Algiers 3-Day Itinerary: Casbah, White Boulevards and Gardens

This three-day Algiers route uses gravity, the underground Metro and aerial cable cars to your advantage: you walk downhill through the medieval Casbah on day one, explore the Neo-Moorish and French boulevards plus the northern cliff basilica on day two, and dedicate day three to the botanical gardens, art museum and Martyrs' Memorial ridge. Read our practical briefing before you start.

Day 1: The UNESCO Casbah, Ketchaoua Mosque, Ottoman Palaces and Bastion 23

• Morning: take a taxi to the upper crest of the Casbah of Algiers near the Citadel of the Dey and walk downhill with a licensed local guide through the stepped whitewashed lanes supported by cedarwood beams, visiting artisan workshops and Dar Khedaoudj el-Amia.
• Midday: emerge at Place des Martyrs to step inside the restored Ketchaoua Mosque, admire the 11th-century Almoravid arches of Djamaa el-Kebir and the white domes of Djamaa el-Djedid, and stop for a hot baguette of chickpea garantita or a traditional lunch of Algérois rechta.
• Afternoon: tour the tiled courtyard of Palais Mustapha Pacha, then walk ten minutes along the coast to the seaside Ottoman palaces and cannon terraces of Bastion 23 (Palais des Raïs).

Day 2: Grande Poste, Rue Didouche Mourad, White Arcades and Notre-Dame d'Afrique

• Morning: start at the Neo-Moorish horseshoe arches of the Grande Poste d'Alger and the Horloge Florale, then stroll slowly up Rue Didouche Mourad and Rue Larbi Ben M'hidi past Place de l'Émir Abdelkader and Place Audin for an espresso and almond pastry.
• Early afternoon: walk along the vaulted white seafront arcades of Boulevard Zighoud Youcef facing the harbour, pausing for a seafood lunch.
• Late afternoon: ride the aerial cable car from Oued Koriche up the northern cliff to the 1872 Basilica of Notre-Dame d'Afrique to admire its blue-tiled apse and watch late afternoon light over the Bay of Algiers before dinner in Alger Centre or Hydra.

Day 3: Jardin d'Essai du Hamma, Fine Arts Museum and Maqam Echahid

• Morning: ride Metro Line 1 to the Jardin d'Essai du Hamma to spend two hours walking under its dragon-tree, palm and bamboo avenues down to the French garden parterre.
• Midday: climb to the terrace of the National Museum of Fine Arts to view its Orientalist, Impressionist and modern Algerian collections.
• Afternoon: board the Téléphérique du Mémorial up to the 92-metre Maqam Echahid (Martyrs' Memorial) and the National Mujahid Museum for a sweeping farewell view over the entire crescent of Algiers.