Algiers climbs a hillside above the Mediterranean in a white amphitheatre, which is why it is called Algiers the White. The old quarter, the Casbah, is a maze of narrow lanes, stairways and blind alleys that drop steeply toward the sea, with houses leaning over the paths so closely that the sunlight hardly reaches the ground. UNESCO listed it in 1992 as an example of a North African Islamic city, with an Ottoman citadel, old mosques and palaces. Many of the buildings are in bad repair, and there is a long-running effort to save them, but the life of the quarter goes on, with children playing football in the lanes and cats on every wall.
Below the Casbah lie the French colonial streets, with arcaded boulevards, grand post office and long seafront terraces, built in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Algeria was part of France for a hundred and thirty years, and the architecture shows it, while the memory of the war of independence between 1954 and 1962 colours the modern history. Above, on a hill, stands the basilica of Notre-Dame d'Afrique, looking over the bay, and on another hill a vast concrete monument to the martyrs of the war rises like three palm leaves. The botanical garden at Hamma is a quiet place with giant trees and long avenues.
Riding in and out of Algiers takes confidence. The traffic is dense and fast, signals are optional, and road quality varies, with potholes and sudden changes of surface. Leaving the city to the west brings you along the coast toward Tipasa, with the Chenoua mountain rising ahead and the sea glittering below, and the road runs through villages and between fields of citrus and vines. There are police checkpoints on many roads, so carry your passport, vehicle papers and insurance, and check your country's current travel advice before you go.
Fuel is cheap, with stations on all the main roads, though queues can occur. Food is a pleasure, with couscous on Fridays, grilled fish on the coast, and mint tea and pastries in the cafés. The best seasons are spring and autumn. Summers are hot and humid, and winters bring rain and chilly winds. In the evening, the whole city comes out to walk along the seafront, and the sound of conversation is as constant as the sea.