The Lézard Rouge, Tunisia
A wonderful old train journey through spectacular gorges and desert scenery in the luxury of a train that once belonged to the Bey of Tunis.
Rotate to landscape to view slideshow
Le Kef is a three-hour bus journey South of Tunis.
We arrive in time to have a look around the kasbah, the old fort that overlooks the city. It is interesting, but the main highlight is probably the views over the surrounding countryside.
Our hotel at Le Kef is probably the worst one we have ever stayed in (the one in Suez would run a close second) but for the price we are paying you can’t expect too much (the bedroom is clean but the shower and toilet area were inadequate to say the least). I regret my choice, but it’s only for two nights, so I convince Jen it will be alright.
Make sure you pay a visit to the Musée des Arts et Traditions Populaires. This ethnographic museum in Le Kef is one of the best of its kind; excellent displays covering arts and crafts and traditional customs that help you understand the local culture.
The caretaker at the museum was excellent. He spent a lot of time explaining the displays and answering our questions.
Our real reason for staying at Le Kef is to use it as a base to visit Dougga, the old Roman town about 70km North. Dougga is a site of some of the best Roman ruins around.
A wonderful old train journey through spectacular gorges and desert scenery in the luxury of a train that once belonged to the Bey of Tunis.
Tozeur is an oasis town full of interest. The medina buildings have intriguing brick patterns on their walls, there is a great museum, it’s popular with trekies because of its association with the Star Wars film, and there’s a quiet palm grove to wander through.
The Bardo Museum in Tunis displays the best collection of Carthaginian and Roman mosaics perhaps ever assembled – don’t miss it.
It’s worth all the steps up to the Molyvos Castle. Besides the view, you pass a lot of shops on the way up.
The lighthouse at Cape Otway is the oldest surviving lighthouse on mainland Australia. It makes a great stop-over for travellers heading down to the Twelve Apostles.
Molyvos, a popular tourist town on the Greek island of Lesbos, retains its links to the traditional past.