So what is Tunis all about these days? From my experience, it’s a lot of laid-back walks on warm evenings through jasmine-scented air. It’s a place of happy families gathered at beach alcoves swimming and cooling off during the heat of the day, or watching the expansive coastal sunsets later on, usually followed by watching soccer. It’s going out to nearby La Marsa or Gammarth to drink, dance, and talk late into the night — or even late into the morning.

In other words, it’s similar to the Mediterranean lifestyle I’d come to expect from southern Europe, but with a North African twist. It’s the Mediterranean of mosaics and mosques, and it offers a reprieve from the tourist hordes and high costs that are found in the cities on the other side of the sea.

When you’re there, be sure to support the jasmine sellers. Buy their necklaces woven of flowers, and put a blossom behind your ear. It’s a small way to help the local economy.

And for many Tunisians, the jasmine flower is fragrant with meaning. It is the perfume of their freedom.

You’ll still find evidence of the old way throughout Tunis — rolls of barbed wire and barricades that were never cleaned up — but a noticeably open and optimistic attitude can be felt, especially among the young people who have made Tunis an essential but overlooked destination for travelers.

Tunis is a lively, affordable city that demands to be explored

Of all the places I have gone, rarely have I felt as welcomed as I was in Tunis.

There is an eagerness among the Tunisians I met to share their country and culture, and they readily suggest must-see ruins, districts, and bars (of which there are many detailed below). Taxi drivers were consistently amazed and thrilled to learn that I was American, as Americans are a relative rarity. They often took this as an opportunity to try out their English, which was usually better than my poor French and always better than my non-existent Arabic. While English isn’t common, the Tunisians are patient and helpful, but if you can speak a few words of French it won’t hurt. S’il vous plait and merci will go a long way.

Affordability, too, makes the city a huge draw. The Tunisian dinar falters against the dollar at a rate of nearly 3:1. Translation — your money will go far. Food and booze are cheap. You can easily find an Airbnb or hostel for under $50/night. A room at the luxurious Villa Didon in Carthage — (nestled just beneath the ruins of Byrsa, boasting a lovely restaurant and bar with a view of the sea — will run you around $150 a night. At the vibrant bars of La Marsa or Gammarth, you would have to seriously tie one on to receive a bill over $30 or so.

The clock tower of Habib Bourguiba is a fine place to start your tour. A rather minimalistic metal structure surrounded by a fountain and roundabout and named after the country’s first president who oversaw its launch into independence from colonial France, Habib Bourguiba is essentially at the heart of everything. It’s the main taxi stop, and more or less the de facto meeting point for locals.

A walk along the promenade that runs from the clock into the depths of the city serves as a pleasant introduction — busy restaurant terraces and shops, families at play, palm trees lining the avenues, and the looming presence of an impressive cathedral. But it’s at the end of this stretch that you’ll come upon perhaps the most important site in the entire city: the Medina.

The markets of the Medina — an old, walled in, carless district — extend across kilometer after kilometer of passageways lined with street vendors selling goods that dazzle the eye, and might just fit nicely in your suitcase: tea sets, hookahs, coffee, rugs, and bolts of patterned cloth, leather-goods, shiny touristy things, fruit and meat, spices, and so on. Give yourself a good couple of hours to wander its wares, because you will get wonderfully lost.

The air is richly-scented with spices, old men poised on little stools sip coffee and smoke hookah, venders haggle relentlessly, and with any luck your lost wanderings will lead you into the courtyard of the stunning and historic Zaytuna Mosque, which is nothing short of a masterpiece of Islamic design.

Seek out a café called Panorama Medina. Its prominent sign is placed over a set of nondescript doors, and after entering these if you are put off by the decidedly unbusinesslike atmosphere of the stairway (it feels rather like you’re climbing into someone’s apartment), don’t lose heart. You will be rewarded at the top by a richly mosaiced café offering a stunning 360-degree view of the city.

Tunis’ street food and bar culture are a never-ending feast

There are many great restaurants around, but be sure to explore the random grab-and-go spots. These will provide you with a wealth of richly flavored dishes and sandwiches/shawarmas built around lamb, chicken, and beef. Or there’s fricassee, which is tuna, egg, olives, potato, and the Tunisian hot-sauce harissa all packed into a doughnut-like bun. And if you get the chance try traditional Tunisian dish brik. It’s somewhat difficult to describe — like a calzone of tuna and parsley with a soft-boiled egg in the middle, wrapped in a thin pastry dough then deep fried.

Just because I’m a proponent of street food doesn’t mean there is a shortage of delicious restaurants. Restaurant Neptune is renowned for its grilled fish and offers a solid range of various Tunisian dishes, including their tasty take on brik. If you’re willing to pay for peak-luxury, you’ll be hard-pressed to find a better option than the stunningly appointed dining room of Dar El Jeld. And if you’re in the mood for something quick, check out Jbali Fastfood. Don’t let the name fool you — you’ll get your meal fast, but it’s been cooking for hours in preparation.

If you’re looking to party, you really want to do your drinking in the areas of nearby La Marsa or Gammarth, but we’ll get to that in a minute. For boozing in downtown Tunis, you’ll find two types of bars.

First are typical bars like you’d find anywhere else in the world. Frida Bar is a good choice for quality cocktails and a hip atmosphere, as is Le Malouf. But you didn’t come here to find places you could find anywhere else in the world.

For a different experience, there are the male-centric beer bars. You can recognize these when passing by because they’re generally loud, simply-adorned, smoke-filled rooms packed with men pounding beers seemingly as fast as they can. While women are technically allowed, different establishments tend to have varying degrees of acceptance toward them. In some, women are drinking right alongside the men, while more conservative places refuse to serve women at all due to Islamic tradition. These bars are scattered all over town, and if you do decide to pop in you’ll often be welcomed by curious locals who want to buy you a round or several.

Tunis itself is a few miles off the coast straddling two sizeable lakes. A quick taxi ride east brings you to a series of suburbs on the Mediteranean sea that offer distinct, can’t-miss experiences.

When I used the term “suburb,” you should know that it doesn’t mean the same thing as it does in the United States, where the word brings to mind endless rows of cookie-cutter houses and restaurant options limited to Chili’s or Olive Garden. In Tunis, the suburbs are more like satellite districts of the city itself that offer substantially more culture than the word might imply.

In other words, embrace the suburbs of Tunis. They’re only a 10-minute, eight- to 12-dinar cab ride away, and you will not be sorry.