Tunisia's attractions are of different types according to the region: •
Tunis, the largest city and capital and its suburbs mainly
Le Bardo, and the northern suburbs of
Carthage,
Sidi Bou Said,
La Goulette and
La Marsa •
Bizerte and its surroundings • The North-West for its forests in
Ain Draham and picturesque coastal mountains close to
Tabarka • The
Cap Bon:
Hammamet,
Nabeul and surroundings • The
Sahel, Tunisia: the beach resorts of
Sousse,
Monastir,
Mahdia • The religious city of
Kairouan, the former capital of the country, the fourth capital of Islam and the city of the oldest mosque in Africa
Great Mosque of Kairouan • The island of
Djerba • The Sahara and the touristic and relaxing cities of
Douz,
Tozeur and the famous
Tataouine, one of the locations of the
Star Wars saga.
UNESCO World Heritage Sites Tunisia is home to eight UNESCO
World Heritage Sites as well 13 others in the tentative list including the island of
Djerba for its cultural and religious diversity.
Museums This is a list of some important museums in Tunisia:
Resorts This sector is popular mainly on the east coast, totaling more than 95% of beds. The following is a list of the largest resorts and the percentage of nights out of the total: •
Sousse-
Monastir-
Mahdia (36%) •
Nabeul-
Hammamet (24%) •
Djerba-
Zarzis (40%) •
Tunis-
Zaghouan (10%) •
Tabarka-
Aïn Draham (2%)
Golf Tunisia is also a pioneer golfing destination in the Mediterranean. It offers world-class golf courses available year-round due to the sunny and pleasant weather. Among the most important golf courses of the country: • Yasmine Valley in
Hammamet • Citrus (La Foret) in
Hammamet • El Kantaoui (Panorama) in
Port El Kantaoui •
Tabarka golf course • Citrus (Les Oliviers) in
Hammamet • Residence Tunis in
Gammarth • Flamingo
Monastir • El Kantaoui (Sea) in
Port El Kantaoui • Djerba (La Mer and Les Palmiers) • Carthage golf course in
La Soukra during the summer
Marinas Tunisia is one of the African countries with the most marinas. Its yachting infrastructure attracts mostly European tourists who flee the harsh winter in their home countries to enjoy the pleasant weather and relatively warmer sea in Tunisia. The country is planning to create additional marinas in the coming years such as the one in the new modern economic center of
Tunis Financial Harbor. marina The existing marinas are 8 from the north to the south of the coast: • Yasmine Hammamet Marina in
Hammamet • Bizerte Marina in
Bizerte • El Kantaoui Marina in
Port El Kantaoui •
Sidi Bou Said Marina •
Gammarth Marina •
Tabarka Marina • Marina Cap in
Monastir •
Djerba Marina
Theme parks Tunisia offers several theme parks and water parks in each of the main cities and tourist resorts and among them: • Carthage Land in
Hammamet • Aqua Palace in
Sousse • Aqua Splash in
Sousse • Aqua Land in
Yasmine Hammamet • Dreamy Sea Waterpark in
Hammamet • Aqua land in
Berges du Lac,
Tunis • Big Splash in
Djerba • Le Pirate in
Djerba Desert and film sets desert dunes with camels and horses in the background during the sunset The Tunisian desert represents a major tourist destination in the country. The oases add some greenness and shade to the aridity of the pristine environment and the hot sun of the Saharan dunes. Since the Arab invasions on Tunisia, a growing population settled in the arid environment of the Numidian regions
Medenine,
Tataouine and
Tozeur where they created oases as havens and also souks and old towns as new urban centers.
Tozeur benefited from its extremely authentic old town and its souks to develop the tourism industry especially for the winter and spring seasons. Several hotels and maisons d’hote opened in Tozeur as well as some upscale units such as the world-famous Thai brand,
Anantara in 2019 which is ranked as the best hotels in the world. Taking a horse carriage to visit the oases and to taste the delicious
Deglet Nour as well as going to
Chott el Djerid, the largest salt lake in the Sahara Desert are must-do activities in the region. The canyons and rocky mountains of the south as in
Mides and the Berber village of
Chebika, Tozeur can be visited while taking the old and luxurious
Lézard rouge train for a few ride hours stopping at many natural stations. With
George Lucas's inspiration for
Star Wars protagonist Luke Skywalker's home planet of Tatooine coming from Tunisia, the Tunisian City
Tataouine and
Matmata's underground houses became tourist destinations. Numerous other
Hollywood movies were filmed in the Tunisian south, such as
The English Patient. and
Hammamet.
Shopping Souks and historical handicraft markets are present in the old towns of the country. They used to represent the commercial center of each city but they are now major tourist attractions. The old souks of
Tunis for example have separated sections for each type of handicraft such as for the Chechia, the jewelry, etc. Modern shopping infrastructure has also developed in the recent years attracting big international brands. Despite the creation of many new shopping malls such as Tunisia Mall in
Berges du Lac, Mall of Sousse and Azur City Mall in the southern suburb of
Tunis, they are all located in the capital city or in the coastal touristic cities.
New developments In recent years, ecotourism, spas and medical tourism are emerging into Tunisia's tourist scene and growing quickly. According to the former Minister of Tourism
Ahmed Smaou, "The medical tourism has a great future ahead of us." ==Statistics==