Sightseeing in Tunisia

October 31, 2026

Advice checked 31 October 2026. The UK FCDO (updated 24 July 2026) advises against all but essential travel to Kasserine Governorate, which includes the ruins at Sbeitla, and against all travel to Chaambi Mountains National Park and the military zones near it. The US State Department rates Tunisia Level 2. Check the current US State Department and UK FCDO advice before booking; some border and military areas are closed to tourists.

Heritage fees in 2026

A new fee order took effect on 1 April 2026. The top category costs around 30 TND for foreign visitors from April 2026, rising to 45 TND in January 2027. The next category costs 20 TND, rising to 30 TND. Tunisians, foreign residents and Maghreb nationals pay reduced rates, and accompanied children under 12 and students pay 2 TND. Personal photography is included. Which category each site falls into varies, so check the price at the gate.

Bardo National Museum

The Bardo is in the western suburb of Le Bardo, not in Carthage. Take Tunis Metro line 4 from the city centre. It reopened on 15 September 2023 after about two years of closure and holds one of the world’s largest collections of Roman mosaics. Look for Virgil Writing the Aeneid, found at Sousse, the huge Triumph of Neptune from Acholla and the bronzes from the Mahdia shipwreck. It is closed on Mondays. Opening hours are about 09:30 to 16:30 from November to April and 09:00 to 17:00 from May to October.

Carthage

The Punic and Roman city lies about 15 km from central Tunis on the TGM line. One combined ticket covers the scattered sites: the Antonine Baths, the Byrsa Hill and museum, the Tophet of Salammbo, the Punic ports, the Roman villas, the Roman theatre and the amphitheatre. A combined Bardo and Carthage ticket costs 45 TND from April 2026 and 70 TND from January 2027. Carthage is usually open about 08:00 to 17:00 in winter and later in summer.

El Jem

The amphitheatre at El Jem dates from about 238 AD and held roughly 35,000 spectators. Its outer wall is about 36 m high, and the underground gallery where animals and gladiators waited can be walked. A museum about 500 m away shows mosaics from local villas. Trains and louage vans from Sousse take about an hour.

Dougga

Dougga, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1997, is a Roman town on an olive-covered hillside about 105 km south-west of Tunis. The Capitolium, dedicated in 166 AD, the 3,500-seat theatre, the Licinian Baths and the Libyco-Punic mausoleum are the main sights. Allow half a day.

Kairouan Great Mosque

Founded in 670 AD and rebuilt in the ninth century, the Great Mosque of Kairouan has a 31 m minaret that is the oldest surviving minaret in the world. The prayer hall is closed to non-Muslims, but visitors may enter the courtyard and look through the open doors, and they must dress modestly with shoulders and knees covered and women’s heads covered. Hours are about 08:00 to 14:00 from Saturday to Thursday and 08:00 to 12:00 on Friday. Keep your voice low, as this is an active place of prayer.

Tunis medina and Sidi Bou Said

The Medina of Tunis, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1979, has over 700 monuments. Ez-Zitouna Mosque, founded in 732 AD, can be viewed from its courtyard in the morning, and non-Muslims may not enter the prayer hall. Avenue Habib Bourguiba is a 19th-century colonial boulevard rather than a historic monument, and the UNESCO site is the medina. Sidi Bou Said is free to wander, and Dar El Annabi there is an 18th-century house museum.

Sousse and the Sahel

In Sousse, the Ribat, founded in 796 AD, is a fortified monastery with a watchtower you can climb, and the Great Mosque is nearby. The kasbah houses the archaeological museum with Roman mosaics. Kerkouane on Cap Bon is a Punic town and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Guided visits to the Tunis and Carthage sites can be compared on Viator . Official pages: National Heritage Institute , Bardo Museum , UNESCO Dougga and La Presse fee report .