People come to Carthage for the day. They drive back to Tunis or Gammarth once the light goes, and the habit has a simple explanation: anyone wondering where to stay in Carthage soon finds that the hill has almost nothing to offer.
The archaeological site takes up much of the ground. The rest is residential. Carthage has no hotel seafront, no row of lit façades, nothing that resembles a resort: a few houses and a handful of small hotels.
What changes if you stay the night
The site opens early. At that hour there is no one about. The coaches arrive mid-morning and leave in the middle of the afternoon, so that between the two Byrsa belongs to the groups, and staying on the hill means having the hours before them and the hours after.
In the evening the question no longer arises. The site closes, the hill empties, and the bay runs through the colours of the end of the day with no one left to watch it.
Where Carthage is
| From | Distance | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Tunis-Carthage airport | 8 km | 15 to 20 minutes |
| Central Tunis | 17 km | 25 to 35 minutes |
| Sidi Bou Saïd | 3 km | 5 to 10 minutes |
| La Marsa | 6 km | 10 to 15 minutes |
Journey times outside peak hours.
The TGM serves Carthage as well. This suburban railway runs out of Tunis-Marine and stops several times within the commune, and the nearest of those stops to the Byrsa site is Carthage-Hannibal.
What to look at before choosing
Where it sits in relation to the hill
Carthage is spread out. A house down by the water at Carthage-Salammbô and a house up on Byrsa give neither the same view nor the same access to the archaeological site.
The season
From November to March the light is low and the air is clear, which makes it the best period for the view and the worst for swimming. July and August are hot. On the hill the sea breeze rises in the late afternoon.
The number of rooms
Houses in Carthage are small. That shows in service that recognises you by the second day, and in availability that closes early for spring weekends.
Villa Didon
Ten suites on the Byrsa hill. They stand above the Punic port. The house was restored rather than transformed, and each of the suites was drawn on its own terms, so that no two of them repeat the same idea.
Breakfast is served at La Proue, facing the bay. The restaurant and the bar are open to outside visitors as well as residents.
Discover The Suites →