Utica
Utica is one of the oldest cities in North Africa, traditionally believed to have been founded by the Phoenicians in the 11th century BC, before Carthage. The ruins include a Roman forum and Capitoline Hill, houses with mosaics and frescoes, public baths and a necropolis.
- Time on our journeys
- Half a day
- On our journeys
- One of our six private journeys
Visiting Utica
Utica is traditionally believed to have been founded by the Phoenicians in the 11th century BC, which would make it older than Carthage. It allied itself with Rome in the Punic Wars, which raised its standing, and after Carthage fell in 146 BC it became an important Roman city. It served as the capital of Africa Proconsularis until Carthage rose again under Rome. It stood near the coast and the fertile land of the Bagradas, or Medjerda, valley, and its port carried trade between North Africa, Europe and the Near East.
What survives reflects the blend of Phoenician, Punic and Roman cultures. The Roman forum and the Capitoline Hill are well preserved and show the political and religious centre of the city. Excavations have uncovered residential quarters, with houses that kept their mosaics and frescoes, and the public baths. The necropolis has yielded tombs and funerary objects that tell of the burial practices of the inhabitants. Utica is also where the Roman general Cato the Younger made his last stand against Julius Caesar.
The archaeological journey visits Utica first on its third day, then continues to Bulla Regia and sleeps at Ain Draham. The sheet calls it one of Tunisia's oldest sites.
What to see
- The Roman forum and the Capitoline Hill
- Houses with mosaics and frescoes
- The public baths
- The necropolis, with its tombs and funerary objects
Journeys that include Utica
One of our seven journeys visits Utica. The day by day, the hotels and the price are on each journey's own page.
Along the way in the North Coast and Kroumirie
Cork oak forests, mountains meeting the Mediterranean, and the quietest coast in the country.
- BizerteA stop on the way to Tabarka
UticaYou are here. Half a day.
- TabarkaOne night
Start with Utica.
Tell us it belongs on your route and we shape the rest around your dates. We reply within one business day, US Eastern time. After a twenty minute call, a day by day proposal follows within 48 hours, with the hotels named and a firm price per person.
Starting takes two minutes. We ask for your rough dates, who is travelling and where to reply, and nothing about payment or passports.
Straight to our team in Tunisia.
Your dates, your pace and the budget, in twenty minutes.
The planning guide is free, and it asks for an email address and nothing else. It covers safety in plain terms, when to go, what it costs, getting there from the United States and one sample itinerary.
We reply within one business day, US Eastern time.