Sousse

Introduction

Sousse is Tunisia's third largest city with about 250,000 inhabitants. The city is located by the Mediterranean Sea. It is a port town and seaside resort with many tourists.

Sousse is an ancient town founded ca. 800 BC by the Phoenicians. The city was then called Hadrumetum. As the Byzantine Empire came to power in 400-century, the city changed its name to Justiniapolis. The Arabs destroyed the city in 700-century but was rebuilt 100 years later, from that time is the Ribat fortress, Kasbah fortress with the city museum and the city wall that surrounds the Arab Medina.

Medina old town, is today on the Unesco World Heritage List.

Sights and Activities

• The Museum - The museum in Sousse has a large collection of findings from the Roman and early Arab period.
• Catacombs - Under much of the ancient city are there catacombs from the country's Christian period. Most of the year, it is possible to come down in one of them. The entrance to the catacombs is close at the Sunday market.
• Medina - The medina which is the old town, should be experienced. In the narrow streets stalls you can buy everything between heaven and earth.
• Port el Kantaoui - Port el-Kantaoui. Here is everything from a small amusement park and mini zoo to the charming marina. Here you can relax with a good dinner, shopping and a trip to the Mediterranean with one of these beautiful boats.
• Submarine - See the seabed and wildlife of the Mediterranean from a small submarine that sails several trips a day from the port.

Weather

Sousse has a warm Meditarranean climate with hot summer and mild but wetter winters. Daytime temperatures from May to September usually are around or above 30 °C, while in winter days are mostly in the 15-20 °C range.

Getting There

By Plane

Habib Bourguiba International Airport (MIR) serves Monastir and Sousse. Around 25 airlines serve Monastir, many of which are charter airlines which only fly here during the summer season of April to October. Some of the main destinations include Berlin, Amsterdam, Düsseldorf, Munich, Paris, Dresden, Warsaw, Zürich, Helsinki, Belgrade, Brussels, Manchester, Luxembourg, Malta, Tunis, Dublin, Bucharest, Aberdeen, London, Cardiff, Moscow, Lyon, Nice, Lille, Marseille and Geneva.

Enfidha – Zine El Abidine Ben Ali International Airport (NBE) opened in 2009 and has become an important airport for the central coastal region since then, attracting more flights and adding flights which previously flew into Monastir Airport. Many airlines now serve routes from cities throughout Europe, and in 2011 several big airlines like Air Berlin, Tuifly and Tunisair will start operations as well.

Sleep

Upscale

You can use the form below to search for availability (Travellerspoint receives a commission for bookings made through the form)

Keep Connected

Internet

Public internet access is available in many cities and towns, usually using the Publinet logo. Look for a large purple sign with the Publinet logo. Access is usually 0.8DT/hour, and speeds tend to be quite low. You can also have 3G internet access through any cell phone carriers.

Phone

See also International Telephone Calls

Tunisia's international telephone code is 216.

Public telephones are available in all towns and cities and in most villages under either the name of Publitel or Taxiphone - in cities simply look around - there is at least one on every street. International calls tend to be quite expensive (DT 1,000/minute to call anywhere in the EU). There are three mobile GSM operators, private Tunisiana, private Orange, Tunisia state-owned Tunisie Telecom all offering wide mobile coverage (including some oasis in the Sahara). Rates tend to be quite low for domestic calls, but very high for international calls (around DT 1,500/minute). Ask for a carte prépayée for a prepaid SIM card.

Post

La Poste Tunisienne is the national postal service of Tunisia. Services are generally very reliable and relatively fast as well, up to international standards. It usually takes less than a week to European countries and no more than two weeks to the USA or Australia. Opening times of post offices vary, but the larger ones in cities usually are open from 8:00am to 6:00pm Mondays to Saturdays and a few hours on Sunday morning (usually 9:00-11:00am). Note that in July and August, there are long lunch breaks (kind of like the Spanish siestas), closing between 1:00-5:00pm. Smaller officies in towns also keep slightly shorther hours, closing for lunch year round and only open during the morning on Fridays and Saturdays. Als note that during Ramadan, opening times might be different as well. Stamps can also be bought outside these times at small shops and kiosks selling postcards. For sending larger packages, you might also choose international companies like DHL, TNT, FedEx or UPS, which are about the same price but have better standards.

External Links

• Official Website