Algiers & Casbah Old Town Walking Tour

Place des Martyrs, Djemaa El Djedid and the Great Mosque

The walk begins at Place des Martyrs, the large square at the foot of the Casbah facing the harbour. Right beside it stand two of the most important mosques of Algiers. The Great Mosque, Djamaa El Kebir, was founded in the late eleventh century and is the oldest mosque in the city, with a long prayer hall of white arches and a square minaret added in the fourteenth century.

A few steps away, Djemaa El Djedid, the New Mosque, was built in 1660 during the Ottoman period. Its white dome, vaulted interior and tall minaret with a clock make it one of the best-loved landmarks of the lower town. You stop for photos at both, as well as at the elegant historic building of the chamber of commerce nearby, while your guide explains how Algiers grew from a small port into the capital of a powerful Mediterranean state.

Ketchaoua Mosque

Ketchaoua Mosque stands at the edge of the lower Casbah, at the top of a broad stairway framed by two square towers. A mosque has existed here since the early seventeenth century, and the building was rebuilt and enlarged in the 1790s. During the colonial period it was turned into a cathedral and its facade was remodelled, mixing Moorish and European details.

After independence in 1962 it became a mosque again, and a long restoration completed in 2018 brought back its carved plaster, marble columns and painted ceilings. Your guide tells its eventful story during a photo stop of about 15 minutes. Ketchaoua is one of the symbols of Algiers, and it is part of the area listed by UNESCO together with the Casbah. The square in front is a good place to watch daily life in the old town.

Dar Mustapha Pacha, an Ottoman palace

Dar Mustapha Pacha is one of the finest Ottoman-era palaces in Algiers and the main guided visit of the tour, about an hour. Built at the end of the eighteenth century for a dey of Algiers, it is organised around a marble courtyard surrounded by two levels of horseshoe arches and twisted columns. Its walls are covered with thousands of glazed tiles in blue, green and yellow, while carved cedar ceilings and doors show the craft of the period.

Today the palace houses the national museum of miniatures, illumination and calligraphy, with beautiful works of Algerian and Islamic art. Your guide shows you the rooms, the fountains and the details of the decoration, and explains how a wealthy family lived inside a house that looks plain from the street. Entry is included, and it is the best place to understand traditional Casbah architecture.

The upper Casbah and the Palace of the Dey

From the lower town the route climbs steep lanes and stairways into the heart of the Casbah, a dense maze of white houses with overhanging upper floors held up by wooden beams, carved doors and tiny squares with fountains. You pass Serkadji, an old fort that later served as a prison, and stop at historic houses and a small museum telling the story of the Casbah during the independence war.

At the top of the hill stands the Palace of the Dey, also called the Citadel, where the last rulers of Ottoman Algiers moved in 1817. The complex includes a palace, a mosque and defensive walls, and it explains the role the citadel played in protecting the city. From here you enjoy wide views over the white roofs and the Mediterranean; plan about an hour for the visit and photos.

Life, crafts and food in the Casbah

The Casbah is not a museum but a living neighbourhood, and a big part of this Casbah of Algiers tour is meeting its people. Your guide introduces you to carpenters restoring wooden doors, ceramists, painters and other artisans who keep old skills alive, and explains how families share traditional courtyard houses. You learn how to read the lanes, from the fountains to the small bakeries.

Around midday there is a lunch break of about 45 to 60 minutes to enjoy Algerian food, such as couscous, chorba soup, bourek pastries and sweet pastries with mint tea; all food here is halal and is paid locally. The guide then continues the walk and brings the group back to Place des Martyrs at the end. It is the ideal Algiers walking tour for a first visit to the city.