Sidi Bou Saïd is a village painted in two colours, white and a deep Mediterranean blue, and rising above the Gulf of Tunis on a cliff that falls to the sea. The whitewashed houses, blue doors and window grilles, studded iron nails and bougainvillea spilling over walls are known the world over, though it was a conscious choice: in the early twentieth century a French baron and musicologist, Rodolphe d'Erlanger, who built a palace here, helped to promote a local style and then the authorities protected it by rule. The village is named after a Sufi saint, Abu Said al-Baji, who lived and taught here in the thirteenth century and whose tomb draws pilgrims.
The lanes are steep, cobbled and narrow, climbing through whitewashed arches to a small square and a café overlooking the harbour. The most famous is the Café des Nattes, where mats cover the steps and the mint tea comes with pine nuts, and in the early morning, before the tour groups arrive, it is a calm place. Vendors sell bambalouni, a ring-shaped doughnut dusted with sugar, and strings of jasmine flowers, which people tuck behind their ears. The scent of jasmine on an evening in summer is one of the great smells of Tunisia.
For a rider, the village is best as a short, slow visit. Cars are limited in the old lanes, parking is limited, and the climb is a short, steep walk from the car park near the TGM station at the bottom of the hill. The road along the coast from Carthage to La Marsa is busy but pleasant, with sea views and villas, and the traffic is chaotic, with drivers making up their own rules at junctions. The stones are slippery when wet, and sunlight in summer reflects fiercely off the white walls, so sunglasses are useful.
The village itself has around five thousand people and enough cafés and shops for a day, but for fuel and supermarkets, the larger place is Carthage, only two kilometres away, and Tunis beyond. In summer it is hot and crowded, while spring and autumn are gentle and the light is soft, perfect for photography.
Walk out to the cliff-top lighthouse at Cap Carthage if you have time, for a view across the bay to the mountains of Cap Bon.