Sights of Sousse (Tunisia) - what to see

Sousse

Almost all historical and cultural attractions of Sousse are located in the city center inside or near Medina. You can inspect all of them without resorting to transport, it will take no more than 1 day in time. However, it will be possible to return to the Medina more than once just to walk along its winding narrow streets.

Also from Sousse you can explore the sights more remote from the city, but it is better to use organized excursions for this.

Excursions offered in Sousse:

  • Friguia Zoo
  • Inspection of the ruins of Carthage, a visit to Sidi Bou Said and the capital – Tunis
  • Sea voyage on a "pirate" ship
  • Journey to the Sahara
  • Safari

Medina

The historical center of Sousse is the Medina (Old Town), a characteristic feature of which are narrow, winding streets with old houses made in white and blue, and a unique Arab atmosphere. Medina Soussa is a unique and beautiful place worth a visit. It was built up in the IX century. and is among the historical monuments protected by UNESCO since 1988. The perimeter of the Medina is surrounded by walls of stone blocks 2.2 km long and 8 m high, which served as protection against attacks. The fortress wall itself was erected in 859 and is quite well preserved, only some of its parts were restored in the XIII century. In the numerous shops you can buy various kinds of souvenirs, jewelry, clothes, shoes and other products of local artisans, products. The main attractions are concentrated on the territory of the Medina and its surroundings: Ribat, Great Mosque, Kasbah, mosque, reservoir, archaeological Museum, Dar Esid Museum. Somewhere in the northwest corner of the Medina there is even a so-called "red light street".

💵Entrance fee / tickets price: free.

🕐 Working hours: daily.

🚶 How to get there: the center of Sousse, near the coast (Medina on the map of Sousse)

Ribat

Built during the reign of the Aghlabites (Arab dynasty) in 859, the Ribat fortress-monastery with a 35-meter watchtower - Nador (in the southeast) is located on the territory of the Medina. The fortress has a square shape of 38 * 38 m., the thickness of the defensive walls is about 4 m, the height is 12 m. The purpose of the Ribat was to repel attacks from the sea, and in their free time from military operations, the soldiers serving here prayed and studied Islam for its further promotion among the local population. Outside the walls of the Ribat there is a large courtyard, from which you can get to one of several rooms-cells on the first floor, located around the perimeter, and from the entrance there is a prayer room, rooms are also located on the second floor. An interesting point: having risen to the second floor, a footprint in a stone slab is visible between the columns, according to legend: if you make a wish by stepping on the imprint, it will certainly come true. The fortress walls and towers offer panoramic views of the Medina and the surrounding area.

Entrance fee / tickets price: adult 5 dinars, children free, photo – 1 dinar (the currency of Tunisia)

🕐Working hours: from April to September – 8.00-19.00, from October to March – 8.30-17.30, day off-Monday.

🚶 How to get there: northeast of Medina, entrance from Mohamed Ali Street (fortress on the map of Sousse)

Great mosque

Near the Ribat fortress there is a Large Mosque (850-851), built by the Aghlabite dynasty, with two domed minaret towers. One of the features of the Mosque is that it lacks a high minaret. During its long existence, it has been rebuilt and completed more than once, the last restoration work was in the 60-70s of XX.Q. Nevertheless, the Mosque looks very modest outwardly, without any architectural "bells and whistles", perhaps it served as an additional protective structure, along with the Ribat. Inside there is a fairly large courtyard with a number of galleries and a prayer room with arched passages and columns. Non-Muslims are not allowed to enter the prayer room.

💵Entrance fee / tickets price: 5 dinars.

🕐 Working hours: 8.00-14.00, day off - Monday (according to other information – Friday).

🚶 How to get there: northeast of the Medina, entrance from Mohamed Ali Street or via the inner Al Madina Almounawara street, located in the Medina (Mosque on the map of Sousse)

Museum Dar Essid

This traditional house of a Tunisian family built in 928 is perhaps one of the most interesting sights of Sousse. A noble family lived in the house, and today it is owned by their descendants, who organized a museum within the walls of the house to acquaint visitors with the way of life and lifestyle of the Tunisian family for many generations. In total, the house has 11 rooms, which include: bedrooms of two wives and the owner, children's rooms, living rooms, a bathroom, two kitchens and other rooms. The colorful and very colorful decoration of the house is recreated to the smallest detail. The house is literally imbued with the spirit of antiquity and luxury - antique paintings, chandeliers, clocks, furniture, curtains and canopies by the beds, clothes, kitchen utensils and even the marriage contract of the owner with his wives, which is already 700 years old. It is especially recommended to pay attention to the lamp, which depicts drawings of an erotic orientation, according to legend, while the lamp is burning, the owner retires for amorous pleasures with one of his wives, at the moment when the light of the lamp fades, the wife must leave the marital bed and go to her own. There are many antique mirrors on the walls and under the ceiling. If you take a picture next to the mirror, then in the photo you can see one or more grayish dots - plasmoids (maybe these are phantoms of former inhabitants?….). A high tower is attached to the house, which previously served as a place from where the stars were watched, and now it offers a panoramic view of the city and the coast, and there is a small cafe where you can drink coffee and other drinks.

The owners of the house are very hospitable and present to the visitors a detailed description of the house and the traditions of the people, including in Russian.

💵Entrance fee / tickets price: 4 dinars, photo – 1 dinar.

🕐Working hours: from April to September – 10.00-18.00, from October to March – 10.00-19.00 (break from 13.00 to 15.00)

🚶 How to get there: the north of the Medina, the entrance to the Medina through the northern gate "Bab el Jable", then to the right along the fortress wall go a little (House Museum on the map of Sousse)

Zaouia Zakkak

The minaret was built during the Ottoman rule around XVII century. It is a tall octagonal tower consisting of four floors with windows on each side. The outside of the tower is decorated with blue-green tiles. There is a functioning mosque next to the minaret, and a madrasa school nearby. If you happen to be near this place, then you can look at it, otherwise, the attraction from the category is nothing special. Non-Muslims are not allowed to enter the tower.

💵Entrance fee / tickets price: free for Muslims, non–Muslims are not allowed to enter.

🕐 Working hours: during prayers.

🚶 How to get there: north of the Medina, entrance from Boulevard Yahia ibn Omar Street through the parking lot a little deeper into the Medina (or about 150 m west of Ribat) (Zauya Zakkak Minaret on the map of Sousse)

Kalaout el-Koubba

The Kalaut el Kubba Museum is interesting not only for the exhibits presented, but also for the architecture of the building itself, which was built approximately in the X-XI centuries. The first thing that attracts attention is an unusual corrugated dome – a distinctive feature of the Arab style of the Fatimid dynasty.

In the expositions of the museum you can see thematic exhibitions-scenes from everyday life and everyday life of Tunisians, various old household items, musical instruments, utensils, etc. In the recreated scenes, mannequins dressed in traditional clothes are presented at some kind of activity, for example: in the kitchen for cooking, vacationing men and separately vacationing women, fabric making, etc.

💵Entrance fee / tickets price: 2 dinars, photo – 1 dinar.

🕐 Working hours: Monday to Thursday – 10.00-18.00, break 13.00-15.00, Sunday – 10.00-14.00, Friday – day off.

🚶 How to get there: the center of the Medina, from the western gate of "Bab el Chardi" right on the road into about 300 m. (museum on the map of Sousse)

Sofra Cistern

The tank, which has a length of about 30 m, goes far underground, and therefore it is very difficult to find it. This place is fenced with a low whitewashed wall, in front of the bark is an even lower stone fence. It is not known exactly who originally built the cistern, whether earlier Romans, or in the IX century. Arabs, but it was built on the site of the Byzantine church. The cistern provided drinking water to the whole city.

Water was supplied through a pipe connected to the tank. Pillars with arched ceilings support the roof of the cistern. There is no artificial lighting inside the Sofra, the light falls only through small holes under the roof. This place is not popular among tourists, and it is not always possible to get here, very often the door is closed. From the point of view of entertainment, the place is absolutely uninteresting, only its history is interesting.

💵Entrance fee / tickets price: free.

🕐 Working hours: irregular.

🚶 How to get there: in the center of the Medina (70 m south of the Kalaut el Kubba museum), the entrance to the Cistern from the northeast (Sofra reservoir on the map of Sousse)

Kasbah

The fortress is one of the oldest in North Africa, it was built in 859 on the ruins of a Byzantine fortress. The high 30-meter tower of Kalef al Fata previously served as a lighthouse. The fortress has a rectangular shape: two sides are 200 m each, the other two are 140 m each. You can climb the stairs to the second floor, and from above you can see the surrounding panorama. Today, part of the fortress is occupied by an Archaeological Museum.

💵Entrance fee / tickets price: 5 dinars, photo – 1 dinar.

🕐Working hours: from May to September – 9.00-19.00, from October to April – 9.00-18.00, day off – Monday.

🚶 How to get there: in the southwest of the Medina, the entrance is from du Marechal Tito Street, there is no entrance from the Medina (Fortress-Fort Kasbah on the map of Sousse)

Archaeological Museum

In the southern part of the Kasbah fortress in the southwest is the archaeological Museum of Sousse. The museum is the second largest in the number and value of mosaics exhibited after the Bardo Museum (Tunis). The presented artifacts are collected from all over Tunisia, in particular from the catacombs of Sousse. Visitors to the museum will see a large number of mosaics and relics of the Roman period of the II-IV centuries: masks, vases, relief images, frescoes, mosaics depicting animals and people, and scenes involving mythical characters (Achilles, Bacchus, Apollo, Zeus, as well as Medusa, centaurs, satyrs, etc.), urns with tombstones mosaics. Tombstones and sculptures are on display in the open-air courtyard. From the height of the fortress wall you can see the Medina and the city.

💵Entrance fee / tickets price: 5 dinars, photo – 1 dinar.

🕐Working hours: from May to September – 8.00-19.00, break from 12.00-15.00, from October to April – 9.00-18.00, break from 12.00-14.00, day off – Monday.

🚶 How to get there: in the southwestern part of the Medina, in the Kasbah fortress, the entrance from Rue Abou Kacem Echabi (Archaeological Museum on the map of Sousse)

Catacombs

One of the breathtaking sights is the catacombs found in 1885, in which old Christian burials dating from the II-IV century were discovered. This cemetery was formed on the site of a quarry. The length of the catacombs is several kilometers, divided into galleries, they begin in the center of Sousse and run far beyond its territory. However, you can wander only in a small area – the gallery of the "Good Shepherd" (Du Bon Pasteur), the rest are closed to the public, due to their insecurity. In niches made in the rock, you can see open and closed burials, according to some sources, more than 15,000 people are buried here. Also in this place were found many finds presented in the local archaeological museum.

The situation in the catacombs is quite difficult and depressing, so this place is not very visited by tourists, and is not recommended for very impressionable natures.

💵Entrance fee / tickets price: 4 dinars, children - free.

🕐Working hours: from May to September – 8.00-19.00, from October to April – 9.00-18.00, break 12.00-14.00, Monday is a day off.

🚶 How to get there: southwest of Medina, Des Catacombes Street (Catacombs on the map of Sousse)

Amphitheater (Colosseum) in El Djem

This grandiose building of the Roman Empire in Tunisia annually attracts hundreds of tourists here, both independently and as part of organized groups. In 1979, the El Djem Amphitheater was rightfully included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.

It is often compared to the Colosseum in Rome, probably hence its second name – the Colosseum, but this is not entirely true, because the original Colosseum belongs only to Rome.

The Tunisian Amphitheater is located in the heart of the city of El Jem. Due to the proximity of some resorts (Sousse, Monastir, Mahdia, Sfax), it will not be difficult to get here. And it should definitely be done.

The amphitheater consists of three floors (according to some sources there were four of them) with many arches. The height of its walls exceeds 30 meters, and the length of the oval stage measures 60 by 37 meters. Numerous rooms for gladiators and slaves, cages for wild animals, etc. were provided under the Amphitheater arena.

Not far from the Amphitheater is the Archaeological Museum, which also has a collection of Roman mosaics.

Learn more about the Tunis Colosseum in El Djem...

🚶 How to get there: El Jem is located about 80 kilometers from Monastir and a little closer from Sousse (Colosseum on the map of Tunisia) . You can get here by minibus (luage) from the corresponding station in each city (Mahdia, Sousse, Monastir, Hammamet), or by taxi. It is possible to get from Sousse on a budget by train.

🕐 Working hours: daily, from October to April – 8.30-17.00, from May to September – 8.00-19.00.

Entrance fee / tickets price: 8 dinars (see currency of Tunisia), photo – 1 dinar (including visit archaeological Museum).