Cathedral of St Vincent de Paul

The Cathedral of St Vincent de Paul is the most recognisable building on Avenue Habib Bourguiba and a reminder of the city's French protectorate years. Its cornerstone was laid in 1890, building began in 1893, and the church opened at Christmas 1897, although money ran short and the two bell towers were only completed in 1910, in reinforced concrete. The architect, L. Bonnet-Labranche, mixed Moorish revival, Gothic revival and neo-Byzantine elements, which gives the façade its unusual, slightly exotic look.

The cathedral replaced an earlier church lower down what was then the Avenue de la Marine, which suffered from poor ground conditions. After independence the number of Catholics in Tunisia fell sharply, and a 1964 agreement between Tunisia and the Holy See handed several church buildings to the state, including the former cathedral at Carthage. St Vincent de Paul remained in the church's hands and is now the only operating Catholic cathedral in the country.

It stands on Place de l'Indépendance, at the junction of Avenue Habib Bourguiba and Avenue de France, facing the French embassy across the square, with the statue of Ibn Khaldoun in the centre. This is the busiest corner of the Ville Nouvelle, and the cathedral's pale stone façade is especially photogenic in the late afternoon light.

As an active church, it is open around services rather than as a museum, so access to the interior may be limited at times; if the doors are open, go in quietly and dress modestly. Even from the outside, the building is worth a short stop, partly for the carved details of the façade and the two concrete towers that took until 1910 to finish, and it takes only ten to fifteen minutes unless you attend a service. It suits anyone interested in architecture and in the layered history of Tunis.

From the cathedral, Avenue de France leads west to Bab el Bhar and the medina in a few minutes, while Avenue Habib Bourguiba runs east towards the lake, past street cafés and the Art Nouveau Théâtre municipal. It is an easy stop on a walk between the modern city and the old town.