Dar Hassine Allani

Inside the old walled city centre makes for interesting walks in the historic town centre

We decided to take an overnight trip from Hammamet to Kairouan and were fascinated by the idea of staying overnight in a B&B right in the centre of the old medina. We hade a bit of trouble finding our way with our car - the streets in the medina were definitely not built for cars, but after calling the hostess she turned up and escorted us to their private garage, which they evacuated for us to use! The house is on three floors plus a wonderful roof terrasse with 360 degrees view of the roofs of Kairouan. All guest rooms are on the ground floor and opening up to a lovely atrium with plants and furniture for the afternoon get-together. We stayed in the Suite des filles (the girls' suite), which has a private bathroom/WC en suite and two impressive beds with lace curtains and an ample supply of blanket covers in various designs and materials. After a quiet night's sleep we entered the first floor breakfast room, where the hostess had laid out a nice breakfast Tunisian/continental style ++ (it turned out we were the only guests in the house that day). Having fortified ourselves on local bread and pastries, we ventured into the labyrinth of the medina and we were fortunate enough to find a local gentleman who took us on an free and improvised tour of the various mosques and other sights. After about one hour we thanked him with a 20 TD tip, which he obviously thought was more than generous... Plus remarks: The house is a veritable museum, with lots of old furniture, carpets and historical mementos. Central and peaceful location. The hostess speaks French and English. Minus points: We were not given a house key, and we had to persuade the hostess to allow us to stay out till 22:30! Some of the light fixtures were not functioning, and the bathroom could use a makeover. ALERT: If you are arriving by car, make sure you contact the hostess in advance and arrange to be met at their garage (three minutes walk from the house)! Otherwise you might spend a lot of time trying to find the place, if you don't get stuck in a narrow cul-de-sac...