Sidi Bou Said

Sidi Bou Said is a village in Tunisia.

The best time to visit is early autumn or spring (March-early April/late October-November), before the assault of package tourists begins, when you can still walk alone on the narrow streets, around white-blue traditional houses, enjoying the views. If you are there during the summer months, it is advisable to visit not just the jam-packed tourist main street but also the emptier inner parts of the neighbourhood. Empty in the day during Ramadan.

Get in
It is on the Tunis - Carthage TGM light rail line.

You may drive by car. Traffic is OK. There is free parking (uphill, to the right), which may be overbooked on weekends.

Get around
The village is quite small, and you can visit every street of the village in no more than two-three hours. On the top of the hill there is a beautiful view of the surrounding bay.

See



 * The white houses with blue roofs and windows, unique to this village, perched on a hill, with an amazing view of the Mediterranean Sea and the Bay of Tunis.

Do
Sidi Bou Said has stunning whites and blues all over the village - take plenty of photos.

On the street along café des nattes, a small path on the right with many steps leads you down the hill to the seaside, frequented by locals and seemingly unknown to tourists. A small beach, where swimming is possible, and a port with yachts that you can see from the top of the hill, with a small store and a telephone for taxis. When facing the sea, you can follow the road to your left back up to the top of the hill - a pleasant walk with a great view on the sea if it's not too hot, if you don't want to climb the stairs. Or take a taxi, they seem to stop by rather often by the beach!

Buy
Like many other Arab settlements around the world, Sidi Bou Said has a small souk year round, selling basic commodities for the locals. In addition, during tourist seasons, souvenir stalls litter the lower part of the main street of the village. A traditional product manufactured in Sidi Bou Said are bird cages, coloured in white and blue, like the roofs of the village. Don't forget to haggle.

Eat
Be sure to eat the locally grown dates.

Sleep
There are a couple of places to stay in Sidi Bou Said. You can also easily find hotel rooms in nearby Tunis or Carthage. If really lucky, you might rent a room for a night or two in a house, from a village resident. However, this is rare, since the locals are quite rich and rarely have any interest in sharing their home with total strangers.



Go next

 * Carthage — Phoenician colony, biggest trade metropolis of the antique world; famously razed by the Romans; remnants now encased in a museum; site easily reached by train from Tunis
 * La Goulette
 * La Marsa
 * Quamart - a resort on Tunisia’s Mediterranean coast
 * Tunis — the laid-back capital of Tunisia with a very authentic souk