Tunisia packs a remarkable range of landscapes and historical periods into a small country. Here is what distinguishes it from other Mediterranean destinations.
Ancient history in layers. Tunisia was Carthage before it was anything else -- the great Phoenician trading empire that matched Rome for power before being annihilated in 146 BC. Then it was Roman Africa, one of the wealthiest provinces in the empire, and the ruins reflect that: the amphitheatre at El Jem, the baths at Carthage, the temples at Dougga. After Rome came the Arab conquest, and cities like Kairouan -- one of the oldest centres of Islam in the western Mediterranean. History here is not decorative; it's everywhere underfoot.
The Sahara within reach. Tunisia is the only country where you can swim in the Mediterranean in the morning and be at the edge of the Grand Erg Oriental -- one of the great sand seas of the Sahara -- by early afternoon. Douz and Tozeur are the main entry points. The desert landscape of the south -- salt lakes, oases, cave dwellings at Matmata -- is unlike anything on the northern Mediterranean coast.
The medinas. The old city of Tunis is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the best-preserved medieval Islamic cities in the Arab world. The covered souks are organised by trade, the mosques are ancient, and the architecture is largely intact. Kairouan, Sfax and Sousse all have significant medinas too.
The northern coast. Most visitors never get to the northwest. The area around Tabarka has beaches backed by mountains, Genoese ruins, good diving and cork oak forests that feel nothing like the rest of Tunisia. It is genuinely off the beaten track and worth the detour.