Around Hammamet

Wander through the medina with its timeless charm, with its narrow streets and its houses washed in blue lime. At the corner of the outer wall, the Hispano-Turkish fort (16th century) offers a marvellous view over the bay. Take a break at the famous cafe Sidi Bouhadid: the dome of the patron saint of sailors keeps watch over the shore, it will welcome you in with a mint tea or a refreshing drink. Admire the gardens of jasmine and the beautiful villas such as Dar Sebastian (see p. 35) In the new resort of Yasmine Hammamet, to the south of the city, stroll along the marina and the wide avenues, take a break in a beach club or in “Medina Mediterranea”, a theme park with crenelated walls and souks like an old arab city. Feel like nature and authenticity? Head off to explore the contrast of the backcountry with a visit to the Andalusian town of Zaghouan and the hilltop village of Takrouna.

A cosmopolitan coastal resort, Hammamet offers visitors a wide choice of restaurants, especially around the old town and the International Cultural Centre. As a couple or as a group of friends, spend unforgettable moments in a medina rooftop restaurant, around a Mediterranean cuisine suffused with warmth. Share a meal of freshly caught fish on a shaded patio on a balmy summer evening. Choose instead a more chic and contemporary setting on the marina at Yasmine Hammamet. Or go for an authentic Italian restaurant and gorge yourself on a creamy risotto and indulgent desserts - many Italians live in Hammamet, and Sicily is only 200 km away… You can also nibble on some typically Tunisian snacks. For example a brik a l’oeuf, or “egg brick”: a crispy sheet of pastry topped with a soft-cooked egg, garnished with capers and parsley. Or try ojja, scrambled eggs in a spicy sauce, to which prawns or spicy merguez sausage is added for flavour. And for a sweet indulgence, treat yourself to artisanal ice cream or a cocktail of sun-gorged fruits.

Before it became a peaceful village of fishers and farmers, Hammamet in the Middle Ages was a fortified village, inhabited by a community of ascetics who watched the coast and sounded the alarm in the case of attack. Its Fort, which occupies the corner of the outer wall, was enlarged in the 16th century by the Turks during their war with the Spanish over the control of Tunisia. The backcountry of Hammamet was prosperous in ancient times, as can be seen in the ruins of Thuburbo Majus with its magnificent capitol building. The gigantic aqueduct which supplied the city of Carthage with water runs from Mount Zaghouan; its sacred source sprang from the Water Temple. In the 17th century, Andalusians expelled from Spain settled in Zaghouan, giving the village its particular charm. Further south, at the summit of a line of rugged crests, little Berber villages such as Takrouna dominate the plain.