Not to miss

Cap Bon Peninsula

This fertile peninsula stretches out into the Mediterranean Sea to the north-east of Tunis. Geologists speculate that it once stretched all the way to Sicily, providing a land link to Europe that sank beneath the sea as recently as 30,000 years ago.

Today, Cap Bon - particularly the southeastern beaches around Hammamet and Nabeul - is Tunisia's primary package tour destination. A summer's stroll down the streets of Hammamet is likely to turn up 10 tourists to every local, and the pace never slackens except briefly during the middle of winter.

Tunis

Arabian, African and Mediterranean, Middle Eastern and European, yet curiously provincial - the laidback capital of Tunis has two distinct hearts. The new city is an orderly European grid, with wrought-iron balconies, cafés and pâtisseries bordering the boulevards. The city's main drag, palm-lined ave Habib Bourguiba, is prime territory for promenading, coffee-drinking, gossiping and idly watching the passing human traffic. Founded by the Arabs in the 8th century, the medina, the old city, is the city's historic and symbolic heart. Here you enter a tangled maze of narrow streets, winding and arched, with giant keyhole-shaped doors, scattering cats, alley communities, workshops and glittering souqs selling everything but your mother. Here all the lanes, however twisted, will eventually lead to the great mosque. People watch people go by from within kaleidoscopic-tiled coffeehouses, suckling on hubbly-bubbly pipes and indulging in chat, chequers and chess.

Tozeur

Tozeur is one of the most popular travellers' stops in Tunisia, and has been so since Capsian times (from 8000 BC). Its principal attractions are a labyrinthine old town, a spectacular museum and its enormous palmeraie (palm forest) on the northern edge of the Chott el-Jerid.

Located some 435km (270mi) southwest of Tunis, half the thrill is just getting there: the road from Kebili crosses the chott (dried salt marsh) by causeway. The city's delightful old quarter, Ouled el-Hadef, was built in the 14th century AD to house a merchant clan.

Sufetula

One of North Africa's best preserved ancient Roman cities, Sufetula is awash with temples, monumental arches and bath complexes that speak of an ancient civilization that really knew how to live. With its Byzantine-era basilicas and remote, windswept, end-of-the-earth location, this is as evocative an ancient site as you'll find anywhere.

Cave d'Ali Berbere

Ali is an endearing old guy who claims that the cave, supported by a series of stone arches, dates back to Roman times. He'll demonstrate pottery-making as it used to be done, climb into a massive amphora to show how Ali Baba and his 40 thieves were able to hide, and take you to an ancient underground olive press.

Bardo Museum

Tunisia's top museum is the Bardo Museum. This magnificent, must-see collection provides a taste of ancient life, housed in a glorious palace. The many incredibly well-preserved mosaics, with their images of gods feasting and farming, are stunning, and include some of Africa's oldest. The most precious of Bulla Regia's mosaics can be found here.

Coliseum of El-Jem

World Heritage-listed and quite possibly the single most impressive Roman monument in Africa, the colosseum at El-Jem was also the third-largest of its kind in the Roman world. At its best at sunset, the colosseum is towering and sturdy but with sufficient sections in ruins to evoke the ghosts of the long-distant past.

In summer, the arena where gladiators once fought for their lives is given over to concerts - we challenge you to find a finer venue.

Carthage

Founded by Phoenicians and home of Hannibal, Carthage was one of the greatest cities of the ancient world. The site retains its natural splendour, with lush vegetation and superb views over the gulf. Highlights are the museum and excavated quarter atop Byrsa Hill, the Antonine baths, the Punic ports, the Roman amphitheatre and the Sanctuary of Tophet.

Despite Carthage's fascinating history and the position of dominance it held in the ancient world, the Romans did such a thorough job demolishing it that the ruins today are something of a disappointment. Most of what remains is of Roman origin. There are six main sights spread out over a wide area. The TGM (light rail) line runs through the middle of the area but you will still need to do a fair amount of walking.

The best place to start is Byrsa Hill to get a good view of the whole site. At its base is the massive L'Acropolium (Cathedral of St Louis), an eyesore built by the French in 1890 and dedicated to the 13th-century saint-king who died in 1270 during the ill-fated 8th Crusade. The National Museum is the large white building at the back of the cathedral, and its recently revamped displays are well worth a look. The Punic displays upstairs are especially good.

The Roman amphitheatre on the west side of the Byrsa, a 15-minute walk from the museum, is said to have been one of the largest in the Empire, though little of its grandeur remains today; most of its stones were pinched for other building projects in later centuries. The collection of huge cisterns northeast of the amphitheatre were the main water supply for Carthage during the Roman era - they're now ruined and hardly worth the scramble through prickly pear cactus.

The Antonine Baths are right down on the waterfront and are impressive more for their size and location than for anything else. The Magon Quarter is another archaeological park near the water, a few blocks south of the baths. Recent excavations have revealed an interesting residential area.

The chilling Sanctuary of Tophet was a sacrificial site with an associated burial ground, where the children of Carthaginian nobles were killed and roasted to appease the deities Baal Hammon and Tanit.