What to see in Tunis in 1 day

Tunis contains within its Medina, a UNESCO World Heritage site, over seven hundred monuments among mosques, palaces and mausoleums built over more than a thousand years of Islamic history.

Capital of Tunisia facing the Mediterranean, it combines an Arab old centre with a French colonial legacy still visible in the avenues of the centre, just kilometres from one of North Africa's most photographed villages.

The Medina of Tunis is the first stop: the maze of covered alleyways and specialized souks by profession preserves the Zitouna Mosque, founded in the eighth century and among the oldest in North Africa, with its colonnade courtyard visible even from the outside.

Continuing through the shops you cross the perfumers' souks, the silversmiths', and the textiles', each gathered in its own street according to the tradition of medieval guilds.

For lunch, one of the restaurants overlooking the Medina offers a first taste of Tunisian cuisine, between couscous and brik.

Leaving the Medina you reach Avenue Habib Bourguiba, the grand Parisian-style boulevard built during the French protectorate, today the heart of modern Tunis.

In the afternoon, the Bardo Museum houses one of the world's richest collections of Roman mosaics, installed in an ancient beilical palace.

A light train reaches instead Sidi Bou Said, the village all white and blue overlooking the Gulf of Tunis, with its decorated wrought-iron doors and panoramic cafés on the cliff.

As evening falls, heading back to the center, the restaurants around Avenue Habib Bourguiba remain an excellent base for dinner, closing the day where it began.

The Medina, Zitouna Mosque, and Habib Bourguiba Avenue sketch Tunis's dual Arab and colonial face, while an afternoon choice between the Bardo Museum and Sidi Bou Said completes the picture with archaeological or maritime sides.

The ruins of Carthage, just outside the city, remain a chapter for a second journey. Watching the blue doors of Sidi Bou Said stand out against the white houses overlooking the gulf is the image you take home from Tunis.