The most beautiful parks and gardens Tunisia

A must-see! You are here in an oasis and not a palm grove. The latter is a monoculture of palm trees, while in the oases the cultures are varied. Here it is the culture with three stages: agriculture on the ground, a second stage of fruit trees and finally the palm trees. Huge, the oasis of Tozeur has more than 250 000 palm trees, irrigated by seguias, a network of canals fed by two hundred sources. This irrigation system developed in the 13th century by the engineer Ibn Shabbat allows to calculate the water needs according to the trees and their altitude. The place is enchanting, but given its size, the visit on foot may seem tiring. One can opt for a bicycle or a carriage ride. We enter the oasis by a small road perpendicular to the street Abou-El-Kassel or to the street Ech-Chabbi. We mark a first stop at the necessary Eden Palm which allows to understand everything about the date palm, prodigal tree, its history and its ecosystem. Continuing the walk, we pass a hamlet before arriving at the gardens of Paradise. You will be able to contemplate the whole oasis by following a track that crosses the palm grove and leads you to the Belvedere, a rocky complex west of the city. After climbing a few steps carved in the rock, you will have access to a more global panorama of Tozeur: the yellow sand of the city, the white of the chott, the green of the palm grove... You will be able to see the Sahara. The luckiest ones will even sleep in the heart of the oasis!

A walk in this oasis allows you to discover the gardens hidden in the shade of the palm trees. Traditionally maintained for centuries by the various families who own the gardens, they provide fruit, vegetables and cereals. Like its big sister Tozeur, we practice here the three-storey crops (agriculture, fruit trees, palm trees). The oasis is also home to many birds. By car, coming from the city of Nefta, in the direction of Algeria, about 1 km away, you can enjoy a beautiful view of the oasis.

An original park that includes the Lalla Hadria Museum, Djerba Héritage and the Crocodile Park: what a pleasant and enriching moment. The impressive Museum of Art and History of the Arab World covers a period of 13 centuries. This collection of more than 1,000 pieces demonstrates the influence of Islamic art from the Mediterranean Basin to the borders of Asia. Thought with a funnel logic, the collections go from the vast Muslim world to the arts of the Maghreb and the tribes of Tunisia. One will admire among others the Koranic scroll of Kairouan, the fragments of the Kaaba hanging, a superb collection of Tunisian costumes as well as masterpieces of calligraphy.

Djerba Héritage is a successful reconstruction of the typical habitats of Djerba. In this open-air space, it's time for history! In this traditional menzel, we are invited to discover the customs, crafts and habitat of the island through a living demonstration of practices such as pottery or weaving.

We are then guided to the park where 400 Nile crocodiles were brought back from Madagascar in 1998. Today 800 reptiles flourish there. The climate of Djerba allows the Nile crocodiles to live outside most of the year. You will learn many things. The 24 year old crocodiles present here measure on average 4.5 meters and weigh 500 kg. Despite these measurements, the animals only eat 4 kg of meat per week... but they will lose more than 3,000 teeth throughout their lives!

The desert Zoo hosts all kinds of desert animals: scorpions, snakes, fennecs, gazelles, kebab, lions and the outstanding camel drinker of Coca-Cola! You can reach it by turning left on the road of the tourist area, in the direction of the restaurant Le Petit Prince. The guided tour begins with the tropical garden, where one walks among apricot, palm trees, banana trees, bougainvilleas and jasmines, continues through the animal park and ends with the inevitable souvenir shop.

Located on a hill north of the city center, this green space of a hundred hectares dominates the city. It is a pleasure to walk in this beautiful green site, in these alleys planted with various species, often Mediterranean: ficus, olive trees, eucalyptus... There is also a health course and a small zoo. Appreciated by the Tunisians, the park is ideal to escape the heat of Tunis and to have a drink in one of the cafes that border the lake. At the end of an alley, a small pavilion, the koubba, a place of relaxation and meditation pleasant.

Dating at least from the Roman period, the palm grove of Gabes, also called the Maritime Oasis, has long been the main attraction of the city. With its 60 km2 it extends to the sea. From the promontory of Ras el Oued, beautiful view of the oasis. The tragedy of this palm grove, in addition to the strong pollution present, is that the date palms give only "mediocre" dates, not exported and which bring little. As a result, the palm trees are "killed" (word of a guide!) and the number of palm trees decreases every year, from 400 000 in 1980 to 150 000 in 2022. A tragedy!

Bypassing the Roman site and skirting the fortress, one reaches, by a little frequented entrance, the quiet palm grove with narrow roads. Extending in a rectangle of about 4 km by 3 km, it surprises by its high density and the height of its palm trees. One finds there a multitude of trees or fruit plants and sometimes even an inhabited house. In some places, the forest which clears up lets appear splendid landscapes with the red ochre of the mountains in background of this green ocean, under a deep blue sky.