MyPassportStory
Your travels, worth telling.
MyPassportStory › Destinations › Tunisia
🇹🇳Things to Do in Tunisia
From the ruins of ancient Carthage to the blue-and-white streets of Sidi Bou Said - the essential sights, and how to keep your own record of them.
Travel guide - last updated September 2026
Tunisia holds ancient Roman ruins on par with anything in Italy, a Mediterranean coastal village that inspired painters for a century, and a stretch of the Sahara Desert used as a filming location for the original Star Wars films. It remains one of North Africa's more accessible countries for a shorter Mediterranean-plus-desert trip. Here are 6 places worth building a trip around.
Top attractions
The sights most first-time visitors build an itinerary around.
Carthage
The ruins of the ancient Phoenician and later Roman city that once rivaled Rome itself, including Roman baths, a Punic port, and mosaics from the Bardo National Museum's related collection.
📍 Carthage, near Tunis
🚉 Nearest station: Carthage Hannibal or Carthage Byrsa on the TGM light rail from Tunis Marine, about 25 minutes, with the Byrsa hill and the Antonine baths a short walk from either.
Sidi Bou Said
A cliffside village of blue-and-white buildings overlooking the Gulf of Tunis, a magnet for painters and writers since the early 20th century and now one of Tunisia's most photographed towns.
📍 Sidi Bou Said, near Tunis
🚉 Nearest station: Sidi Bou Said on the same TGM line, a 10-minute uphill walk to the blue-and-white village and the clifftop cafes.
El Djem Amphitheater
One of the best-preserved Roman amphitheaters in the world, larger than some sections of the Colosseum still standing, and a UNESCO World Heritage site.
📍 El Djem
🚉 Nearest station: El Jem, on the main line between Tunis and Sfax, with the Roman amphitheatre visible from the platform and a five-minute walk away.
Sahara Desert & Douz
Tunisia's gateway to the Sahara, with camel trekking and desert camps, and nearby film locations from the original Star Wars trilogy still standing in the surrounding desert landscape.
📍 Douz
🚉 There is no railway south of Gabes: louage shared taxis and buses run to Douz in about seven hours from Tunis, and camel or 4x4 trips into the dunes are arranged there.
Kairouan
One of the holiest cities in Islam, with the Great Mosque of Kairouan among the oldest and most significant mosques in North Africa, and a UNESCO-listed medina.
📍 Kairouan
🚉 Louages and buses from Tunis take about two and a half hours to Kairouan's terminal, a 20-minute walk from the Great Mosque - the medina is walkable and best seen early.
Bardo National Museum, Tunis
Home to one of the largest collections of Roman mosaics in the world, housed in a former Ottoman palace in Tunisia's capital.
📍 Tunis
🚉 Nearest station: Bardo on the Tunis metro line 4, a five-minute walk from the museum, which occupies a 19th-century beylical palace.
Mark Tunisia, get the stamp
In MyPassportStory, every country you mark - visited, lived in, or still on the list - becomes a stamp like these in your own travel passport. Add the cities you stopped in, draw the route between them, and turn the whole trip into a shareable passport-style image.
Open MyPassportStoryPlanning questions
How many days do you need in Tunisia?
A week covers Tunis, Carthage, Sidi Bou Said and El Djem well. Ten days lets you add a Sahara Desert excursion to Douz.
What's the best time to visit Tunisia?
March-May and September-November have the most comfortable temperatures. Summer is very hot, especially in the desert; winter is mild on the coast but cold at night in the Sahara.
Is Tunisia good for a first-time visit?
Yes - Tunis and the coastal towns are well set up for tourism, with French widely spoken alongside Arabic, reflecting the country's colonial history.
Do I need a visa to visit Tunisia?
Many nationalities, including the US, UK, Canada, Australia and most of the EU, can visit visa-free for short tourist stays; other nationalities need a visa arranged in advance. Check the official visa information for your nationality: diplomatie.gov.tn.
What are some things to do in Tunisia on a tight budget?
Walking Sidi Bou Said's streets and Carthage's outdoor ruins is inexpensive, local Tunisian food is cheap, and Tunisia is generally one of the more affordable Mediterranean destinations for food and accommodation.
Can I rent a car in Tunisia, and what licence do I need?
Yes, and it is the practical way to reach the desert south and the Roman sites away from the rail line. A foreign licence is accepted for visits of up to a year, and an International Driving Permit is recommended alongside it, particularly if yours is not in French or Arabic. Minimum age is usually 21 with a credit card for the deposit. Checkpoints on southern roads are routine, and some desert routes towards the Algerian and Libyan borders are restricted - check current advice before heading that way. Official visitor information is published by the Tunisian National Tourist Office at discovertunisia.com.