Gafsa's sights are concentrated and walkable — the Roman pools, the kasbah, and the Regional Museum sit within a short distance of one another in the old town, and a half-day covers them comfortably. The phosphate city's historical layers run deeper than its workmanlike exterior suggests: this area has been inhabited since the Capsian culture some 10,000 years ago, and the Romans left their mark in stone that still holds water today.
Beyond the centre, the date palm oases on the city's southern edge offer a different kind of afternoon — shade, the smell of irrigation channels, and a reminder that this is genuinely an oasis rather than just a label. For those heading south to Tozeur or the Chott el-Jerid, Gafsa works well as a full stop rather than a rushed one.