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Situated on the Mediterranean coast, the capital of Tunisia and one of the region's most historically significant cities, home to one of the Arab world's oldest medinas, Tunis is distinctly shaped by its layered past, from ancient Carthage through French colonial influence to modern independence. A hub for North African commerce and diplomacy.
I'm not sure who Tunis would appeal to, at the expense of all of the other great places to explore across the world. For most people, the negatives feel too prominent to me to warrant prioritising a visit. Good weather and friendly people can't save a city with some glaring inadequacies.
I'd visited North Africa for a road trip through Southern Morocco about ten years ago so had a vague idea of what to expect from somewhere in the region.
I enjoyed it as a holiday experience but it never struck me as somewhere I'd opt to work from.
I thought I'd challenge these assumptions with a few short city visits this autumn, with Tunis the first stop.
When looking at places within a couple of hours of most places in Europe, the cost of accommodation in Tunis is almost unmatched. Reasonable-quality apartments in a decent area can be found for around £600 PCM. This, along with the wider low cost of living, is perhaps one of the most appealing features.
A lot of the building stock is generally quite old across the city, with little in the way of large, modern residential developments being built, at least around La Marsa. If planning on working from home, seek some guarantee of internet connectivity from your Airbnb host before arriving.
With a high prevalence of mosques across the city, think carefully about the proximity you might be to one. The morning call to prayer at 5am can be a particularly disruptive part of each morning, which is best avoided if at all possible.
When looking at coworking spaces across Tunis on Google Maps, there initially appears a decent spread across the city. However, on closer inspection, many of these tend to be more geared towards study spaces for local students than professional-grade coworking spaces.
I couldn't see anything across the city which looked like a clear standout option in terms of location and spec, so I would suggest opting for something closer to your preferred area.
The Greenbox in La Marsa (which I've written about further below) was passable for a week, but not somewhere that would be suitable for a longer-term base.
I found internet speeds to be generally unreliable, so I would test the connection somewhere before signing up. Speeds of under 15 Mbps felt common, with the connection occasionally crawling at dial-up speeds or stopping altogether. Tunisia has been the only place where internet was a routine enough issue to warrant mentioning it here.
If Tunis excels in any area, it would be in value for money. Prices are on the whole incredibly low. In local cafés and restaurants, they are at a level with no equivalent in neighbouring Europe.
An espresso can cost under 50p, a large freshly made (and tasty) sandwich can be found for about £1.25. In better, more modern cafés you are still looking at under £2 for a coffee. Dining in a nice modern Italian restaurant, you can get a quality Neapolitan-style pizza for around £7. A beer from one of the nicest (if not the only) rooftop bars in the city comes in at £3.
Accommodation is perhaps where you are likely to save the most over the course of a month, with Airbnbs still incredibly good value. Reasonable quality one-bedroom apartments can be found for around £600 PCM, which is unheard of in 2025 for any European city.
Make no mistake about it, Tunis is not an exciting city. It feels largely removed from any contemporary developments in culture, technology, or perhaps anything that resembles 2025 in Europe. The downtown is no beacon of modernity and it carries a drab, worn-down and gritty aesthetic in most areas.
It would be wrong, however, to call it boring. Most of the streets that peel off towards the medina are vibrant little hubs of activity. The small bars immediately off Avenue Habib Bourguiba are brimming with punters on a Saturday night, watching local and European football under a heavy haze of cigarette smoke.
You can find more sophisticated nightlife at the beach clubs in Gammarth, but they were the sort of venues I'd have personally no interest in visiting.
La Marsa is without doubt more laid-back. It just isn't that great as somewhere to work from. It's billed as more of an upmarket, beachside town, and whilst it might be by local or national standards, it didn't feel that significantly different. There are some nicer cafés and restaurants, but not in a great enough concentration for the area to feel markedly different.
There's still a lot of visible poverty, with people fishing items out of bins and begging on the streets. Across the wider metropolitan area of Tunis you have a combination of both a city and a beachside town, with both being pale imitations of what you would ideally want from them as a long-term base for remote work.
Tunis operates on Central European Time (CET), which is GMT+1 throughout the year, as the country does not observe daylight saving time. This makes it marginally easier to align with European working hours during the winter months, when the UK and much of Europe are on GMT or GMT+1.
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Most guidance for Tunis will suggest staying in one of the coastal districts outside of the downtown. I followed this and opted for the area of Sidi Bou Said.
I'm confident that for most people the city centre is not an urban environment you'd be too excited about basing yourself in for a month, so the advice to be in the coastal areas does make sense. By car they're around a 20km trip.
I usually feel very confident in recommending an area based on my experience. After ten days, however, I feel a certain degree of indifference or worse towards everywhere in the city.
La Marsa probably does make the most sense, but I'd lower your expectations from what you might read elsewhere online. There isn't really any sufficient draw to warrant being in the downtown, with no standout coworking options that would make it worthwhile.
In reality this is more of a study space for local students than a serious professional coworking space. Aside from some occasionally unstable internet, it actually does a fine job for light work.
The main room is kept silent, with strong AC. But if you are spending 40 hours a week in there, it becomes testing. There's a Skype phone booth which isn't air conditioned, with the sensation of making a call out of a semi-operational sauna. There's a single toilet with a seat constantly falling off and a threadbare supply of toilet paper. Some of the seats don't have proper office chairs or aren't easy to connect to power sources.
Even though it is 24/7, the front door frequently slams shut making it impossible to get back in unless someone can buzz you in. It was passable for a week's stay but I wouldn't entertain the idea of doing any longer stint. The staff were particularly friendly and welcoming, and the price was around £20 (!) for the week. From my research, I couldn't find a better option in the La Marsa area.
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A sprawling medieval quarter and UNESCO World Heritage site at the heart of Tunis's downtown, well worth an hour wandering around if you're in the area. Aim for the historical landmark of Bab al-Bhar on the far east side as your entry point.
Dating back to the 7th century, it's a maze of tightly woven narrow alleyways, traditional souks, and historic mosques. Look out for vendors selling Tunisian 'tacos', which are more like large tortilla wraps, but make a tasty snack to take with you.
As a foreigner you'll probably attract some immediate attention when entering or leaving the site, so be wary of anyone approaching you in an overly friendly or pushy manner. I saw reports of pickpockets operating in the area, which isn't something I witnessed, but it's worth keeping particular attention on your belongings in the tight, busy passages.
Visiting during the second half of September, it felt as if you were witnessing the end of a baking summer in real time, as it transitioned into a milder and more comfortable autumn. There was a noticeable five-degree drop in daily highs by the end of the month, with the first couple of days particularly sweltering.
Unless you have a real craving for intense summer heat, I wouldn't entertain the idea of visiting during the peak of summer, with late spring and early autumn likely your best options. The weather was far from the relentless sun I was envisaging, with prolonged overcast periods, several showers and an enormous storm.
If you're looking to escape the depths of the European winter, then a mid-winter trip could be of value, but the Canary Islands would likely hold wider appeal for most.
How long do you need in Tunis? You can get everything you need out of the city over two days. The coastal areas, ruins and a tour of the downtown could easily be condensed into a weekend. I'd be hesitant to recommend anyone booking in for a month without prior knowledge of exactly what to expect, as there's a significant chance you could be underwhelmed.
Unless you speak French or Arabic, there's likely to be a sizeable language barrier with much of the population, with English generally spoken sparsely. Whilst Arabic is the official language, much official communication and business content will be produced in French.
I've left with a warm impression of the Tunisian population. In the coffee shops and lunch places I frequented, it felt people made a genuine effort to compensate for my inability to communicate effectively in either of their languages.
Over the ten days I didn't see too many other English-speaking tourists during my time in the country, and it felt like it may still carry a small amount of novelty. Most of the other tourists I spotted tended to be more senior European couples with a sparse number of younger French and Italians. You'll tend to find these in concentrated numbers around the medina in the old town, but that rapidly dissipates as you move away.
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