Guide to Tunis, Tunisia

Tunis already has a metro, six lines and 65 stations covering 45 kilometers of the city, run by Transtu. If you’ve read elsewhere that it’s still under construction, that’s outdated: the light rail network has been expanding steadily, most recently with Line E stretching 18.4 kilometers through Ezzouhour, Zahrouni, and Séjoumi, backed by financing from the World Bank and European Investment Bank. Separately, and this trips people up, the old TGM commuter line, running since 1872, connects central Tunis to La Marsa and the northern suburbs and is a completely different system from the metro. Both are cheap and both are useful, so don’t assume you need taxis for everything.

Landing at Tunis-Carthage Airport, take a metered taxi rather than accepting a flat-rate offer from a driver in the arrivals area. Insist the meter goes on before you move. A daytime ride into the center runs 30 to 35 Tunisian dinars, roughly 9 euros, and night fares (9pm to 5am) run about 50 percent higher plus a legitimate 5 to 10 dinar luggage surcharge. The ride itself takes 15 to 30 minutes depending on traffic. Cash only, and small notes, since drivers routinely claim they can’t break large bills.

The Medina and Beyond

The Medina of Tunis, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1979, is genuinely one of the calmer old-city medinas in North Africa despite its reputation, and it rewards getting lost in the narrow streets around Zitouna Mosque. The mosque itself, one of the oldest in the Islamic world, anchors the medina both geographically and historically. Watch for the carpet and textile shops along Souk el-Belat and Souk des Etoffes off Rue de la Kasbah specifically; the classic move here is a “free tea” invitation that turns into hours of pressure to buy a carpet you didn’t come in for. A polite, firm no thank you works, but leaving the shop entirely works better.

Carthage, a short ride northeast, holds the ruins of the Phoenician, Roman, and Byzantine city, and the Antonine Baths are worth the visit on scale alone, some of the largest Roman baths ever built outside Rome itself. The Bardo Museum’s collection of Roman mosaics is one of the largest in the world and is not an exaggeration people make lightly; give it a real half-day rather than a rushed hour. La Marsa Beach, reachable via the TGM line, is the easiest beach escape from the city center and gets genuinely busy with locals on weekends, which is a better sign of quality than any guidebook ranking.

Eating

Dar El Jeld, inside an 18th-century medina house, remains the reference point for elevated Tunisian cuisine, particularly its lamb and fish couscous, and it’s worth booking ahead since the two dining rooms fill up on weekend evenings. For something closer to how Tunisians actually eat day to day, look for a small spot serving lablabi, a chickpea soup with harissa and stale bread that’s the city’s real comfort food, or a proper brik, the fried pastry stuffed with egg and tuna that street vendors do better than most sit-down restaurants. Fondouk El Attarine and other small medina restaurants serve solid, unfussy Tunisian classics without the price premium of the more famous names. Skip anything directly facing a major tourist attraction with a laminated multilingual menu out front; that’s almost always a sign you’re paying medina-adjacent prices for average food.

Where to Stay

Dar El Jeld isn’t just a restaurant, it also has rooms, and staying inside a converted traditional medina home is worth the splurge if you want atmosphere over convenience. For beach access, hotels along La Marsa put you near the TGM line and a short ride from the airport. Centrally located mid-range hotels near the medina’s edge give you walkability to Zitouna Mosque and the souks without paying resort prices.

Practical Notes

Arabic is the official language, French remains widely spoken as a legacy of the colonial period, and English gets you by in tourist-facing spots but not much further. The Tunisian dinar is a closed currency, meaning you generally can’t obtain it outside Tunisia, so plan to withdraw or exchange after arrival, and note you’re legally required to convert unused dinars back before leaving if you want your home currency back at the airport. Cards work in hotels and nicer restaurants; carry cash everywhere else, especially in the medina and souks.

Dress modestly, particularly around religious sites and in more conservative neighborhoods outside the capital’s center; Tunis itself is considerably more relaxed than rural Tunisia, but shoulders and knees covered is still the safer default. Haggling in the souks isn’t just accepted, it’s expected, and quoting a price without negotiating is likely to mean you’re overpaying by a wide margin.

The biggest genuinely useful gotcha for first-time visitors: someone offering you a jasmine garland “as a gift” near Place de la Victoire or similar tourist-heavy spots will demand payment the moment you accept it. Wave it off before it’s in your hand, not after.