Practical tips
Best time
Africa's largest country, and the climate changes completely from north to south: Mediterranean on the coast, with mild wet winters, and desert across the Sahara, which covers most of the territory. Southern temperatures make summer impractical; spring and autumn are the travel season.
Languages
Arabic is official, and Tamazight — Berber — has also been official since 2016, with several regional varieties. French remains very present in administration, commerce and daily life, more than its official status suggests. English is little spoken outside academic circles.
Etiquette
Greet before asking for anything, accept tea when it is offered, and dress conservatively especially outside Algiers. Always ask before photographing people, and avoid photographing official installations. The rest of the practical guide is in preparation.
What to see & culture
Places
The Casbah of Algiers, a World Heritage site above the bay; the Roman ruins of Timgad and Djémila, among the most complete in the Mediterranean; Tassili n'Ajjer, with rock art thousands of years old in the middle of the desert; the M'Zab valley and its five fortified towns; and Constantine, suspended over a gorge.
Culture
A country where the Berber, Arab, Ottoman and French worlds layered without cancelling one another, and where the war of independence, ended in 1962, still organises national memory. Chaabi from Algiers and raï from Oran were both born in working-class neighbourhoods and both went out to the world.
Food
Couscous at the centre of the table on feast days, chorba to open the meal, and an almond-and-honey pastry tradition that accompanies tea at any hour. Merguez and northern spicing sit alongside oasis cooking, simpler and more dependent on the date.