The Capital · Mediterranean الجزائر و القصبة Algiers & the Central Coast
El Djazaïr — the white city that gives the country its name, cascading from the Ottoman casbah to the Mediterranean.
Algiers
Algiers rises from the bay in a cascade of white — “Alger la Blanche”. Its old heart, the Casbah, is a UNESCO-listed maze of Ottoman houses, mosques and courtyards still lived in today, climbing steeply from the harbour to the citadel above.
Below it spreads the French colonial city of arcaded boulevards, and beyond, the gardens, monuments and museums of a capital that has been Phoenician, Roman, Ottoman and French in turn.
What to see
What defines it
The corsair city
Capital of the Regency of Algiers, an Ottoman maritime power that ruled the western Mediterranean for three centuries.
Andalusian Algiers
Refugees expelled from Spain brought their crafts, music and gardens to the white city.
The dar
Behind plain walls, the courtyard house turns inward around a tiled patio open to the sky.
A living quarter
The Casbah is not a museum — families still live, trade and climb its lanes every day.
At a glance
Travel Algiers with us
Algeria Compass is a licensed Algerian tour operator. When you’re ready, we’ll craft a private, guided journey through this region with local Algerian guides.