Capital of Algeria is a must-see while visiting the country. With this 2 days itinerary you will see all the highlights of Algiers, discover historical sights as well as beautiful view points. Algiers is a huge city, however two days are enough to cover the most important attractions and places of interest.
2 days itinerary in Algiers
First day of 2 days itinerary in Algiers I would recommend to spend in the old part – the Kasbah. Heart of the city with over two thousand years of history stands on the steep hill. The Kasbah is full of narrow lanes and beautiful architecture mostly from Ottoman Empire times. Absolutely worth to visit and get lost in the labyrinth of streets. I created full itinerary on visiting Kasbah with map, so without repeating information I invite you to have a look there and see the old part of Algiers without guide! The rest of places you can visit during the second day.
Center of Algiers
Just two metro stops from the old town you will arrive to Tafaourah station which is right in the city center. Walking around will make you see connection between Ottoman Empire architecture and Moorish style, specially visible in the city of Tlemcen on the western Algeria. What’s more the center is full of remains after the French colony. Start from the Grande Post, see Governement Palace and Emir Abdelkader Square. Typical city center with lots of shops, cafes and restaurants.
Jardin d’Essais & The Shrine of the Martyr
Moving to the other part of Algiers, you will discover the Botanical Garden called Jardin d’Essais du Hamma (metro station Jardin d’Essais). This over 50-hectare garden created by French, originally as a test garden. Now the garden has lots of old trees which brings shadow to the visitors.
You can go up to the hill walking or take a little cable car. You will arrive at the Shrine of the Martyr – the highest monument in Algiers and great view point. It’s a place of memory about Algerian war for independence from French colony. The shape refers to three standing palm leaves which shelter the “Eternal Flame” beneath. At the edge of each palm leaf stands a statue of a soldier, each representing a stage of Algeria’s struggle.
Museums
All the places I mentioned above are enough for a 2 days itinerary in Algiers covering the highlights in the city. However, there are some museums if you are interested to learn more about history of Algeria or the weather is suitable to stay indoors. The most popular is Bardo National Museum of Prehistory and National Museum of Antiquities and ancient Islamic art, which is just next to it.
How to move around Algiers?
The most convenient is metro, as it goes to all the most important places for tourists. Besides, it’s so easy to understand as there is a map and all the stations marked. One ticket costs 50 dinars, a 24-hour pass costs DA150 or a 10 tickets pass (valid for a month) costs DA400. Trains run every few minutes from 5am until 11pm.
City buses in Algiers exist but there is no schedule or information about the stops on the way, so it’s difficult to use them for tourists. You will have to ask locals for advice, if the bus is the most convenient for you to move around Algiers.
Taxi is the most popular mean of transport around Algiers. It’s not expensive and the cars have taximeter inside, however it’s not sure that the taxi driver will not cheat you as you are a tourist. Short trips across town should not cost more than DA500, though prices are higher between 9pm and 5am. A taxi from the city centre to the main bus station will cost around DA300 to DA400.
I would recommend downloading the Yassir app which is the Algerian equivalent to Uber. Thanks to the app you will see the price before taking the ride, and you can follow the road with GPS. The only bad thing is that driver will most likely call you and if you don’t speak Arabic nor French you may not establish well the pick up point.
Want to travel around Algeria?
One day trip from Algiers to Tipaza is a great chance to discover ancient Roman city. Check out my guide around Oran – my favorite city in Algeria and the most liberal place in the whole country.
PL Pszczoła kocha przyrodę, kwiaty oraz herbatę. Najbardziej sprawia jej przyjemność życie i podróże w rytmie slow, bez pośpiechu. Stara się podróżować bardziej ekologicznie i inspirować do tego innych. Lubi poznawać inne kultury, tradycje, spędzać czas z lokalnymi i kosztować ich przysmaków. Jej ulubione miejsca w każdej podróży to uliczne bazary.
ENG The Bee is a nature lover and tea addict. Loves the idea of slow life and responsible traveling, constantly trying to improve to bee more eco-friendly. Appreciates old cultures and traditions, loves to immerse with locals, listen to ethnic music as well as taste regional food and drinks. Her favorite spots while traveling are family houses and street markets.
I have never heard of Algeria prior reading this post. Looks like a beautiful rustic place.
It’s the biggest country of Africa 🙂
Amazing. Never been, and never been top of my list but that doesn’t mean it’s not on there! Great tips and advice in here – i love that every country i visit recently has their own version of Uber!
Indeed, it’s a great alternative to taxi and so convinient
Hej. Mam męża algierczyka. Jesteśmy tam co roku. Teraz lecimy w lutym 2024 i właśnie mam zamiar pojechać na kilka dni do Algieru bo nigdy nie byłam. Marzy mi się też pustynia, ale mamy córeczkę 3 letnią i sądzę że jest jeszcze na to za mała. Ale kiedyś napewno pojadę na Sahare.
Mam nadzieję, że informacje z artykułu się przydadzą 🙂 Udanej podroży!
Mam nadzieję, że informacje z artykułu się przydadzą 🙂 Udanej podroży!
Lovely. Never thought of visiting Algiers, but the streets there look so authentic. I would love to give it a try. I think I would spend days walking around with my camera.
THe old part of ALgiers would be the best friend of your camera 😉 it’s really authentic
Nice article! I’ve always wanted to go to Algiers. It seems to me that it has this old past era charm as a country.
Algiers is not as charming as the other parts of Algeria, however the old part – Kasbah is just an incredible piece of precious hisotry.
I don’t think I’ve yet met anyone who has been to Algeria so this is super neat to see! Would love to get the full experience one day!
Indeed, Algeria is not touristic country.
Algeria sure looks amazing. I wanted to visit even before but after reading your post – even more 🙂 Thank you for sharing
Wish you to go there!
Truly. I did not have much idea about the places in Algeria. You have just added one more place on my list. The museum of prehistory will be a great place to be in.
Glad you feel inspired!
Sure.Algeria welcomes all the people of the world.But no sex and alcohol please hhh.I think tourists go to visit,discover and live unforgetable moments,not to get drunk .If you have no money .don,t worry.You will be most welcomed and treated as a prince.Just ask .You will go to Algeria again and again and a gain .a whole year is not enough to see and discover the beauty of the LARGEST COUNTRY IN AFRICA.
Thanks for visiting and your comment. Greetings from Poland!
Hey!
When using Yassir, how did you pay for it? Does your international card work, or is it still cash payments?
From what I have read, the issue is that eventhough there is GPS, you always get a phone call after booking to confirm the location. This is ofcourse a problem if you can’t speak the language. I don’t know about payment but I would just assume cash. I’ve even had issues with Uber in some countries where it won’t accept my credit card once I try the booking eventhough the card works fine locally in shops.
It’s so beautiful there I love going there
What were the typical hours of places you visited? (when did it get busy?)
For example, what time in the morning did you start and until how late?
What did you do at night?
My flight out is 2am so I’m trying to determine what to do to kill time. I don’t really want to waste money on a hotel for a few hours.
You can walk around the old part at any hour, it will be surely beautiful to see it without people. All sites get busy in the morning like 9 am
I just returned from 3 trip to Algeria and this post was very helpful
Glad to hear that! Thanks! How was it?