Fernweh: Home
    ExploreTravel GuidesPlan a tripMy tripLast visited
    de|en
    All Places & RegionsAll highlightsAbout FernwehFAQPrivacy PolicyImprint
    ExploreTravel GuidesPlan a tripMy tripLast visited
    • Neighborhoods & highlights
    • Eat & drink
    • Culture
    • Getting around
    • Accommodation
    • Plan trip
    • Nearby
    Gabès
    The original uploader was Elcèd77 at French Wikipedia. / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 3.0

    Tunisia

    Gabès

    City

    Gabès, a port city on the Gulf of Gabès in southeastern Tunisia, lies about 400 km south of Tunis on the mainland west of Djerba.

    by Felix Gillen

    1. Home
    3. Destinations
    5. Tunisia
    7. Djerba & the Southeast
    9. Gabès
    Gabès, a port city on the Gulf of Gabès in southeastern Tunisia, lies about 400 km south of Tunis on the mainland west of Djerba. You come for its palm oasis right by the sea, considered the Mediterranean's sole coastal oasis, and for the henna market in the Jara quarter. The city, with over 100,000 inhabitants, is the terminus for the Tunis railway line and a starting point for Matmata. Worth seeing are the old quarters Jara and Menzel, the Mausoleum of patron saint Sidi Boulbaba, and the Chenini oasis.

    Sights in Gabès

    Discover the most important sights and attractions

    Chenini Oasis

    1Chenini Oasis

    Chenini Nahal is one of the roughly ten sub-oases of Gabès, located a few kilometers northwest of the city center. Under the date palms, henna, pomegranates, and vegetables grow; a local association works to preserve these gardens.
    Open in Google Maps
    Souk Jara

    2Souk Jara

    The market in Jara's Old Quarter is known for henna. Besides this, vendors sell spices, dried fish, woven goods, and handicrafts.
    Open in Google Maps
    Mausoleum of Sidi Boulbaba
    Point of Interest

    3Mausoleum of Sidi Boulbaba

    Tomb of the city's patron saint Sidi Boulbaba, regarded as a companion of Prophet Mohammed. The Folklore Museum is housed in the adjacent late 17th-century madrasa; it was recently renovated, check opening hours before visiting.
    Open in Google Maps
    Gabès Station
    Point of Interest

    4Gabès Station

    The station building, in Neo-Moorish style, is a listed building. Here terminates the railway line from Tunis via Sousse and Sfax.
    Open in Google Maps
    Old City El Menzel

    5Old City El Menzel

    Menzel, alongside Jara, is one of Gabès' two historical cores. You explore the old quarter's alleys with their old residential houses on foot.
    Open in Google Maps
    Lighthouse of Gabès

    6Lighthouse of Gabès

    The lighthouse built in 1893 stands at the port of Gabès.
    Open in Google Maps

    Restaurants in Gabès

    1

    Restaurant El Mazar

    Restaurant in the city centre serving Tunisian and Franco-Arab dishes.
    Show on Google Maps
    2

    Le Royal

    Restaurant on Avenue Habib Bourguiba downtown, offering a Western-style menu.
    Show on Google Maps

    Culture

    Oasis by the Sea The palm oasis stretches from the coast inland and comprises around ten sub-oases. Henna, pomegranates, and Mloukhia grow beneath the palms. Chenini Nahal: one of the sub-oases, a former village known for henna cultivation World Heritage Candidate: The oasis has been on UNESCO's Tentative List since 2008 Sidi Boulbaba and the Old Quarters Sidi Boulbaba is considered a companion of the Prophet Mohammed and is the patron saint of the city. Next to his mausoleum stands a late 17th-century madrasa, which today houses the Ethnographic Museum. Jara and Menzel are the historic hearts of Gabès. In Jara's souk, you can buy henna, spices, woven goods, and handicrafts. Industry and Environment Since 1972, the state-owned Groupe chimique tunisien has been processing phosphate on the Gabès coast. The residues, phosphogypsum containing heavy metals, are discharged into the sea; residents and environmental groups have for years criticized the pollution of air and water. In autumn 2025, tens of thousands demonstrated against the facilities after schoolchildren required treatment for breathing problems. In December 2025, residents continued to demand the dismantling of the polluting units.

    Getting There and Around

    Getting There Train: Gabès is the terminus of the SNCFT line Tunis–Sousse–Sfax–Gabès, with daily trains. Timetables on sncft.com.tn Plane: Gabès-Matmata Airport serves the region Road: around 400 kilometers from Tunis; Djerba is reached via the Jorf-Ajim ferry or the El Kantara causeway Onward to Matmata and the South Matmata: Louages and buses run during the day; by car it takes around 45 minutes Travel advice: Gabès lies north of the area in the far south and southwest for which official travel advice warns against travel. Before travelling further south, check the current UK FCDO Travel Advice for Tunisia Locally The center, train station, and Jara are close and walkable. The Chenini oasis is a few kilometers northwest of the center, best reached by taxi.

    Accommodations in Gabès

    Find perfect stay in Gabès

    Booking.com* (Affiliate link)
    Search Hotels
    Agoda* (Affiliate link)
    Search Hotels
    Airbnb
    Vacation Rentals

    * Affiliate link: if you book through it, we earn a small commission. The price stays the same for you.

    Plan your trip to Gabès

    Save places, build a route and plan your city trip, all in one place.

    1. 1
      Sunrise over alpine peaks and a sea of clouds
      1234

      Round trip

      12 days · 4 stops

      Saved

      Pick a route

      Pick a ready-made one or save places and plan your own.

      Open bookmarks
    2. 2

      Trip to Gabès

      Live
      • 1Chenini Oasis3 days
      • 2Souk Jara4 days
      • 3Mausoleum of Sidi Boulbaba5 days
      Budget

      Plan your trip

      The planner sorts stops, days and budget. Plan together in real time.

      Start trip planning
    3. 3
      9:41 No signal
      Gabès
      Available offline

      Use it on the road

      Download the guide to your phone and use it on site, even offline.

    Nearby

    Matmata

    Matmata

    Matmata is a Berber village about 600 m high, 40 km southwest of Gabès in southern Tunisia. You visit to see the dwellings dug into the earth around a deep courtyard, including the Hotel Sidi Driss, a filming location for 'Star Wars'.The old village is small and easily explored on foot. New Matmata, the current main town, is approximately 15 km away.
    Djerba & the Southeast

    Djerba & the Southeast

    Southeastern Tunisia links the flat island of Djerba in the Gulf of Gabès with the arid mountainous region around Matmata, approximately 40 km southwest of Gabès. You come for Djerba's beaches and its villages, whose settlement pattern has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2023, and for the Berber cave dwellings dug into the ground. Djerba has its own international airport and is the usual base for the region.
    Djerba

    Djerba

    Djerba is a flat island in the Gulf of Gabès, in southeastern Tunisia, and has been a UNESCO World Heritage site since 2023. You go there for long sandy beaches on the northeast coast, the souks of Houmt Souk, and villages like Erriadh and Guellala, where Jewish, Ibadite, and Berber traditions coexist. The island, covering approximately 514 km², has a population of just under 190,000 (2024 census). Its main town is Houmt Souk in the north, and hotels are primarily located along the coast around Sidi Mahrez. Public transport is limited; most journeys are made by taxi, rental car, or bicycle.
    Douz

    Douz

    Douz is known as the gateway to the Sahara: the oasis town in Kebili governorate lies about two hours' drive southeast of Tozeur on the edge of the Grand Erg Oriental. You come for the first big sand dunes, organised camel rides and the Festival international du Sahara in December.The town has around 30,000 inhabitants, most of them from the Mrazig tribe. Douz lies on the edge of areas covered by official travel warnings, and independent desert trips are advised against: check the current travel advice, such as the UK FCDO Travel Advice, before you go.
    Sfax

    Sfax

    Sfax, with approximately 274,000 inhabitants (2024 Census), is Tunisia's second-largest city, located about 270 kilometers southeast of Tunis on the Gulf of Gabès. Its Medina is still completely enclosed by a roughly 2.75-kilometer-long city wall with 69 towers and is largely untouched by tourism.Sfax is a commercial and port city: Its port is one of the country's most important fishing ports, and about 40 percent of Tunisian olive oil originates from the surrounding area. You can explore the Old City with its Great Mosque, Kasbah, and Dar Jellouli on foot, and ferries depart from the port to the Kerkennah Islands.

    Sources & method

    • Photos: Wikimedia Commons, Google Maps. Each photo carries its credit.
    • Place data such as addresses and ratings comes from Google Maps.
    • The content is based on web research from public, traceable sources. How the content is made · The role of AI