El Biar is a residential hillside neighbourhood in the hills west of the city centre, well above the noise and density of the lower city. It was heavily built up during the French colonial period — many of the villas and apartment buildings date from the 1930s and 1940s — and remains one of the quieter and more pleasant residential areas in Algiers.
The neighbourhood is not a tourist destination in any formal sense, but it is worth knowing if you are staying nearby or want to escape the Casbah bustle. Several of the city's better restaurants and bakeries are in El Biar. The views east towards the Casbah and the harbour from the upper streets are excellent.