Algiers for The Curious Wanderers: a Friday-to-Monday weekend
El Bahdja, the white city on its amphitheatre of hills.
No theme, just the city at its best. The sights that earn their reputation, a workshop or a market, one strange place nobody told you about, and dinner where the food is the point.
Friday: The Casbah, properly
- The Casbah of Algiers
Climb the stairs from the port and let yourself get lost. The houses lean together over alleys, and every doorway has a story.
- Palais des Raïs, Bastion 23
A restored fortress and three Ottoman houses on the sea wall, now a craft centre. Find the carpet workshop and ask to see it.
- Brasserie des Facultés
Grilled merguez, fries and a strong coffee in a student brasserie by Place Audin, below the university. Easy, cheap and always busy.
Saturday: Roman Tipasa and a copper workshop
- Tipasa archaeological park
Roman basilicas, a theatre and a street that runs straight into the sea. Camus wrote about this place, and the fennel still grows.
- Hôtel Matarès
Grilled fish on the terrace overlooking the ruins. Order the day's catch and a bottle of local water.
- Coppersmiths of the Casbah
The last dinandiers still hammer trays and coffee pots in the lanes by the mosque. Watch one at work, then buy a small piece.
Sunday: A museum of folk and a strange tomb
- Musée National des Arts et Traditions Populaires
Wedding jackets, silver jewellery and copper in an Ottoman palace. The courtyard is quiet and the tiled stairs are worth a photograph.
- Sidi Abderrahmane Mausoleum
The tomb of the city's patron saint, visited for cures and luck. A small garden shrine of chandeliers and votive banners, quiet and rarely visited.
- Restaurant du Square Port Said
A plain restaurant on the square below the Casbah, where locals eat at two, so arrive then. Ask what is cooked today, couscous or rechta, and pay at the table.
Monday: Books and sweets
- Rue Didouche Mourad bookshops
The long boulevard has bookshops and newsstands with French and Arabic titles. Buy a postcard of the city and a book of Kateb Yacine.
- Musée National des Beaux-Arts
Algeria's largest art museum, above the botanical garden. Spend an hour in the modernist rooms before the airport.
- Pâtisserie lunch
A plate of baklawa, a savoury bourek and a mint tea at a pâtisserie counter. Buy a box of makroud to carry home.