10 Days Crossing Algeria from West to East

I decide to come to Algeria this year because I was coming back to Canada and since they only allow visas to be obtained in our home country, it made sense to request it at the same time. So it took me 2 weeks and I had my 10 days Visa freshly printed in my passport. I then bought a multi-destination ticket to be able to arrive at the western extremity in Oran, and fly out from Constantine, third city and at the other eastern end of Algeria. This way I was able to travel through the whole country from west to east and see as much as possible of the northern Mediterranean coast, in 10 days. Oran was a great city to arrive in. It is a little more wealthy than the average city in Algeria and easier to set foot. With the help of my friend Ilyes who warmly received me for 3 days, we visited the most important places around Oran, including […]

Read More...

Visiting Algiers, my New Winner for Most Beautiful City in Africa

Sorry, Cape Town… You’ve been beaten from your prestigious title of most beautiful city in Africa! Algiers, the capital of Algeria now has the throne. After three days in the “Paris of Africa”, I’m blown away by the beauty of this city! Anybody who has seen the masterpiece of what Paris is all about will fall in love with Algiers, as it is somewhat very similar, with a mixture of French, Arabic and Ottoman influences. And yet we don’t hear a lot about it worldwide… Probably for the very low tourism industry here in Algeria. The beauty of this city came from the fact that the French had a special love for Algeria,  considering it part of France contrary to Morocco or Tunisia which were only colonies. Hence, it enjoyed much more investment in construction and the Paris style of buildings is omnipresent all over the “ville nouvelle”. Also called “Alger la Blanche” (Algiers the White), Algiers streets really feel like walking down the grand boulevards […]

Read More...

Visiting Algeria – My Country #174/195

Just arrived in my 174th country worldwide, and 35th in Africa. I’ve waited a long time to come to this country because of the love I have for Morroco, which I expected many similarities. Expectations were met at arrival, but still many differences are obvious. It is definitely not as opened as Morocco and tourism seem reserved for Algerian expats. That said, it seems very welcoming thought! The city of Oran so far is really well developed, having a nice French Riviera style boardwalk, as well as a very modern tramway. My plan was to arrive in Oran, in the West of the country, considered the most lively city in North Africa, and to fly out from Constantine, in the other extremity on the East side of Algeria. This way I will cross the country, staying around the Mediterranean Coast and focus on the most populated areas. I would have loved to go down in the desert which is praised as one of the most […]

Read More...