The coast
Algiers was in ancient times an important port city. Thanks to the dry desert climate are numerous impressive ruins (especially in Tipasa, see below) have been preserved. Many buildings date from the mid-19th Century when the French Algiers for business and commercial center expansions. Oriental flair to make the narrow streets, the mosques, the Casbah (Arab Old City), the madrassas (Islamic schools) and not least the beautiful Turkish houses and palaces. The Bardo Museum of Ethnology and the National Gallery are among the best museums in North Africa. Despite these attractions, visitors stop rarely longer on here. The town is a stopover on the way to the coast or in the south, because here you can book tickets and accommodation for the interior.
Zeralda is a seaside resort with a holiday village and a replica nomad village. Tipasa offers well-preserved ruins of Roman, Punic and Christian monuments, and a Numidian mausoleum. The gorges of the Kabylia Chiffa and attract visitors due to its scenic beauty. Here are sprawling fig trees and olive groves, where the ski slopes in winter.
East of Algiers, the Turquoise coast, with rocky coves and long beaches with good sports, cruising and water sports. On the Sidi Fredj peninsula there is a marina, an outdoor theater as well as leisure facilities and sports facilities.
On the west coast, within the second largest Algerian city of Oran, the tourists expect beautiful beaches, historical sites and mosques. Oran’s main financial center, but near several beautiful beaches with good hotel facilities, including Ain El Turk, Les Andalouses, Canastel, Kristel, and Monastagem Sablettes. Les Andalouses is the largest tourist center in the region with very good water sports facilities, night clubs and fine hotels.
The Highlands
Of 12 to 16 Century was an important imperial city of Tlemcen. Here in the wooded foothills of the Tell Atlas, it is pleasantly cool even in midsummer. Sights include the Grand Mosque, the Mansourah Fortress and the Almohad ramparts.
Constantine is in the east of the country on a huge plateau, which is accessible only by bridges that span the river valley of Rhumel. The oldest inhabited city in Algeria was founded by the Carthaginians as Cirta. Local attractions include the Palace of Ahmed Bey (one of the most beautiful palaces of the Maghreb) and the Djamma El Kebir Mosque.
The Sahara
The Sahara is the most spectacular and inhospitable landscape of Algeria. Although the desert is hardly inhabited, it attracts more and more visitors in winter. Hotels here are relatively good and reasonably priced. During the season it is often difficult to find accommodation in the oases. The condition of the roads is good, but sandstorms in summer and rain in winter can even affect the main lines.
Most Algerian oases do not meet the European notion of small palm-covered places, but are often relatively large cities with pretty, walled gardens, mosques, shops and monuments. As a starting point for expeditions to the Sahara offer or the five towns of Laghouat Mzab, picturesque villages with white houses on mounds that rise at intervals of about one kilometer from a desert ditch. The best known of these towns is Ghardaia. This region is inhabited by a very old Mozabiten Islamic sect. The oasis of El Golea has an interesting old fort
Tamanrasset, the only major city in the far south, you can explore the Hoggar Mountains and the western desert at best. Tam, as it is called, is a popular winter resort and oil center. The city is regularly visited by camel caravans of Les hommes Al, the blue-robed Tuareg.
A little oasis in Djanet, a more welcome way station for business and Trans-Sahara expedition, lies on the Tassili NAjjer, the plateau of the abyss. This large volcanic plain is crossed by huge canyons, originally formed by large rivers that have long since dried up or run underground. The area includes square kilometers are found here and some of the 130 000 rock art over 6,000 years old. Travel offices in Algiers and Djanet organize trips that last from one day to one week.
