Getting to Algiers and Around by Metro, Cable Car and Train

Despite its dramatic vertical geography between the Mediterranean harbour and the Sahel hills, Algiers is straightforward to navigate once you combine three modern tools: the underground Metro along the bay, the aerial cable cars up the cliffs, and the home-grown Yassir ride-hailing app.

From Houari Boumediene Airport (ALG) to central Algiers

Algiers Houari Boumediene International Airport sits 17 kilometres east of the centre at Dar El Beïda, with international flights operating out of the modern West Terminal (Terminal Ouest):

• SNTF Airport Train (fastest during daytime traffic): a dedicated air-conditioned rail station sits just outside the terminal complex. Trains run directly into Gare de l'Agha in central Algiers in roughly 20 minutes, stopping close to Tafourah-Grande Poste Metro station and the central hotels. Check the current departure board at the terminal station on arrival.
• Official airport taxis and the Yassir app: official taxis wait outside the arrivals kerb (agree the dinar fare before setting off), or connect to airport Wi-Fi / purchase a local SIM card (Mobilis, Djezzy or Ooredoo) in the arrivals hall and book a car through Yassir, Algeria's ubiquitous ride-hailing app, where the exact dinar price is fixed in advance and paid in cash to the driver.

Algiers Metro Line 1 along the bay

Opened in 2011 and expanded toward the historic core, Algiers Metro Line 1 is clean, fast and inexpensive, bypassing surface traffic completely. For visitors, four stations do almost all the heavy lifting: Place des Martyrs (built as a museum-station displaying Byzantine and Ottoman archaeological layers right at the foot of the Casbah and Ketchaoua Mosque), Ali Boumendjel (for the lower Rue Larbi Ben M'hidi arcades), Tafourah-Grande Poste (for Rue Didouche Mourad) and Jardin d'Essai (for the botanical gardens). Buy single or multi-ride tickets in dinars at the station window.

Riding the panoramic cable cars (Téléphériques)

Rather than climbing hundreds of steps in the heat, use Algiers's public aerial gondola lifts. The Téléphérique du Mémorial (Jardin d'Essai) lifts you straight from the botanical garden up to the Martyrs' Memorial and Fine Arts Museum, while the Téléphérique de Bab El Oued / Oued Koriche climbs the northern ridge to Notre-Dame d'Afrique.