Hammamet

A walled medina that walks straight into the sea.

Hammamet built its reputation on beaches and jasmine, and both still deliver. But the town's soul is its small medina, whose ramparts rise directly from the sand. Walk the walls at the end of the day, when the stone turns warm and the fishing boats come in.

Just outside town, Dar Sebastian, the villa and gardens of the Romanian aristocrat George Sebastian, is now the International Cultural Centre of Hammamet, and every summer its open-air theatre hosts the Hammamet International Festival.

Highlights

• The medina ramparts

• Dar Sebastian and its gardens

• The Hammamet International Festival

Best for: Beaches, summer festivals

Photo: Halima Bouchouicha / Unsplash