Byrsa

Byrsa is the historic acropolis of ancient Carthage, the hill at the heart of the city that Rome and Carthage fought over for control of the western Mediterranean. According to legend it was here that Queen Dido founded Carthage, and for centuries the height served as the citadel and religious centre of the great Punic metropolis before its destruction by Rome in 146 BC.

The hill layers many civilisations. After levelling Punic Carthage, the Romans rebuilt the summit as a grand forum, and archaeologists have since uncovered a remarkable Punic residential quarter on the slopes, with streets, cisterns and house foundations that survived beneath the later Roman platform. Walking the site, visitors move through both the Carthaginian and Roman phases of the city's long history.

The summit also carries later monuments. The nineteenth-century Acropolium, a former cathedral, crowns the hill, and beside it stands the Carthage National Museum, whose collections of Punic stelae, masks and everyday objects help make sense of the ruins outside. From the top there are sweeping views over the Gulf of Tunis and the scattered archaeological sites below.

Byrsa is the natural centrepiece of a visit to Carthage, easily reached by the suburban train from central Tunis and combined with the other ancient sites strung along the coast, from the Antonine baths to the ports and the amphitheatre. Wear sturdy shoes and sun protection, as the hilltop is open and the ground uneven, and allow time for both the excavations and the museum. Come earlier in the day for cooler air and clearer views across the gulf. As the symbolic and physical high point of Carthage, Byrsa ties together the many layers of one of the Mediterranean's most consequential ancient cities.