An explorer’s guide to Carthage, northern Africa’s ancient ruins

24.12.2024 - 10:13 / lonelyplanet.com

Dec 23, 2024 • 8 min read

The fallen city of Carthage, now lying part-excavated among the exclusive whitewashed villas in one of Tunis’ swankiest suburbs, is legendary. Located on the coast of North Africa, well-connected Carthage was once a cosmopolitan trading hub, a key Mediterranean maritime power and one of the wealthiest cities in the ancient world, inspiring poetry, mythology and envy. 

Discover ancient Carthage’s history and legacy with this guide on where to go and what to see in this North African archaeological site. 

A Phoenician settlement founded in the 9th century BC, Carthage became a wonder of the ancient world. In its native language, the city’s name translates to "New City" – a fitting title for a thriving metropolis that eventually grew into one of the richest and most influential in the world, thanks to its powerful international trade empire. 

After repeated bloody clashes with the Roman Republic during the Punic Wars, the Phoenicians’ overgrown colony-turned-capital vanished at the hands of the conquerors from the other side of the Mediterranean, who torched and rebuilt Carthage to their own specifications and enslaved the local population.

Carthage existed for more than 500 years before the Romans took over in 146 BC, but because of the city’s brutal destruction, very little remains of the original Punic capital. However, the spectacular downfall of such a civilization still captivates modern minds, the Unesco-listed Carthage Archaeological Park remains a common stop on Tunisia itineraries. 

Here’s what to see on your visit.

Get an overview of the history and site itself by climbing up to Byrsa Hill. From this vantage point, you can get an expansive lay of the land with views all the way out to the shimmering Gulf of Tunis and the circular-shaped Punic Ports, whose ingenious design meant that the Carthaginian navy could see out to sea but were hidden from approaching enemy ships. At your feet are the low-level remains of a Hannibal-era residential quarter from around the 3rd century BC, where a well-preserved grid of streets would have seen Carthaginians walking in your same tracks.

Also at the top of the hill is the two-floor Carthage Museum, which houses a collection of archaeological fragments that were found scattered around the sites. Items on display include 4th-century BC stone sarcophagi, colorful mosaics depicting the changing seasons and a statue of a wine-drunk Silenus, companion of Bacchus, the Roman god of the grape harvest. The early 20th-century building was a former Catholic seminary; the nearby colonial French L’Acropolium cathedral, now deconsecrated, is an unrelated but mildly interesting place to poke your head in to puzzle over the odd mix of Moorish, Byzantine and