In the steamy half-light of this glorious blue and white tiled chamber, I found two girls busily absorbed in exfoliating each other's legs. They turned to a recumbent old lady shrouded in sheets. In atmosphere, it is a world away from the claustrophobic medina. Flower stalls selling nosegays of sweet-smelling jasmine and glorious roses line the walkway along the Avenue Bourguiba, and the pavement cafes on either side evoke the city's French past. There's an extraordinary cathedral looking not entirely dissimilar to Paris's Sacre Coeur, and dozens of good French and Tunisian restaurants.
Taxis are incredibly cheap.
But first visit the city's Bardo Museum whose vast collection of mosaics, many culled from the villas of Carthage itself, will help flesh out any visit to the Roman sites. Here are images of flowers and nymphs, sea gods and strutting peacocks, leaping panthers and muscle-bound fishermen. And here too are dining room panels that vividly evoke the opulence of the Roman way of life. You will even see a mosaic of a pat of butter complete with butter knife. The ruins of Carthage lie dotted among the plush villas of Tunis's wealthy commuters.