VB TRAVEL - INTERGALATICO

About the destination: With a mild, sandy Mediterranean coast, perfumed with jasmine and sea breezes, Tunis is reinventing itself as an ambitiously modern Arab capital. The city is eager to preserve its Mediterranean traditions as well as its Arabic and African roots. This attitude is reflected in its architecture, with the old Arab medina situated next to the French colonial Ville Nouvelle (New Town). Like any other Arabic metropolis, the medina is the historic and spiritual heart of the city. The labyrinthine streets of the medina are packed with people selling, buying and transporting goods, enveloped in the aroma of spices. The contrast with the palm trees and café terraces of the ville nouvelle's avenue Habib Bourguiba could not be more stark. Old men in traditional attire watch suited office workers and the young pass by in jeans and shirts: this is Tunis. In the suburbs are the magnificent Bardo Museum and the impressive and enigmatic ruins of ancient Carthage, from where Hannibal set out to drive his elephants over the Alps. Also nearby is Tunisia's most beautiful village, Sidi Bou Said, an inspiration to many artists, and the stunning white-sand beaches of La Marsa. Tunis is a vibrant yet relaxed capital city that celebrates its Western and Eastern influences and proudly displays its cultural heritage.

About the destination: Matmata is a city in the Governorate of Gabes, about 35 km southwest of its capital Gabes. The city was largely destroyed in the 1969 floods and partially rebuilt in the New Matmata, located 15 km to the north.