Travel Tips
Category: Algeria
1. Palais des Raïs
The palace is in fact a row of several large waterfront houses, joined up to form a single compound and now home to the Centre des Arts et de la Culture. Palace 18, the main building, was begun in 1750 and completed around 1798 by the Dey Mustapha Pacha, used it as one of his residences. The French military occupied it for a while, after which it served as the American consulate, a school, and a library before becoming the most successful restoration project in the city. The buildings are used as exhibition space for some excellent shows, but much of the pleasure and interest is in seeing inside a grand, Ottoman mansion.
2. National Museum of Antiquities
The opulence of Algeria’s heritage is brought home in the understated but well chosen collection on display at the National Museum of Antiquities, a short walk from the Bardo Museum. The collection of antiquities is drawn from sites around the city and throughout Algeria. Among the early works are fine ivory carvings and large, totemic Libyan-period warriors on horseback. There is sculpture from Cherchell and mosaics from Tipaza, and a room of bronzes including a amazing fragment of a horse’s leg and hoof. There is also a collection of Islamic art from across the Maghreb.
Travel Tips
Category: Algeria
September to December or March to June are probably thebest times to visitAlgeria because the days are warm and the evenings coold down. In winter it tends to be mild and wet in the northern region, and daytime temperatures in the Sahara region rarely fall below 25 degrees Celsius. However, nights in the Sahara can be very cold.
Algeria’s coastal zone and northern mountains have a typical Mediterranean climate, with hot dry summers and mild rainy winters. Algiers, for example, has afternoon temperatures in July of 83 degrees Fahrenheit (28 degrees Celsius) which drop to about 70 degrees Fahrenheit (21 degrees Celsius) at night. In January, day temperatures range between 59 and 49 degrees Fahrenheit (15 and 9 degrees Celsius).
Summer in the Sahara can get blisteringly warm. Rainfall ranges from over 1000mm per year in the northern mountains and some regions in the Sahara receive no rain. Rains are also irregular - in the Tademait region, three years may pass without rainfall and in the Ahaggar plateau, as many as five.
Summer is a great time to visit the beaches if you are looking for a vacation along the coast.
Travel Tips
Category: Algeria
Algeria's museums are a treasure to visit while in this historic city. The museums will provide and abundance of information about the country's history, cultural legacy, traditions, artistic flair and more. Below are some of the top 4 recommended musuems to visit.
1. Musee National du Bardo
This has always been one of the best museums in the city. The collection runs from an outstanding display of fossils to neolithic pottery, rock carvings, and paintings from the Sahara.