Tunis Shopping

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To get off the beaten path and experience a non Medina and more local side of daily life in Tunis, head for the Sahib El-Tabia Mosque which is located a few hundred metres north of the Medina. On the way you'll pass by a street lines with fruit and vegetable stalls with orderly displays of different varieties of oranges as well as apples and bananas and fishmongers. The mosque was surrounded by people buying and selling clothes when I visited.

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If you're after souvenirs then you should head for the Medina, especially the narrow alleyways that run from the Bab el Bhar at the Medina's eastern entrance. You can buy all sorts of stuff such as brass plates, clothes, shoes, porcelain plates and bowls, leather goods etc. Most of it is pretty tacky but there are some nice items. I have to say that the Medina in Sousse in better as it sells fruit and vegetables as well. As you're a tourist, you'll be easily spotted by the guys standing outside their shops who will call to you and offer you their best prices etc so this can be quite intimidating. Take care of yourself and remember to haggle hard!

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If you're looking for a cheap, good-value and delicious lunch try the market in the Ville Nouvelle. It's not a place for a sit-down meal, but somewhere to buy delicious and cheap supplies for a picnic. The market is housed in a large square between rue d'Allemagne and rue d'Espagne and you can buy pretty much anything you want.

We came here in the morning before our day-trip to Carthage and El Jem to stock up for a picnic. The meat didn't look too good as refrigeration was limited but the Berber brea, olives and cheese displays were mouth watering. Prices were excellent too. We spent about 2 Dinar on a bag of olives, grated cheese, a white local cheese, Berber bread, Berber pancakes, and baguettes. The guys running the stalls were very friendly and insisted we taste anything we were unsure of. We also had the mad idea of spreading harissa on the baguettes though luckily we were talked out of it as it would have been way too spicy!

There is a branch of the French supermarket chain Monoprix on rue Charles de Gaulle in the Ville Nouvelle. This is very convenient for stocking up on provisions though for fresh food like bread and fruit you are better of going to the central market further down the same street. The Monoprix is open daily until 9pm every night. It's one of the easiest places to buy alcohol in Tunis which was particularly useful for us as we wanted to being back some bottles of Tunisian wine with us.

There are two main shopping streets in the medina: rue de la Kasbah and rue Jemaa Zitouna. Both begin at Place de la Victoire where the medina meets the Ville Nouvelle. From here they lead deep into the heart of the medina. You can buy everything imaginable along these streets, though much of it is aimed at tourists. Prices are, of course, negotiable and part of the experience of shopping in the medina is bargaining with the shopkeepers.

It seemed to me that many of the shops were selling the same old produce. Sometimes you might see five shops in a row all selling the same old things. Or not selling might be more appropriate as none of the shops were very busy when we were there.

I love visiting commercial shops as well and see what people are buying and whats for sale, also comparing prices even for silly stuff like colgate toothpaste is cheaper etc!, but generally its a good place to buy diet coke while i am walking or travelling around.
also i love music and learnt a lot about music from my time and friendships in Morocco - Rai, the egyptian celebrities such as Nancy!- algerian stars such as Hasni etc, so supermarkets are often a good place to have your own space to look through whats an offer.
I was amazed international artists such as the Black eyed peas, Tracey Chapmans latest Greatest Hits etc were only £1.25 each!! and Nancy's CD too. so i got some more good deals.

What to buy: music, chichoua (or 'Fez' hats - a dying trade but alive in the Chichoua souk of Tunis, watch them being made and buy it), carpets, babouches and pretty slippers, stuffed camels, shisha tobacco - about 50p a packet, shishas are not a bad price too,
mosaic kits at the Bardo museum, lovely cotton blouses and kaftans.
lovely woollen tops and kaftans traditionally worn on the island of Jerba.

What to pay: international and locally listened to music from algeria and egypt are only £1.25 each! and yes they are the professionally made real thing.

Tunis' central market is a public food market. The main products sold here are fresh bread, fish, cheese, fruits and vegetables, as well as Tunisian staple harissa.

We went there one morning and bought a bread and some fruit that we would share as a snack later in the day. Buying harissa here is also highly recommended: compared to Canada, at least, the prices were much cheaper, and it made a great souvenir for both us and our spicy food-loving friends!

Even if you don't plan on buying anything, the market is a great place to observe scenes of everyday Tunisian life.

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it,s not a shop. At the plaza, open air

What to buy: desert rouses at nefta, camel leader figures of womens, ceramicat isle de jerba, handmade carpets in kairouan.tunisian oil and datils. spices, henna, etc at gabes.

What to pay: you are expected to bargain. So say a price lower than you think it is. then the salesman will say double than this and then is your turn and so on. I bought a travelguide from tunis in at five stars hotel,s shopp and I pay 13 dinars, then my friends get it for just 3 dinars, so take care, not only bargain at markets but everywhear.