Sidi Bou Said

When you think of picturesque, quaint and beautiful, you are describing this Northern Tunisian town which is located about twenty kilometers from Tunis, the Tunisian capital.

This little town set on the mountainside gazing over the blue Mediterranean Sea is a popular tourist attraction along with its scenic port. The town itself looks like a painting with white walls and blue doors and windows to all the buildings that line the cobbled and winding lanes and streets.

Originally the town was named Jabel el-Menar, but was later renamed after a religious Muslim figure. Today its home to some of the wealthiest Tunisian residents and thousands of tourists that visit each year.

Sidi Bou Said is also a very popular tourist town and it’s no surprise, the beauty of this town is inspiring with its winding streets, magnitude of uneven steps, hidden gardens and cobbled main streets.

Each door you pass will be painted blue, the colors of the town, the doors are ancient, they are thick and heavy, offering absolute beauty to the architecture you find in the town that overlooks its port with boats bobbing in the distance.

During the day the cobbled main street becomes a bustling market street, the street is lined with art shops, cafes and souvenir shops.

Walk up the uneven steps and you will find a cemetery and lighthouse, its here at the highest point of the town where you can really sit back and just stare at the picturesque scenery below, a photograph moment like you have never experienced before.

You can’t leave Sidi Bou Said until you have visited the palace which stands proudly on a hill dating back to 1922. The palace is open to tourists filled with traditional and many private collections of musical instruments. From the palace you also get the full impact of the beauty of the town along with the views of the sea and port down below.