Coast in Algeria by Théodore Gudin, 1831
Highlights from the Managing Director | 2025 Autumn Edition
Dear ACE Travellers,
ACE Cultural Tours has offered intrepid travellers the opportunity to visit Algeria for many years, first under the expert guidance of Dr Philip Kenrick and, more recently, following Philip’s retirement, his friend and colleague Dr Niccolo Mugnai. However, last year, for the first time in perhaps decades, it became possible for British adventurers to visit the country independently and unaccompanied. My son and I therefore fired up the trusty Land Rover and headed south.
After despatching France and Spain, an overnight ferry takes us from Almeria to Oran, Algeria’s second city, whose streets are lined with once grand French colonial architecture. Oran means ‘two lions’ and the city’s name recalls a much earlier age when the North African lion, much favoured by the editores ludorum of Roman gladiatorial events, was yet to be made extinct.
Algeria is home to some wonderful Roman sites, still largely unspoilt in a country that has remarkably few tourists even today. On the ferry, apart from ourselves, there are only two foreign-registered cars, plus a couple of Slovakian motorcyclists. Algeria is Africa’s largest country by area and it takes time to become accustomed to its vastness, but most of life clings to the Mediterranean seaboard, just as it did in Roman times. During the period of French rule, many came here to seek their fortune, leaving impoverished parts of the home country for a better life, the eastern foothills of the Atlas Mountains proving fertile ground for vines and winemaking, an occupation that earned the settlers the sobriquet pieds-noirs.
Our Roman pilgrimage commences in Tipasa, which boasts an idyllic location on the coast, the town’s former cardo maximus or high street running straight down to the Mediterranean. Whilst it is one of the few places that attracts significant numbers of visitors, it is still easy to find a tranquil spot to reflect on its rich past whilst the sea laps gently on the remains of the old harbour.
Braving the Algerian roads, we head up to the mountains, enjoying the cooler air and surprisingly verdant landscape, passing through Berber farms and settlements. Cuicul is a highlight of any tour to Algeria. The entirety of the original Roman town is unencroached by modern development. We are the only visitors and have this most beautiful and evocative site to ourselves. Cuicul may not have been of huge significance to the Romans themselves, but today it presents us with a perfect paradigm of Roman town planning.
Heading south, to the fringes of the Sahara, we arrive at Timgad. This extraordinary settlement was built as a retirement home for members of the Roman army. Its scale is impressive and the diversity of elaborate baths and elegant villas speaks of lives lived well at this southernmost outpost of the empire.
Travelling and driving independently in Algeria is not for the fainthearted. The roads, permits, customs and police, motor insurance and closed currency all take some negotiating. Fortunately, those travelling as part of a cultural tour do not need to do so, and I therefore highly recommend you join us on our forthcoming tour to Algeria, March 24 - April 5, 2026. It is a fascinating country with a wealth of history. You are unlikely to be disappointed. For more details, please click here.
With best wishes,
Paul Brooke Barnes
Managing Director
ACE Cultural Tours
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