrumetum. The plan is a square with corner towers around a courtyard. On the first floor, a prayer hall fills the south side and small cells line the others. The rooftop was for defence and watch. Don’t skip the tall cylindrical lookout tower, which an inscription dates to 821, in the reign of Ziyadat Allah I. The climb rewards you with the best view over the medina and the sea. Ribats also served as refuges during attacks and as lodgings for travellers and merchants.

Right beside the Ribat stands Sousse’s 9th-century Great Mosque, and a short walk away is the Sousse Archaeological Museum in the Kasbah, with one of the finest collections of Roman mosaics in Tunisia.

Watch: My Video from Tunisia

Here’s my own video from the trip, with the sea, the medina and a taste of the coast:

Monastir: Ribat and Resort

A film-set fortress on a resort bay.

At a glance: Monastir

• Signature: Ribat plus resort
• Best for: history combined with beach time; an easy add-on from Sousse
• Time needed: half a day
• From Tunis: about 2 hours by road; from Sousse, about 20 km by road or the Sahel metro
• Dress code: modest at the mausoleum, relaxed on the beach
• Don’t miss: the Ribat ramparts, the Bourguiba Mausoleum, the marina
• Pair with: Sousse, or the El Jem and Kairouan loop

Monastir sits on the Sahel coast about 20 kilometres south of Sousse. It was traditionally a fishing port and is now a busy resort town with its own international airport. On my visit, its golden-stone Ribat was the highlight. Founded in 796 by Harthama ibn A’yan, it is the oldest ribat in the Maghreb, and it was enlarged over the following centuries. Its photogenic ramparts have appeared in films, including Monty Python’s Life of Brian.

Monastir is also the birthplace of Habib Bourguiba, Tunisia’s first president. His gold-domed mausoleum, flanked by twin minarets, sits at the end of a long ceremonial esplanade near the Ribat. Finish with a stroll around the marina or along the beaches of the bay.

Hammamet: Tunisia’s Classic Beach Resort

Jasmine, white walls and long sandy beaches.

At a glance: Hammamet

• Signature: Beach resort
• Best for: sun, swimming, water sports, a relaxed weekend
• Time needed: a day to a weekend
• From Tunis: about 65 km, roughly 1 hour by road
• Dress code: beachwear at the beach, cover up in town
• Don’t miss: the small walled medina by the sea, Dar Sébastien, Yasmine Hammamet marina
• Pair with: Sousse, or a Kairouan and El Jem tour with hotel pickup

Hammamet is the closest beach escape from Tunis and one of the country’s original resort towns. Its long sandy beaches draw locals and visitors for sun, swimming and water sports. On my visit I found it the easy, relaxing counterpoint to the heavy history inland. The old town is a compact whitewashed medina right on the water, and to the south, the purpose-built Yasmine Hammamet has a marina, hotels and leisure facilities. In summer, look out for the Hammamet International Festival, held in the open-air theatre at the Centre Culturel International, the former villa of Romanian aristocrat George Sebastian (Dar Sébastien). Many tours to Kairouan and El Jem pick up from Hammamet hotels, so it also works as a base.

Sfax: The Working Port City

Tunisia’s busy second city behind intact medina walls.

At a glance: Sfax

• Signature: Working port and authentic medina
• Best for: travellers who want everyday Tunisian city life over resorts
• Time needed: 1 day
• From Tunis: about 270 km, roughly 3 hours by road or SNCFT train
• Dress code: modest; it’s a conservative, non-resort city
• Don’t miss: the medina walls, the Kasbah, Bab Diwan gate, the colonial-era Ville Nouvelle
• Pair with: El Jem (on the same rail line), or a ferry to the Kerkennah Islands

Sfax lies about 270 kilometres south of Tunis. It was founded in 849 under the Aghlabids, near the remains of Roman Taparura, and it is Tunisia’s second-largest city and a major port. Sfax is a hardworking commercial city rather than a resort, and on my visit that was exactly its appeal. Its medina is enclosed by some of the best-preserved walls in the country and feels lived-in and unpolished. Climb to the top of the Kasbah, the fortress at the corner of the medina walls, for views over the old city.

Outside the walls, the Ville Nouvelle has handsome early 20th-century buildings with ornate façades.

Going Further: Tunisia’s Sahara

If you have more time, the south is a different Tunisia altogether: the oasis of Tozeur, the salt flats of Chott el Djerid, the troglodyte homes of Matmata and the dunes around Douz. I cover it all in my Tozeur and Matmata desert guide. Many multi-day tours combine the desert with Kairouan and El Jem on the way down, such as this 3-day North-to-South desert tour via Kairouan and El Jem.

How to Plan Your Route from Tunis

Tunisia is compact, but these highlights are spread along the coast and inland, and the best way to link them depends on how much history you want explained and how much effort you want to spend on logistics. For most foreign visitors, especially first-timers, I recommend a local guided tour or a licensed private driver-guide for Kairouan and El Jem, and the train for the coastal cities.

Tour vs Private Guide vs Train vs Self-Drive

Option	Flexibility	History explained	Effort	Best for
Private driver-guide	High: your pace, your stops	Excellent with a licensed guide	Low	Couples, families, history lovers
Group or shared day tour	Low: fixed route and timing	Good, but shared	Very low	Solo travellers, first-timers
Train (SNCFT) and Sahel metro	Medium: fixed timetables	None (DIY)	Medium	Sousse, Monastir, El Jem and Sfax independently
Louage (shared minibus)	Medium: leaves when full	None	Medium–high; French/Arabic helps	Budget travellers, Kairouan without a tour
Self-drive	High	None	High	Confident drivers who have been before

Hiring a Licensed Guide or Joining a Local Tour

Tunisian tour guides are licensed by the Office National du Tourisme Tunisien (ONTT), the national tourism office, which issues a professional guide card (national guides can work anywhere in the country; local guides cover one region). Ask to see the card. The ONTT’s official visitor site is discovertunisia.com, and its institutional site ontt.tn lists the rules for guides. Licensed guides also work at the entrances of major sites like the Great Mosque of Kairouan.

Ways to book:

• Online, with reviews: this private Kairouan, El Jem and Monastir tour from Tunis is a well-reviewed classic loop. Other options are this private Kairouan and El Jem day trip with optional Monastir, or this guided El Jem Colosseum and Kairouan medina tour with the El Jem Museum and lunch.
• From a beach hotel: if you are staying on the coast, this El Jem and Kairouan tour with pickup in Sousse, Monastir or Hammamet is convenient. Note that it uses a driver-host rather than an in-depth history guide.
• Through your hotel: reception desks in Tunis, Hammamet and Sousse can arrange a car with a licensed guide. Confirm that the guide is ONTT-licensed and speaks your language.
• Through a licensed local travel agency: agencies are also regulated by the ONTT.

What to ask before booking:

• Is the guide licensed, and in which language will they guide? (Some tours have a driver only, with a local guide at each site.)
• Are entry tickets to the Great Mosque, El Jem amphitheatre and museums included?
• Is lunch included, and is it a sit-down local meal?
• Where is pickup: a Tunis hotel, or Sousse, Monastir or Hammamet?
• Is it private or shared, and how long is spent at each site versus in the car?
• Are there any shopping stops (carpet shops are common in Kairouan)? You can ask to skip them.
• Will there be time to change for mosque visits, and will scarves or cover-ups be provided?

Getting Around on Your Own: Trains, Metro and Louages

• SNCFT trains: the national railway (sncft.com.tn) runs the main line south from Tunis to Sousse, El Jem and Sfax, with some services continuing to Monastir and Mahdia. Comfort class is worth it. El Jem station is a short walk from the amphitheatre.
• Métro du Sahel: a light-rail line linking Sousse, Monastir (including the airport) and Mahdia. It’s ideal for a Sousse-to-Monastir half day.
• Louages: white shared minibuses that leave from dedicated stations when full. They are fast and go everywhere, including Kairouan, but they are cramped and signs are in Arabic and French.
• Kairouan has no practical train connection, which is one reason a tour or driver makes so much sense for the Kairouan and El Jem pair.

What About Self-Driving?

It is possible, and the A1 toll motorway from Tunis via Hammamet and Sousse to El Jem and Sfax is in good condition. Still, I wouldn’t recommend it to most first-time visitors. Expect frequent police and National Guard checkpoints (slow down, and keep your passport, licence and rental papers handy), road signs mainly in Arabic and French, unpredictable overtaking, scooters, animals and unlit rural roads at night, plus confusing city traffic and parking. Bring an International Driving Permit with your licence, read the rental insurance excess carefully, and avoid driving after dark outside cities.

Sample Routes from Tunis

1 day: the classic heritage loop
Tunis → Kairouan (Great Mosque, Aghlabid Basins, Sidi Sahbi, medina) → El Jem (amphitheatre) → a quick stop at Monastir or Sousse if time allows → Tunis. It’s a long day of about 450–500 km, best done with a private driver-guide or organised tour.

2 days: heritage plus the coast
Day 1: Tunis → Hammamet (beach and medina) → Sousse; overnight in Sousse.
Day 2: Sousse → Kairouan → El Jem → back to Tunis (or stay a second night in Sousse and take the pirate cruise).

3–4 days: the Sahel slowly
Day 1: Tunis → Hammamet → Sousse (stay 2–3 nights).
Day 2: Sousse medina, Ribat, Archaeological Museum, pirate cruise.
Day 3: guided day trip to Kairouan and El Jem.
Day 4 (optional): Sahel metro to Monastir in the morning, or train south to Sfax, then train back to Tunis.
Add the Sahara on top with a multi-day desert tour (see above).

Best Time to Visit

Spring (March to May) and autumn (September to November) are ideal: warm, sunny and comfortable for walking around El Jem and Kairouan. Summer is peak beach season on the coast but very hot inland, so start early and carry water. Winter is mild and quiet on the coast, though some resort facilities slow down. During Ramadan daily rhythms change: many cafés and restaurants close during the day and open after sunset, so check locally.

Mosque Etiquette and Dress Code

• Non-Muslim visitors can usually enter the courtyard of the Great Mosque of Kairouan and view the prayer hall from its doors. Sidi Sahbi’s courtyards are generally open to respectful visitors.
• Cover shoulders and knees. Women should bring a light scarf. Cover-ups may be available at the entrance.
• Avoid prayer times, especially Friday midday, when visits are often restricted.
• Speak quietly, follow staff instructions, and ask before photographing people, especially at family celebrations.
• Tickets for Kairouan’s monuments are usually sold as a combined pass, so ask at the first site.

Safety

The cities in this guide are popular, well-trodden destinations, and I felt safe throughout. Usual city sense applies: watch your bag in busy souks, agree on taxi fares or use the meter, and be polite but firm with insistent shop touts. Government travel advisories generally warn against areas near the Algerian and Libyan borders, far from this route. Check your own government’s latest advice (for example, UK FCDO or Australia’s Smartraveller) before you go.

FAQ: Day Trips from Tunis

Can I visit Kairouan and El Jem in one day from Tunis?
Yes, it’s the classic day loop, but it’s a long one. A private driver-guide or organised tour makes it manageable.

Can non-Muslims enter the Great Mosque of Kairouan?
Usually yes, into the courtyard. The prayer hall is generally viewed from its doorways. Dress modestly and avoid Friday prayers.

Is there a train to Kairouan?
Not a practical one. Use a tour, a private driver or a louage. El Jem, Sousse, Monastir and Sfax are all reachable by train.

Is it safe to drive in Tunisia?
Main motorways are good, but checkpoints, signage in Arabic and French, and local driving habits make it challenging for first-timers. A driver-guide is the easier choice.

Is Sousse or Hammamet the better base?
Sousse is more central for Kairouan, El Jem and Monastir and has a livelier medina. Hammamet is closer to Tunis and quieter.

How far is El Jem from Tunis?
About 205 km, roughly 2–2.5 hours by motorway or a few hours by train.

Do I need a licensed guide at the mosques?
It isn’t required, but a licensed guide adds enormous context, and many of the best stories (like the ones in this post) come from them.

More Tunisia Guides

• The Tunisia 101 country guide: visas, money, culture and tips
• Tunis city itinerary: the medina, Carthage and Sidi Bou Said
• Tozeur and Matmata: Tunisia’s desert south
• Istanbul city highlights: where Barbarossa rests