Tunis, Algiers, Casablanca: address book

TUNIS

Identity card

Formalities: valid passport.
Area code: +216 and 71 (Tunis).
Time difference: same time as France in winter, -1 hour in summer.
Language: Arabic is the official language, French is widely spoken.
Currency: one dinar (TND) is equivalent to approximately 0.50 euros, i.e. 10 dinars = 5 euros.

Information

Mission Économique - Ubifrance de Tunis > 1, place de l'Indépendance
Tel: +216 71 105 080
- Internet: www.dgtpe.fr/se/tunisie or www.ubifrance.fr

Tunisian-French Chamber of Commerce and Industry > 39, avenue du Japon, Montplaisir
- Tel.: +216 71 844 310
Internet: www.ctfci.org

How to get there

Air France operates 5 daily flights from Paris.
Tel. 3654 - Internet: www.airfrance.fr
Tunisair offers 3 flights a day between Paris and Tunis, as well as several connections from Nice, Marseille, Lyon, Nantes and Strasbourg.
Tel.: 01 42 12 31 00
Email : resaonline@tunisair.com.tn
Internet: www.tunisair.com

Conference centre

Tunis International Exhibition and Convention Centre Le Kram
- Tel: +216 71 730 111 Fax: +216 71 730 666
- Email : ift.com@fkram.com.tn
- Internet: www.fkram.com.tn/uk/index.php

Hotels

HOTEL LES BERGES DU LAC. This Concorde hotel is clearly the most business-oriented hotel in Tunis. There is no outdoor swimming pool, but there is a wide range of meeting and conference rooms. In fact, one of the most beautiful suites has been named the Business Suite. Just a few minutes from the airport, the hotel is right in the heart of the new Berges du Lac business district, where the majority of international companies and major groups are currently based. And yet, with its 128 rooms and suites, each with its own terrace, the hotel has managed to retain its human scale. The lobby bar, with its large outdoor terrace overlooking the lake, is a popular meeting place for business people. The little extra: free, unlimited Internet access.
Rue du Lac Turkana
- Tel: +216 71 961 951 Fax: +216 71 960 607
Internet: www.tunis.concorde-hotels.com

SHERATON TUNIS HOTEL. This recently renovated 285-room hotel features an exclusive lounge with private check-in and check-out facilities, as well as a concierge service.
Avenue de la Ligue Arabe, Tunis Carthage.
Tel: +216 71 782 100 - Fax: +216 71 782 208
Email : sheraton.tunis@sheraton.com
Internet: www.starwoodhotels.com

MÖVENPICK GAMMARTH HOTEL. The latest addition to Tunis! This Swiss chain hotel has 117 rooms with private terraces and three restaurants, Mediterranean, International and Moroccan, quickly
become the new best addresses in town.
Avenue Taieb Mhiri, La Marsa
- Tel: +216 71 741 444 Fax: +216 71 740 400
Email : hotel.gammarth@moevenpick.com
Internet: www.moevenpick-hotels.com

Budget-hotel

YADIS IBN KHALDOUN. This 3-star business hotel is located right in the centre of Tunis and just a few minutes from the city centre.
10 minutes from the international airport.
30, rue el Koweït
- Tel: +216 71 832 211 - Fax: +216 71 831 689
- Email : info.khaldountunis@yadis.com
Internet: www.yadis.com

Restaurants

EL DAR. In the hotel The Residence, the atmosphere of a traditional Tunisian house, hushed and intimate, El Dar (The House) is a place of intense and spicy scents and flavours. It's a place where you can talk discreetly and end the evening by smoking chicha in the gardens.
La Marsa, the slopes of Carthage
- Tel.: +216 71 910 101
- Internet: www.theresidence.com/tunis or www.lhw.com

THE PARIS RESTAURANT. At the Hotel Les Berges du Lac, for those nostalgic for blanquette de veau or for those simply wishing to share a bit of French flavour with their Tunisian counterparts, chef Jérôme Coindre concocts refined, traditional cuisine. All without a single drop of wine, as this is an alcohol-free hotel...
Rue du Lac Turkana - Tel: +216 71 961 951
Internet: www.tunis.concorde-hotels.com

ESSARAYA. Another one of those magical, very secret palaces in the medina, whose wide, studded wooden door remains closed to those who don't know that it's actually a Tunisian gourmet restaurant.
6, Rue Ben Mahmoud - Tel: +216 71 560 310
Internet: www.essarayatunis.com

ALGIERS

Identity card

Formalities: valid passport and business visa to be requested from the Algerian Consulate
50, rue de Lisbonne, 75008 Paris - Tel. 01 53 93 20 20
- Internet: www.consulatalgerie-paris.org
Area code: + 213 and 21 (Algiers).
Time difference: same time as France in winter, -1 hour in summer.
Language: Arabic is the official language, French is widely spoken.
Currency: 1 euro = 101 Algerian dinars (DZD).

Information

Mission économique d'Alger > 25, chemin Abdelkader Gadouche, Hydra
- Tel: +213 21 98 15 50 - Fax: +213 21 98 17 48
Internet: www.missioneco.org/algerie

French Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Algeria > Villa Maglaive, 1, rue du Professeur Vincent, Telemly
- Phone: +213 21 74 72 77 Fax: +213 21 74 72 67
- Internet: www.cfcia.org

How to get there

Aigle Azur, France's third largest airline, operates 24 flights a week from Paris to Algiers, one of the airline's flagship destinations. There are also flights from Marseille, Toulouse, Lille, Lyon and Mulhouse. Aigle Azur offers a loyalty programme, Azur Plus, with numerous advantages, particularly for companies whose employees travel regularly. The Mulhouse-Oran and Lille-Tlemcen routes have recently been inaugurated, strengthening the links between France and Algeria.
7, boulevard Saint-Martin, 75003 Paris
Tel.: 0 810 797 997
- Internet: www.aigle-azur.fr

Air France operates 4 daily flights from Paris.
Tel. 3654 - Internet: www.airfrance.fr

Air Algérie offers 4 flights a day to Algiers.
18, avenue de l'Opéra, 75001 Paris
Tel: 01 47 03 74 00 - Internet: www.airalgerie.dz

Hotels

HOTEL HILTON ALGER. Built in 1993, the Hilton Algiers is one of the capital's few major business hotels. Its assets include its international standards, but also its strategic location, just a stone's throw from Safex, Algiers' exhibition centre. What's more, the Hilton is at the heart of the future Algiers Medina business district, currently under construction. A veritable city within the city, this recently renovated 409-room hotel has two Executive floors, on the 11th and 12th floors, and a beautiful brand-new Executive lounge with a terrace. Several restaurants make the hotel almost self-sufficient, as does the large swimming pool. Although the nearby beach is not yet accessible, Algiers Médina's development projects point to the possibility of a marina and aquatic pleasures. Nevertheless, the Hilton offers business travellers more studious advantages, such as numerous meeting rooms. Another major advantage is that the shuttle service between the airport and the hotel and the Internet are free.
Pins Maritimes El Mohammadia
Tel: +213 21 219 696 - Fax: +213 21 219 797
Email : saleshhi@algeriainfo.com
Internet: www1.hilton.com

SHERATON HOTEL. Although primarily a large business hotel, the Sheraton has the privilege of being the only five-star hotel in Algiers to offer beach access. All 419 rooms have a sea view, and Internet access is available for an additional €15 per day. Six meeting rooms, including a 700-seat auditorium, can host conferences and events of all kinds.
P.O. Box 62, Club Des Pins, Staoueli
Tel: +213 21 377 777 - Fax: +213 21 377 700
Email : reservations.algiers@sheraton.com
Internet: www.starwoodhotels.com

HOTEL SOFITEL. Without a doubt, the Sofitel is the Algiers hotel offering the highest level of service. Its recently opened Executive Floor, dedicated to business travellers, is expertly orchestrated by a team who know how to respond to every request: from a forgotten jumper on the other side of town to booking a plane ticket or sending a fax. The service is discreet and elegant, and the renovated setting is soothing. The service is discreet and elegant, and the renovated setting is soothing. Internet access is free in all rooms, as is the shuttle service to and from the airport.
172, rue Hassiba Benbouali - Tel.: +213 21 685 210
Fax: +213 21 673 142 - Email: h1540@sofitel.com
Internet: www.sofitel.com

Budget-hotel
IBIS ALGER AIRPORT HOTEL. From €90 a night, this brand new hotel is located near the airport and the new Bab-Ezzouar business centre.
Route de l'Université, Bab-Ezzouar
Tel.: +213 21 988 020 - Fax. : +213 21 988 001
Internet: www.ibishotel.com/fr

Restaurants

CASBAH. This traditional Algerian restaurant is one of the best addresses in Algiers, but it's best to book in advance. And with good reason: it is one of the favourite spots of the Algerian jet-set and diplomatic scene. Authentic dishes such as tajine with spicy fish are served in a distinguished, hushed atmosphere. A private area upstairs is available for discreet business meals.
Pins Maritimes El Mohammadia
Tel: +213 21 219 696 - Internet: www1.hilton.com

Conference centre

Algiers Exhibition Centre
Pins Maritimes - Tel: +213 21 210 123/30 - Fax:
+213 21 210 630 - Email : contact@safex-algerie.com
Internet: www.safex-algerie.com

CASABLANCA

Identity card

Formalities: valid passport.
Area code: +212 and 05 (Casablanca).
Time difference: - 1 hour to France in winter, - 2 hours in summer.
Language: Arabic is the official language, French is widely spoken.
Currency: 1 dirham (MAD) is equivalent to approximately 9 euro cents, i.e. 10 dirhams = 0.9 euro.

Information

Embassy of Morocco > 5, rue Le Tasse, 75116 Paris
- Tel: 01 45 20 69 35 - Fax: 01 45 20 22 58
Internet: www.amb-maroc.fr

Greater Casablanca Regional Investment Centre > 60, boulevard Hassan II
- Tel: +212 (05) 22 48 18 88 - Internet: www.casainvest.ma

French Chamber of Commerce and Industry
Morocco (CFCIM) > 15, avenue Mers Sultan.
- Tel: + 212 (05) 22 20 90 90 - Internet: www.cfcim.org

How to get there

Air Arabia, founded in 2003, is the leading low-cost carrier in the Middle East and North Africa, with a fleet of 22 Airbus A320s. Its Moroccan subsidiary began operations in April 2009. The airline now offers around twenty flights a week to France from its Casablanca hub: a daily service to Paris/CDG, 4 flights a week to Marseille, 3 to Lyon, 2 to Mulhouse and, since the end of March, 3 flights a week to Montpellier.
Tel.: 01 58 22 20 02 - Internet: www.airarabia.com
Royal Air Maroc operates daily flights to its Casablanca hub from Paris/Orly, as well as from major regional cities (Bordeaux, Lyon, Marseille, Montpellier, Mulhouse),
Nantes, Nice, Strasbourg and Toulouse).
Internet: www.royalairmaroc.com

Air France offers four flights a day between Paris/CDG and Casablanca.
Tel. 3654 - Internet: www.airfrance.fr

Hotels

GOLDEN TULIP FARAH. Just a stone's throw from the medina and the Place des Nations Unies, this hotel is perfect for exploring the city on foot. The lobby, with its stainless steel fireplace and leather furniture, sets the tone. The hotel plays a successful contemporary game, without making any concessions to well-being. This is particularly true of the 280 rooms, which are bright and soothing. The two VIP floors and three Executive floors offer additional services for the most demanding guests. With its eight meeting rooms, including a 600-person plenary room, it is equally suited to small events and large conferences. As well as a wide choice of restaurants (French, Moroccan, etc.), there are two other assets: an indoor swimming pool and the Jetset nightclub.
160, av. de l'Armée Royale. - Tel: +212 (05) 22 31 12 12
Internet: www.goldentulipfarahcasablanca.com

HYATT REGENCY. Right in the heart of Casablanca, this is one of the city's most renowned addresses, with its 255 very spacious contemporary rooms (37 m2 for the smallest) offering a unique view of the new city, the medina and the Hassan II mosque. Its meeting rooms, for events of up to 600 people, also make it a sought-after address pending the opening of the Casablanca Convention Centre (2,200 people), not before 2012.
Place des Nations Unies. Tel: +212 (05) 22 43 12 34
Internet: www.hyatt.com

Budget-hotel
NOVOTEL CASABLANCA CITY CENTRE. In the heart of the business district, the hotel offers 281 rooms and 5 meeting rooms (for up to 220 people), all in line with the chain's new standards: bright rooms with a few splashes of colour, free Wi-Fi in public areas, lounge restaurant... A good compromise between modern comfort and average prices.
Rue Sidi Belyout
- Tel.: +212 (05) 22 46 65 00
- Internet: www.novotel.com

Restaurants

L'AÉROPOSTALE. If you're feeling homesick, here's a restaurant serving traditional French specialities, whose decor perpetuates the rich hours of l'Aéropostale. On the menu: prawn risotto or duck parmentier with foie gras.
6, rue Molière - Tel: +212 (05) 22 36 02 52
E-mail: brasserie.aeropostale@gmail.com

PÂTISSERIE BENNIS. Tucked away among the narrow streets of whitewashed houses in the Habous district (the new medina) and the olive market is the Bennis patisserie. Behind its mosaic walls, you can enjoy sweet treats such as cornes degazelle and honey cakes.
2, rue Fkih El Gabbas. Tel: +212 (05) 22 30 30 25
Internet: www.bennishabous.com

Read more

Every week, the weekly magazine Actuel offers articles, features and surveys on the Moroccan economy.
1, bd Abdellatif Ben Kaddou. Tel: +212 (05) 22 95
18 15/16 - Internet: www.actuel.ma