Located on the beautiful coast of Tunisia, Sousse is roughly 140km (87 miles) south from the capital Tunis. The city has so much to offer it did not take much to lure me there during my travels around Tunisia. I tried to include as much as I possibly could into my holiday in Sousse, with so much culture and history packed into one place I did my best seeing in the 4 days I stayed there. The first thing I noticed is how popular Sousse is as a travel destination particularly with Russian, Serbians, British and German people which probably flock to Sousse for its beautiful beaches. Sousse is one of the older cities in Tunisia and its medina has been declared a world heritage site. Sousse was a winner of the 2013 HolidayCheck Destination Award.
Things to see
There are many things to see in Sousse, due to it being a city of great historical importance there is plenty there that has a great story. My first stop was the Dar Esid, which is a museum set in a traditional old Tunisian house. The style of the building centres around an amazing courtyard which all the rooms back on to. All the rooms are amazingly decorated and there are even some curtains that are 200 years old! The pinnacle of the visit to this museum though is the tower that was used to watch the stars. From there you can get some amazing panoramic views of the city. The city also has a weekly camel market, unfortunately it is not where they trade camels but it is home to a remarkable market where you can purchase anything from pottery to jewellery. The next place on my tour of Sousse was the Great Mosque, even though it is located in the middle of the city it has a very tranquil atmosphere and you can sense a great deal of peace here. It was constructed in 850 AD and is of very modest construction. You must of course be proper dressed to visit and you can rent a shawl to cover up so that you can visit this beautiful building. After the Great Mosque you cannot fail to notice the Ribat (fortress) on the hill overlooking the city. This fortified site has some very interesting history and some great historical artifacts which you can see on the organised tour. However the Ribat has one other ace up its sleeve, from its high walls and towers it has the best views of the city and out to sea, from there you can see every district in the city and take some really good photos.
Things to do
The port at Sousse has many different opportunities to take fun day trip excursions, they have special ‘pirate’ ships that take families out for a sail and for those keen snorkelers they do special trips to hot spots for tropical fish. Nightlife wise there are some very good places to go and smoke shisha, many places are very relaxing with cushions all over the floor and these places you can go and relax for hours. The city is also very good for shopping, the majority of the good places to shop are based around the Medina which is located in the centre of the city. This is the place where you can really barter for prices so feel free to get stuck into some negotiations.
