Things to Do in Zitouna Mosque

Tunis feels like a city caught between worlds, where the call to prayer echoes off French colonial facades and mint tea vendors work the same streets where businesspeople hurry to modern offices. The medina here is genuinely lived-in rather than preserved as a museum piece, which means you'll navigate around residents hanging laundry and kids playing football in narrow alleys. Zitouna Mosque sits at the heart of this maze, having anchored the old city for over a thousand years. The city sprawls beyond the medina walls into tree-lined avenues that wouldn't look out of place in a French provincial town, then further out into neighborhoods that feel decidedly North African. It's this layering that makes Tunis interesting - you might start your morning examining Punic ruins, spend your afternoon in Ottoman-era souks, and end your evening in a café that could have been transplanted from Paris. The pace tends to be more relaxed than you'd expect from a capital city, though traffic can be genuinely chaotic.

The medina offers the most authentic experience, with tiny restaurants serving excellent couscous and tagines at prices that seem almost too good to be true. Avenue Habib Bourguiba and the surrounding streets in the ville nouvelle have a good mix of traditional Tunisian places and restaurants serving French-influenced cuisine. The coastal areas like Gammarth and La Marsa specialize in fresh seafood, often grilled simply and served with excellent local olive oil. Street food is generally safe and delicious - the brik vendors near Zitouna Mosque are particularly good. For a special meal, the restaurants in Sidi Bou Said offer refined Tunisian cuisine with spectacular views, though you'll pay for the setting.

April through June and September through November offer the most comfortable weather - warm enough for sightseeing but not the blazing heat of summer. July and August can be genuinely brutal, with temperatures often exceeding 35°C, though the coastal breeze provides some relief. Winter months are mild but can be rainy and unpredictable. Ramadan affects opening hours and the general rhythm of the city, though it's also an interesting time to experience local culture. Spring brings wildflowers to the archaeological sites and is probably the most pleasant time for extensive walking around the medina and ruins.