Algiers in all its facets
2024
Highlights of the trip
During your stay you can enjoy the following highlights: Culture / Heritage.
Best times to go
The best time(s) to go is/are : Printemps, Eté, Automne.
Petit Futé
Where to stay ?
The map of your stay "Algiers in all its facets"
Detail of the stay : Algiers in all its facets
How to get there
General view of the city
Steps: Alger
Algiers is built in amphitheatre. Before going into the bouillonnant city centre, you will take up the height to admire the site on which the capital developed and enjoy the views of many points of view such as the Saint-Raphaël balcony in El-Biar, the Aérohabitat at the Télémly, Le Echahid or the esplanade of the Palace of Culture in the southern quarters, the boulevard The Martyrs, the bar of the Hotel Aurassi, the former National Library or the of Notre-Dame-d'Africa Basilica...
At the end of the afternoon, you will flânerez along the biggest balcony of the city, the seafront.
Places of interest : NOTRE-DAME D'AFRIQUE FRONT DE MER L'AÉROHABITAT BALCON SAINT-RAPHAËL / EZ-ZAHIRA MONUMENT AUX MARTYRS BIBLIOTHÈQUE NATIONALE D'ALGÉRIE
Exploration of the downtown area
Steps: Alger
The emblematic St-George hotel can be the starting point of this second day, devoted to the visit of the city center. Take the time to discover the Upper Mustapha, which was the fahs, the countryside during the Ottoman period, littered with the old summer residences of Ottoman dignitaries, the Djenanes (Mustapha Raïs villa, Djenane-El-Mufti, Mustapha Pacha villa, People's Palace...). The Museum of Antiquities and Islamic Arts invites you to discover or rediscover the history of Algeria through an interesting collection of ancient Libyan-Berber, Phoenician, Roman, Vandal, Byzantine. Didouche Street reveals a succession of neoclassical buildings and invites you to make some intrusions into its adjacent streets and alleys: the one where the well-hidden entrance of the Sacred Heart Cathedral is located, Meissonnier Street where its important covered market is held, Ahmed Zabana Street leading to the very pretty square of the same name, or the imposing Victor-Hugo Street..
Rue Didouche, the "Algerian Champs-Élysées" as some people like to say, is lined with beautiful craft shops and bookshops.
Also stroll through the parks and gardens of the city centre. Somewhat neglected, the Parc de la Liberté (ex-parc de Galland) and the Jardin de Beyrouth (ex-parc Saint-Saëns) evoke with a certain melancholy the prosperity of the colonial era. During this day in the city centre, you will have the opportunity to admire the neo-Moorish architectural style, developed at the beginning of the 20th century in the capital, through several achievements, such as of course, the Grande Poste, but also the building of the Dépêche algérienne, the wilaya, the former Galeries de France, whose building now houses the MAMA (Algiers Museum of Modern Art).. The city centre is also the rue d'Isly and its ready-to-wear shops, the Emir Abdelkader square and the famous Milk Bar, the Port-Saïd square and its innumerable currency dealers..
Places of interest : CATHÉDRALE DU SACRÉ-COEUR PALAIS DU PEUPLE, MUSÉE DE L'HISTOIRE GRANDE POSTE MUSÉE DES ANTIQUITÉS ET DES ARTS ISLAMIQUES PARC DE LA LIBERTÉ (EX-PARC DE GALLAND) MAMA (MUSÉE D'ART MODERNE D'ALGER) PARC BEYROUTH (EX-PARC SAINT-SAENS)
Discovery of the Kasbah, the old city
Steps: Alger
By devoting a good part of the day or even the whole day to visiting the Kasbah, you will take the time to discover all the secrets of old Algiers and to penetrate the soul of this historic district. You can always follow the itinerary proposed in the guide or if you are accompanied consider a more informal visit by letting yourself descend the alleys according to your instinct and the advice of the Kasbahdjis. You will then discover the mosques of Sidi Ramdane, Es-Safir, Sidi Abdellah, the many fountains decorated with earthenware and mosaics, the mysterious princess cemetery, the Fromentin crossroads and its mausoleum of Sidi Mohamed Cherif, its many artisans who struggle to maintain their activity. In the Lower Kasbah, you will take the time to visit the palaces, bastion 23 and admire the Ketchaoua, El-Djedid and El-Kebir mosques.
Places of interest : MOSQUÉE DJAMAÂ EL-KEBIR MOSQUÉE KETCHAOUA MOSQUÉE DJEMAÂ EL DJEDID MOSQUÉE SAFIR / DJAMAA ES-SAFIR PALAIS DES RAÏS - CENTRE DES ARTS ET DE LA CULTURE CIMETIERE DES PRINCESSES
A walk on the heights of the city
Steps: Alger
The day can start with a visit to the Basilica of Our Lady of Africa, located on the heights of the Bologhine district (formerly St. Eugene) and continue with a walk in the heart of the legendary and very popular Bab El-Oued district, located further down. Discover the hectic Place des Trois-Horloges, the old Spanish quarter, the Basetta, the covered markets, the Sidi-Abderrahmane mausoleum, on the borders of the Kasbah..
In the afternoon, you will enjoy the gentle lifestyle of the city's heights, the peaceful Kennedy Square designed in the neo-Moorish style and the shaded alleys of El-Biar, the panoramic view of the bay from the tranquil Saint-Raphaël balcony. During a walk on one or the other of the paths going down to the Telemly, it is the opportunity to see here and there, behind the palm trees or the bougainvilleas, of cosy Moorish or neo-Moorish villas..
Places of interest : NOTRE-DAME D'AFRIQUE MAUSOLÉE SIDI ABDERRAHMANE BALCON SAINT-RAPHAËL / EZ-ZAHIRA
Art in Algiers
Steps: Alger
Head towards the southern districts dominated by the Maqâm Echahid (Martyr's monument) and start this day with a visit to the Mujahideen Museum. A short distance from the Esplanade Riadh El-Feth, a small incursion into one or other of the cities of Diar El-Mahçoul and Diar Es-Saada will allow you to discover one of the many achievements of the architect Fernand Pouillon in Algeria. Below the Bois des Arcades, the Villa Abd-El-Tif, a former residence of the Fahs, was in colonial times a place of artistic residence. Below, the Fine Arts Museum houses the works of Algerian painters, miniaturists and plastic artists such as Baya, Racim, Khadda, Issiakhem..
Places of interest : MONUMENT AUX MARTYRS MUSÉE DES BEAUX-ARTS MUSÉE NATIONAL DU MOUDJAHID VILLA ABD EL LATIF
Dive into time
Steps: Alger
These last two days can be devoted to the sites surrounding the capital. Visits to the ancient sites of Tipasa and Cherchell can be made on the same day, but more time should certainly be given to the magnificent Tipasa Archaeological Park. Cherchell is worth more to his important museum than to his site. To get to Tipasa, leaving Algiers, you can take the cornice road passing through Bologhine, Raïs Hamidou, Aïn Benian, La Madrague... About ten kilometres before Tipasa, do not miss the mysterious Royal Tomb of Mauritania. From Tipasa to Cherchell, the cornice road around Mount Chenoua is magnificent.
