The Complete Guide to Visiting Carthage

Back in the day, which was a long time ago, Carthage was one of the most important places in the Mediterranean.  It was founded in the 9^th Century B.C. and reached its height in the 4^th Century B.C.   What remains today is quite remarkable, as it has endured more than 2,000 years of additional living and working in these spaces that were once the homes of Punic traders, Roman conquerors, and Islamic architects.  Our guide to visiting Carthage independently provides practical travel tips to the top sights, a walking route through the Carthage ruins, and how else to visit if you want to take it a little easier.

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Carthage is considered to be Tunisia’s most important archeological site and with ruins that are more than 2,800 years old, as well as the competition from the medinas in Monastir, Sousse, Tunis, and the stunning El Jem and Kairouan, which is really saying something!

How to Visit Carthage Independently

Visiting Carthage independently is straightforward. Once you get it into your head that it’s not actually just one site but a series of them, nowadays completely disconnected from each other.  Aside from the ticket you buy, that is.

What is phenomenal about Carthage – and the other sites that we visited in Tunisia, like El Jem, is that you are free to wander around these positively ancient ruins at will.  Climb up onto what you want, crawl through holes.  Yep.  All of it. 

Most of the main ruins are easily walkable from the train stops at Carthage Hannibal or Carthage Salammbo, and entrance tickets can be purchased at the site. I say easily walkable, because we walked it in late November.  I wouldn’t want to do that in the heat of a North African summer!

Your one entrance ticket covers all the sites, so DO NOT LOSE IT.  Walking allows flexibility, while taxis can make it easier, guided tours can help if you want more context or prefer not to navigate alone.  Combine a bit of exercise with a guided bicycling tour of Carthage.

A Brief History of Carthage

Carthage’s origins date back to the 9th century BCE when Phoenician settlers from Tyre in current-day Lebanon, led by Queen Dido, established a thriving trading city. The name “Carthage” or “Kart-hadasht” in the ancient Punic language means “New Town”.  There was a separate, and older Phoenician town nearby called Utica.

The Greeks called Carthage “Karchedon” and the Romans made that “Carthago”.

Its strategic location on the Mediterranean allowed it and the Phoenicians to become a dominant maritime power. By the 3rd century BCE, Carthage had grown wealthy and powerful, controlling trade routes across North Africa, Spain, and the Western Mediterranean, but it battled the Greeks for 200 years from 560 BC.

However, this led it to direct conflict with another powerful region – Rome.  The rivalry between the Carthaginians and Rome led to the Punic Wars, which lasted more than 100 years!  There were three Punic Wars.

The First Punic War (264 to 241 B.C.) was all about the control of Sicily.  Rome took control in the end and increased its influence over the Mediterranean.  218 to 201 B.C. brought the Second Punic War, when the Carthaginian forces, now led by the legendary Hannibal (he was famous for crossing the Alps with elephants).  Rome was shocked, stunned, and probably terrified, but even Hannibal’s victories in Italy couldn’t defeat the Romans.  The final war, the Third Punic War, from 149 to 146 B.C., marked the end of the conflicts between the Romans and the Carthaginians.  It was then that the Romans put the city of Carthage under siege for THREE YEARS and eventually destroyed it. 

Utica then became the main city, until Carthage was rebuilt as a Roman city, under Julius Caesar, and by 44 BC it was the second biggest city in the Roman Empire with 500,000 inhabitants.

In 439 AD, the Vandals took over the city, and it became their North African capital.  Then it was the turn of the Byzantines, who took it on in 533 AD. The final conquest (well aside from the French, I mean) came in the 7th century AD, when the Arabs took over the region, and the city lost status and was largely abandoned.  Carthage was replaced by Tunisand the city and country became a French protectorate in 1881.

The ruins of Carthage were added to the UNESCO World Heritage list in 1979.

What is Carthage Today

The various ruins of Carthage, there are 13 of them, covered under the UNESCO World Heritage Site, were listed in 1979.

Where is Carthage?

Carthage is located in northeastern Tunisia, 16 kilometers (10 miles) from the capital, Tunis.  It’s not just one site, but a series of sites that sit along the coast of the Mediterranean.

How to Get to Carthage

From Tunis, Carthage is easily reached via the TGM train or by private transfer. 

The TGM takes just 28 minutes to go from Tunis Marine to Carthage Presidence, although there are four stops that cover the Carthage ruins.  Carthage Salammbo, Carthage Byrsa, Carthage Dermech, Carthage Hannibal and Carthage Présidence.

From the Tunis Cruise Port, it’s 4.5 kilometers (2.79 miles) to the first of the Carthage ruin sites, Salammbo.  You can walk (it takes about an hour), walk to the TGM stop at Goulette Neuve (1.5 kilometers  / 1 mile), or take a taxi or transfer.  If you prefer not to deal with the hassles of Tunisian taxi drivers and currency changing, then get yourself a private driver for the day to take you to the major Carthage sites and further.

Taxis at the cruise port will want you to take them for the full day; if you don’t want this, make sure that they turn the meter on.  If you don’t have any Tunisian dinar (read my guide to currency and payments in Tunisia here), then be prepared to pay over the odds in USD or Euros.

What to See at Carthage

Carthage is packed with a series of remarkable historical sites. Here are the highlights, roughly following a walkable route.  And the sites are all walkable.  I’ve detailed the Google Maps references and also how long it takes to walk between each site, so you can decide if a self-guided walking tour of Carthage is for you.

• Salammbo Sacrificial Structure
• Punic Ports of Carthage
• Quartier Magon Archaeological Park
• Baths of Antoninus
• Roman Odeon Theatre of Carthage
• The Roman Villas District / Roman Villa of the Aviary
• Byrsa Hill / Acropolium of Carthage (St. Louis Cathedral)
• Carthage Museum
• Cisterns of La Malga
• The Amphitheatre of Carthage

You can follow the walking route, which works best if you’re starting from the Carthage Salammbo TGM station, so get yourself there.

Walking Route Around Carthage Sites

Get off the TGM at the Carthage Salammbo stop and walk east along Avenue Farhat Hached until you see the signs for Carthage Tophet and/or “Sanctuaire Punique”.  It is the third left (Rue Hannibal). The entrance is on Rue Hannibal.  Go past the Restaurant Le Punique, and the entrance is on the right.

Buy your ticket that is for all the sites at the ticket booth.  The ticket price for all the Carthage sites is 12 TND.  Pay in cash.  Retain your ticket for entrance to the other sites. 

Note that there is very little to no information at any of these sites, no signboards, so you’ll either need a guide or to read up on the various sites.   Or, you can use my walking guide below, which comes with pertinent details about the various sites that you’ll see around the Carthage UNESCO ruins.

Salammbo Tophet / Sanctuaire Punic

This is supposedly the spot where Queen Dido first landed, and it was first discovered and excavated in the 1920s.  It eventually became a huge burial ground — around 50,000 square meters, though today much of it is covered by housing.  The name of this place, Salammbo Tophet, comes from the Hebrew meaning a burial ground for children, and the earliest that were found were those in Phoenician urns.

What makes it so fascinating (and a little unsettling) is that most of the urns found here contain the ashes of children, many from wealthy families. It has long been argued that many of the children who were buried here were sacrificed, with most of the burials being of children from wealthy families, which some reports indicate could have been related to inheritance laws of the time.  They stated that property had to be divided between all heirs, and the family property and power would be too diluted if it were split too many ways.

By the 4th century BC, adults were being buried here too, but the stories that have stuck around through the ages are the darker ones. The Romans, never missing a chance for propaganda, painted Carthaginians as baby-sacrificers. Ancient writers described public ceremonies where hundreds of children were offered up to the gods, with a giant bronze statue of Cronus supposedly “receiving” them before they slid into a fiery pit. Whether you believe the tales of sacrifice or not, this haunting place inspired the dramatic closing scenes of Flaubert’s Salammbô and remains one of Carthage’s most talked-about sites.

Read Salammbo by Flaubert:  An epic story of lust, cruelty, and sensuality, this historical novel is set in Carthage in the days following the First Punic War with Rome. Get it here.

What to see at Salammbo Tophet

The first thing to see here is the remains of an oven.  It’s to the right, as you follow the path from the ticket office.  The oven, thought to have been a crematorium, dates from the 9^th century B.C.

You’ll see funerary urns around the site.  They were plugged originally with clay and topped off with an upside-down bowl before being set into a stone sarcophagus, which was then buried underground.

As you wander further, you’ll come across a remarkable collection of stelae, dating from the 6th century BC. Before then, urns were protected only by stone slabs, but these pointed, Egyptian-style markers carry inscriptions that sometimes reveal the type of offering made — a wealthy family’s child (mulch ba’al) or that of a commoner (mulk adom). Sacrifices were made to Baal Hammon and later Tanit, Carthage’s goddess. Each time a section was filled, it was covered with earth and reused, creating the layered site visible today.

Further along, look for a restored altar bearing Tanit’s symbol (a triangular shape, cut at the top, with a disk, with an inverted crescent on top) and some of the oldest, inscription-worn stelae. A newer clearing resembles a modern graveyard, while an overgrown ceremonial yard hides among palm trees. The path eventually reaches a 4th-century BC underground vault and a large sacred stone linked to Baal Hammon.

• Opening Hours of Salammbo Tophet :  16 September – 30 April :  08:30 – 17:00, 1 May – 15 September 08:00 – 18:00, Ramadan:  08:00 – 17:00
• Google Maps Reference to Salammbo:  https://maps.app.goo.gl/5sPTcnQPqynRfEFq9

Directions to the next stop – Punic Ports of Carthage

Leave the Salammbo site by the same way that you entered and turn right onto Rue Hannibal as you leave.  Walk several blocks until you get to a T junction at Rue 2 Mars 1934 and turn right.  This takes you to the Punic Ports of Carthage (and also the Oceanographic Museum of Carthage).  Cross over the bridge that is the connector between the two harbors.  If you do visit the museum, it has great views of the Punic ports and also the Gulf of Tunis.  The entrance to the harbor is on the left, and just inside is a very small museum.

Punic Ports of Carthage

Much of the site of the Punic harbours, once the lifeblood of Carthage, is today a marshy expanse reclaimed by nature. In antiquity, these harbours—one commercial, one naval—were feats of engineering. The commercial harbour, polygonal in shape, could hold 125,000 cubic metres of water and served as the departure point for shipments of grain, olive oil, and more.

What to see at the Punic Ports of Carthage

There’s a tiny onsite museum (08.00–18.30) which uses models and drawings to illustrate the evolution of the area: the commercial harbour as it appeared in Roman times around AD 200, and the naval harbour as it looked in 150 BC before Roman alterations. The naval basin centred on the Îlot de l’Amirauté, and was circled by 30 ship sheds, each with a covered slipway into the water.

At its height, it could house around 220 war galleys, each 37 meters long and 5.5 meters wide, and manned by about 100 men. These double-pennoned ships were designed for speed and manoeuvrability, equipped with battering rams capable of breaking enemy hulls.

From the museum courtyard, a footpath circles the island (it is just 325 meters in diameter), and it is dotted with fallen columns that lie near the remains of a Roman temple divided into three chambers.  There’s also the base of an octagonal building. At the water’s edge, pillars mark where a ramp once allowed boats access.  It was later blocked during Roman times.

Continuing around the island will take you to the remnants of a Roman arched gate and causeway linking the island to the mainland, once the main entry for vessels into the harbour.

• Opening Hours of the Punic Ports:  08:00 – 18:30
• Google Maps Reference to the Punic Ports:  https://maps.app.goo.gl/q4oRL8tsjjdcAuLA8

Directions to the next stop – Paleo Christian Museum

Return to Rue du 20 Mars 1934, you can skirt around the opposite side of the harbor from the island (so turn right onto Rue Strabon), then take the left fork.  At the crossroads, take the left on Avenue Commandant Bejaoui.  Then you want the right onto La Goulette Road (Avenue de la République).  The Paleo Christian Museum is on the opposite side of the road, about 300 meters along.

The Paleo-Christian Museum

The Paleo-Christian Museum stands on the site of a Byzantine basilica and ecclesiastical complex, excavated under an American UNESCO team. Covering the 4th–7th centuries, the museum also highlights the 20th-century destruction of ancient Carthage, with photos of sites bulldozed for villas and swimming pools. The entrance hall displays Paleo-Christian masonry fragments.

What to see at the Paleo-Christian Museum

The first part of the museum focuses on the Byzantine basilica built after the reconquest of 534 on the remains of an earlier 4th-century church. Finds include terracotta tiles decorated with palm trees, and some really rather remarkable hollow terracotta pipes once used for vaults and domes—a North African technique later adopted by Byzantines—plus marble walling with frescoes imitating Chemtou marble. A striking disc with a peacock, symbol of immortality, is also on display.

The second part of the museum has finds from the Necropolis of the Greek Charioteers. Chief among them is a mosaic from around 400 depicting four charioteers, each with their horses’ names inscribed above.

There are also random fragments of masonry, mosaic, and bits and pieces that include the remains of the Basilica of Agileus outside the museum.

• Opening Hours of the Paleo Christian Museum:  07:00 – 19:00 (summer), 08:00 – 17:00 (winter)
• Google Maps Reference to the Paleo Christian Museum:  https://maps.app.goo.gl/PEKwAesXP4Pf9rc86

Directions to the next stop – Quartier Magon Archaeological Park

Leave the Paleo Christian Museum and turn left onto La Goulette Road (Avenue de la République).  Take the sixth right (or wherever the signpost leads you to), and you’ll arrive at the Magon Quarter Archeological Park.  You’ll be able to see the Gulf of Tunis at the end of the road.  It’s worth going to the end, as it’s really rather picturesque.

The Quartier Magon Archaeological Park

This central archaeological area contains residential and public ruins, including mosaics and foundations of houses. It demonstrates urban planning during both Punic and Roman times.

What to see at Magon Archaeological Park

Originally a Phoenician neighbourhood, this area was reshaped by the Romans. Start with the first room, where finds from German excavations are on display. Maps, photos, and a scale model explain the quarter’s origins, while a beautifully preserved plaster frieze from the 4th–3rd century BC, displays some of the elegance of Punic homes. Two benches here showcase mosaics—one Punic, one Roman—side by side.

Just outside, you can see remnants of that Punic sea-wall and huge masonry blocks once used as breakwaters.  Carthage’s defences were legendary. The Punic city wall stood an incredible 13 meters high and 9 meters thick, with four-storey towers, triple fortifications, and even stalls for 4,000 horses and 300 elephants. One ancient writer from the 2^nd century claimed that it stretched for 34 kilometers (21 miles!).

In the park itself, outside the museum buildings, a path leads through the remains of Punic houses from the 5th–2nd centuries BC. Some still show traces of simple mosaics; others were later converted into Roman cisterns and cellars.

• Opening Hours of the Quartier Magon Archaeological Park:  16 September – 30 April :  08:30 – 17:00, 1 May – 15 September 08:00 – 18:00, Ramadan:  08:00 – 15:30
• Google Maps Reference to the Quartier Magon Archaeological Park:  https://maps.app.goo.gl/9pSEbBx37vWNuUKL8

Directions to the next stop – Baths of Antoninus

It’s just 300 meters to the next stop, the Antonine Baths. You’ll need to go back up to La Goulette Road (Avenue de la République), and then turn right onto Rue Septime Sévère, and follow the signs to the Parc des Thermes or Antonine Baths.  It’s one of the main attraction sites here in Carthage, you won’t be able to miss it!

Baths of Antoninus

One of the largest Roman bath complexes in Africa, the Antonine baths show off Roman engineering at its best with hypocausts, pools, and changing rooms.  It’s a large site, but follow our route around to see the best of what’s here.

Walk along Cardo XVI

This used to be one of Carthage’s main avenues and is still lined with stone columns and bits of old masonry. From here, follow the signs (they’re easy to spot!) and turn onto Decumanus IV.

Go to the Terrace for a Great view of the Baths Site.

This road takes you to a terrace with a fantastic bird’s-eye view of the Antonine Baths—definitely the best place to start. On the terrace, you’ll also find a site plan (check the next photo to see what you’re looking for), which helps make sense of the baths’ perfectly symmetrical layout, with one wing for men and another for women.

Right in the middle stood the frigidarium, a vast cold-water hall almost Olympic-pool sized (22 meters by 47 meters), still marked today by a towering granite column.

Head down into the structure of the Baths.

From the terrace, head down into a labyrinth of towering piers and vaults. Just opposite the steps are the striking octagonal chambers, arranged around the caldarium, where arches converge overhead. A vaulted gallery then leads you into the palaestra, a wide sandy courtyard strewn with fallen masonry and fragments of marble columns. You can follow the route to the gymnasium, where some restored columns and carved Corinthian capitals on the top of the columns give some indication of how magnificent this would have been.

Walk through the remains of the Frigidarium.

On your way back through the frigidarium—the grandest hall of the baths—you’ll spot a single towering granite column; it’s the only one left out of the eight that once stood here. Each was 20 metres high, weighed around 50 tonnes, and supported a vaulted ceiling. Today it’s just the one left, and it’s on a plinth, to give some idea of what this must have been like.  Look down and you’ll see a deep channel cut across the floor, once used to carry water directly from the cisterns.

Walk along Decumanus IV

You’ll find barrel-vaulted cisterns with mosaics and inscriptions, the remains of a small temple with a courtyard.  There’s also a Punic burial site with stelae from the 6th–5th centuries BC. When you reach Cardo XVI, there are the remains of another Roman villa, with mosaics, fragmented columns, and an underground chamber decorated with a fish mosaic.

Building, Logistics, and the History of the Antonine Baths

Work on the Antonine Baths—the fourth largest in the entire Roman Empire—kicked off under Emperor Hadrian (118–138) and wrapped up under Antonius Pius (145–162). The baths were supplied with water by the impressive Zaghouan aqueduct and guzzled a staggering 32 million litres of water every single day. Sadly, the Vandals later destroyed the complex and stripped it for building stone, so what you see today are just the basement and ground floor remains.

Bathing in Roman Times

Bathing in Roman times was a serious business.  It wasn’t just about getting clean; it was a whole lot of social and cultural rituals.  You started by undressing in the vestibulum.  From there you went to the untuarium, where you were oiled.  Once you were oiled, you headed to the palaestra for a little exercise.  Once you’d built up a sweat, your next destination was the destrictarium, where you were scraped down with a curved metal tool, called a strigil, and used for removing dirt, sweat, and dead skin.  Then you headed to the sudarium for a little heat treatment, before going to the tepidarium for a warm bath.  The fridigarium was next – a plunge into a cold pool – to close the pores and invigorate.  The final stop was another warm bath in the tepidarium.

• Opening Hours of the Antonine Baths:  08:00 – 18:00
• Google Maps Reference to the Antonine Baths:  https://maps.app.goo.gl/KG3SRgn8z7bMafsh7

Directions to the next stop – the Roman Villas District

After you’re done with the Antonine Baths, exit the site and turn right on Avenue Didon.  Walk back up to La Goulette Road and cross over it.  You’ll then go underneath the railway bridge and take the first right.  It will be signposted for the Roman Villas District, Villas Romaines.  It’s about a 13-minute walk between the sites.

The Roman Villas District / Roman Villa of the Aviary

The Villas District is where the elite of the Roman Empire had their luxurious villas. The pièce de résistance is the Villa of the Aviary, which has intricate mosaics, including depictions of birds, illustrating the wealth and artistic sensibilities of its inhabitants.  This was originally the site of a Punic necropolis dating from 3 B.C. to 2 B.C.

What to see at the Roman Villas District

After you’ve passed the ticket office, there’s a wall on the left, with what looks like tunnel entrances.  Inside here, you’ll find many of the mosaics that have been found on these sites.  They’re really quite stunning, so don’t miss them.

This site, the Roman Villas, has the remains of houses which were built on terraces following the lines of the hills here.  Much of its are simply the bases of the walls, and you might need some imagination, but you can get the idea.

You’ll need to go to the top of the hill, where one of the villas has been partially restored.  The views from here are fabulous, but the stonework, mosaics, and details are equally amazing.  This is known by some as Hannibal’s Palace, or the Villa de La Voliere, or, in English, the Roman Villa Of The Aviary.  It dates from the 3^rd century and is the best preserved Roman villa here at Carthage.  Most of the restoration was completed during the 1960s.

The name of this villa comes from the mosaic, which contains pheasants, peacocks, and other birds (and it really is quite amazing).  The courtyard of the villa was also rebuilt and surrounds an octagonally shaped fountain.  The columns here are marble and granite.

From here on the terrace, you can see the Tunisian Presidential Palace (look for the series of red flags), the coast, more of the Carthage sites, and also Sidi Bou Said.

• Opening Hours of the Roman Villas:  08:00 – 19:00  (Summer), 09.00–17.00 (Winter)
• Google Maps Reference to the Roman Villas:  https://maps.app.goo.gl/mQxLDzXc6biVJj3i7

Directions to the next stop – the Roman Theatre

You’ll need to go back to the road, Avenue Didon, take a right, and follow it until you see the entrance to the Theatre of Carthage.  Again, there are signposts.  You’ll be walking through the parking lot, and the entrance is along an avenue that is lined with columns, and you really do not want to miss this.

The Roman Theater of Carthage

The theatre of Carthage was built at the start of the 2^nd century and was once described as “a three-storied stage building, with a golden coffered ceiling over the stage”.  There were many restorations in its history, but it was finally destroyed in 439 by the Vandals.

It originally marked the western entrance to the city and was used for hunts, exhibitions of animals, gladiatorial combat, and sometimes capital punishment – when the condemned were killed by wild animals.

What to see at the Roman Theater of Carthage

It’s been used over the years, probably most famously by Winston Churchill on June 1^st, 1943, when he addressed Allied Troops.  It’s still used today; the International Cultural Festival of Carthage has been held here since 1964, during the months of July and August.

• Opening Hours of the Roman Theater:  08:00 – 18:00  (Summer), 08.30–17.00 (Winter), 08:00 – 17:00 (Ramadan)
• Google Maps Reference to the Roman Theater:  https://maps.app.goo.gl/GwME3DGjRmgNj2UT9

Directions to the next stop – Byrsa Hill

Your next stop is Byrsa Hill, where you’ll find the Museum of Carthage and the Saint Louis Cathedral.  It’s just a 16-minute walk, but as you might have guessed from the name, there’s a hill involved. Retrace your steps back to Avenue Didon, and either walk up Rue Florus or take steps nearby.  On Rue Florus, take a right on Rue de l’amphitheatre and follow it until you find the cathedral.

Byrsa Hill

Byrsa Hill was where the governmental bodies of the Romans and, before them, the Punics were located; it was the highest point in Punic Carthage.  Byrsa Hill is now home to several places you’ll want to explore.  There are great views here, for a start, so if you need to catch your breath, head over and take a look.  It is home to the Acropolium of Carthage (St. Louis Cathedral), which is built over the top of ancient ruins.  The Tomb of the King of France, St. Louis IX, is also here.

The Cathedral of St. Louis, aka Acropolium of Carthage

King Louis (the cathedral is dedicated to him) was the founder of the Peres Blancs, a French monastic order.  He also led the Eighth Crusade, which arrived in 1270 in Tunisia.  The crusade was abandoned when the king and many of the crusaders died of the plague.  Some crusaders remained, and the cathedral was built in 1890, being the seat of the Archbishop of Carthage until 1965.  It was deconsecrated and has been known as the Acropolium since 1993.

The cathedral has 174 marble columns with golden capitals.  The painted wooden ceilings were imported from Europe, and the 284 stained glass windows depict Saint Louis and Saint Augustine, both patron saints of the cathedral. There are horseshoe arches, twin Arabic windows, and Gothic influences all competing with each other, but delivering a somewhat stunning building.

• Opening Hours of St Louis Cathedral:  08:00 – 19:00  (Summer), 09:00–17.00 (Winter)

The National Museum of Carthage

Located within the ex-convent of the St Louis Cathedral, this museum has signage in French and English, and it’s organized chronologically; you’ll want to start from the first floor.  There’s a huge array of artefacts here, mosaics, pottery, jewellery, and sculptures.

Don’t miss:

• Inscribed steles in the Punic Hall (mainly from the Salambo Tophet that you visited earlier)
• There are also steles of children that date to the fall of Carthage in 146 B.C.
• Catapult shot used during the defence of Carthage in the final days
• Terracotta masks, including one from the 6^th century B.C. with a bronze nose
• The marble sarcophagus of the legendary Carthaginian priestess Elyssa

• Opening Hours of the Carthage Museum:  08:00 – 19:00  (Summer), 09:00–17.00 (Winter)
• Google Maps Reference to Byrsa Hill:  https://maps.app.goo.gl/Yev7bA81GMuKxUF7A

Directions to the next stop – Cisterns of La Malga

It’s a 13-minute walk to your next stop, the Cisterns of La Malga.  Walk down the Rue De Amphitheater (the opposite way to where you came up the hill).  When you reach Avenue Hedi Chaker, turn right, and you’ll want to go straight across the roundabout.  After about 30 meters, turn left

Cisterns of La Malga

The massive underground water storage structures of the cisterns of la Malga were used to manage urban water supplies.  These date from the second century and were once used to store water that was transported here from the Zaghouan aqueduct.  (see more here).  There were once 24 of them here; each was 95 meters x 12.5 meters.  There’s little left here now.

• Google Maps Reference to the Cisterns of La Malga:  https://maps.app.goo.gl/VY4koLVniAoJCSpG7  

Directions to the next stop – the Amphitheater of Carthage

You’ll need to return to the road, and back to the roundabout (taking the third exit, aka turning right), and the entrance to the Amphitheater of Carthage is a few meters away.  It’s just a 700-meter walk between the two sites.

The Amphitheater of Carthage

This was my favourite Carthage site.  There’s not a huge amount of it left, but there was no one else here at all when we visited.  To be fair, there weren’t many people at any of the sites, aside from the Antonine Baths, which were the most popular of all the sites.

It was built in the first century AD and ended up being rebuilt by Caesar.  It’s one of three in Africa built on flat ground.  The Roman Amphitheater of Carthage is 156 meters by 128 meters, making it one of the top four Roman Amphitheatres within the Empire.  After an extension in the 2^nd century, it would hold 30,000 spectators.  Some of the original parts of the theatre are preserved underground; it was these hoists and tunnels that were used to bring animals and gladiators up to the main level of the theatre.

• Opening Hours of the Amphitheater of Carthage:  08:00 – 19:00  (Summer), 09:00–17.00 (Winter)
• Google Maps Reference to the Amphitheater of Carthage: https://maps.app.goo.gl/NQWYHS5YMaENwvdc6

The Best Time to Visit Carthage Ruins

The ideal time to visit Carthage is during spring (March–May) or autumn (September–November) when the temperatures are mild and comfortable for walking. Summers are hot, often exceeding 35°C (95°F), while winter brings cooler, rainy days and makes it more pleasant for walking.

Carthage Walking Map

I’ve included the Google Map points for all of the sites we visited here in Carthage, but you can also follow it as a route. I’ve mapped that out here.

Final Words on Our Guide to Visiting the Ruins of Carthage

The first surprise for us was that Carthage wasn’t just a single site; it was a series of sites, and the ancient city of Carthage has mainly been consumed by the expansion of Tunis and its suburbs.  There is an amazing amount of history here, though, that you can touch, see, and experience.  If the weather behaves and it’s not too hot, then this is an easy day’s walking, although you’ll want to take refreshment regularly.

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