City Africa
Algiers
Algiers is the capital city of Algeria. It sits around a curved bay of the Mediterranean Sea. Its old town climbs up a steep hill.
Algiers is the capital of Algeria, in North Africa, around a half-moon-shaped bay of the Mediterranean Sea. Its old town, the Kasbah, is a maze of narrow lanes and houses climbing a hill above the port, and it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The 2008 census counted about 2.4 million people in the city.
Algiers (El Djazaïr), capital of Algeria, spreads along a semicircular Mediterranean bay between the sea and the hills of the Sahel. Founded in the 10th century on the site of Roman Icosium, it grew around the Kasbah, an Ottoman-era walled medina inscribed by UNESCO in 1992. The 2008 census counted 2,364,230 people in the urban area.
Photo: LBM1948, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Discover Algiers
Algiers is the capital city of Algeria.
It is by the sea, around a curved bay. Ships sail in and out of its big port.
Algiers is the capital of Algeria, in North Africa. The city wraps around a half-moon-shaped bay on the Mediterranean Sea, with green hills rising behind it.
Algeria's 2008 census counted 2,364,230 people in the city of Algiers and 2,988,145 in the whole province of Algiers. The city's Arabic name is El Djazaïr.
Algiers, capital of Algeria and of the wilaya (province) of Algiers, lies on a semicircular bay of the Mediterranean. The Gran Enciclopèdia Catalana describes it spreading over the coastal plain between the sea and the Bouzaréah massif and the hills of the Sahel, which have limited its growth, with newer districts extending along the shore on either side of the old core.
The census of 14 April 2008 counted 2,364,230 people in the urban area and 2,988,145 in the wilaya, up from 2,562,428 in the wilaya in 1998.
- Country
- Algeria (capital)
- People in the city (2008 census)
- 2,364,230
- People in the province of Algiers (2008 census)
- 2,988,145
- Kasbah of Algiers, UNESCO World Heritage Site
- since 1992
The Kasbah and an old mosque
The old town of Algiers is called the Kasbah. Its lanes are narrow, and its houses are packed close together on a hill.
People still live there today. It also has old palaces and mosques.
The Kasbah is the old town of Algiers. Its narrow, winding lanes run down a steep hill toward the port, between houses built close together. The old walls around it date from the end of the 1500s, when Algiers was part of the Ottoman Empire. Nearly 50,000 people live there today, among old houses, palaces, public baths called hammams, mosques and markets.
UNESCO made the Kasbah a World Heritage Site in 1992. Close by stands the Great Mosque of Algiers, which dates from 1096.
UNESCO describes the Kasbah as a unique kind of medina, or historic Islamic city, whose name once meant only the highest point of the medina in the Zirid era and now covers the whole old town of El Djazaïr inside the Ottoman ramparts of the late 16th century. Nearly 50,000 people live among its traditional houses, palaces, hammams, mosques and souks, built of earthen brick, lime render, stone and wood on a very hilly site.
UNESCO credits the Kasbah with influence on architecture and town planning in North Africa, Andalusia and sub-Saharan Africa in the 16th and 17th centuries, and lists densification, earthquakes, fire, landslides and floods among its risks. The Great Mosque (Djamaa el Kebir), dated to 1096, is built in the Almoravid style with eleven aisles; the Gran Enciclopèdia Catalana calls it the city's most important monument.
- Kasbah ramparts
- built at the end of the 16th century (Ottoman period)
- People living in the Kasbah
- nearly 50,000
- Great Mosque of Algiers (Djamaa el Kebir)
- 1096
From a trading post to a capital
Long, long ago, sailors came here to trade. Later, a town grew on the hill by the sea.
Today Algiers is the capital of Algeria.
People have lived here for a very long time. UNESCO says Phoenician traders had a trading post here by the 500s BC, and later the Romans had a town here called Icosium. In the 900s, Berber people founded a new town on the same site, and it became a busy place of trade.
In the 1500s Algiers came under Ottoman rule, and the Kasbah's walls were built. France took the city in 1830 and made it the capital of its colony. Algeria became independent in 1962, with Algiers as its capital.
UNESCO dates settlement to at least the 6th century BC, when Phoenicians set up a trading post (its short description also mentions a Carthaginian post on the offshore islets from the 4th century BC); the Romans later built Icosium, of which few remains survive. Berbers founded the medieval town on its site in the 10th century, and by about 980 it was an active trading center. In the 15th century it received Moriscos expelled from the Iberian Peninsula, and from 1516 it was occupied by the Barbarossas; in the Ottoman period that followed, its ramparts were built.
France captured Algiers in 1830 and made it the capital of colonial Algeria; from the 1880s it grew into a major port and financial center. During the Second World War it was the Allied headquarters in North Africa. From 1954 the city was one of the main centers of the struggle that ended in Algeria's independence in 1962.
- Phoenician trading post
- from at least the 6th century BC
- Town founded on the site of Roman Icosium
- 10th century
- Algeria's independence
- 1962
A metro under the city and trams by the bay
Algiers has a metro. Its trains run in tunnels under the city.
It also has trams that run along the streets.
Algiers opened its metro in 2011. Regular trains began on 1 November 2011 on a 9.5-kilometer line with ten stations, running mostly underground from the Grande Poste, the grand central post office, to Haï El Badr. By 2018 extensions had stretched it to 18.8 kilometers.
The city's trams started the same year: the first 7.2-kilometer section opened on 8 May 2011, and later sections were added between 2012 and 2015.
Algiers Metro Line 1 was officially inaugurated in October 2011 and began regular service on 1 November 2011 between Tafourah (Grande Poste) and Haï El Badr: 9.5 km, mostly underground, with ten stations. Extensions in July 2015 and April 2018, plus infill stations opened in September and November 2018, brought it to 18.8 km.
The tramway's first section, 7.2 km from Cité Moukhtar Zerhouni (Bananiers) to Bordj El Kiffan, opened on 8 May 2011; UrbanRail.net lists further sections through 2015 on a line of about 23 km, run by the operator SETRAM.
- Metro Line 1, regular service
- from 1 November 2011 (9.5 km, 10 stations)
- Metro length by 2018
- 18.8 km
- First tram section
- 8 May 2011 (7.2 km)
Dry, hot summers and mild, rainy winters
Summer in Algiers is hot and dry. It hardly rains at all.
Winter is mild. Most of the rain falls in winter.
Algiers has hot, dry summers and mild, wet winters. The World Meteorological Organization's averages for 1976 to 2005 give August days of about 32 °C and January days of about 17 °C, with January nights of about 6 °C.
In July only about 4.5 millimeters of rain fall. December is the wettest month, with about 91 millimeters.
WMO normals for Algiers (1976–2005) give average highs of 16.7 °C in January rising to 32.2 °C in August, the warmest month, and average lows from 5.5 °C in January to 19.8 °C in August.
Precipitation totals about 598 mm a year and is concentrated from October to April. June to August are almost dry, with 8.5, 4.5 and 8.2 mm on about two days each month, while November (89.6 mm) and December (91.0 mm, 12 days) are the wettest.
- January, average daily high and low (WMO, 1976–2005)
- about 17 °C and 6 °C
- August, average daily high and low (same period)
- about 32 °C and 20 °C
- Rain in a year (sum of the monthly averages)
- about 600 mm
Living in an old medina
In the Kasbah, houses are built from earth bricks, stone and wood.
Builders there still know the old ways of building and decorating houses.
The Kasbah is not a museum: people still live, shop and work in it. Its houses are built from earthen bricks, stone and wood and covered with earth and lime plaster. UNESCO counts the survival of traditional building and decorating skills there as a major strength.
Algeria made the Kasbah a national historic site in 1991, and its restoration follows a special safeguarding plan.
UNESCO stresses that the Kasbah's continuing residential use has kept it viable: its houses, shops and places of worship are still used, and traditional skills in building and architectural decoration survive. It was listed as a national historic site in November 1991 and a safeguarded sector in 2003, and restoration follows a Safeguarding and Valorisation Plan, though UNESCO warns of uncontrolled changes and densification.
Beyond the Kasbah, the modern city grew greatly in the 20th century; in 1931 the architect Le Corbusier drew up a town plan for it. The commercial and administrative center developed south of the Kasbah, and between the two world wars it expanded to absorb neighboring municipalities.
- Building materials of the Kasbah
- earthen bricks, earthen and lime rendering, stone and wood
- National historic site
- November 1991; safeguarded sector 2003
- Le Corbusier's plan for the city
- 1931
Algiers on the map
Find Algiers on the globe.
It is in Algeria, in the north of Africa. Look on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea.
Algiers is on the north coast of Africa, on the Mediterranean Sea. Across the sea to the north lies Europe.
On a map of the city, look for a curved bay. The Kasbah sits on a hill above the port, and the newer city stretches along the shore in both directions.
Algiers lies at about 36.8° N and 3.0° E on the Mediterranean coast of North Africa. The old Ottoman town rose on a height crowned by the Kasbah, with narrow lanes running down to the port; European-style districts later grew along the shore on both sides, and the Bouzaréah massif and the Sahel hills behind the plain limited expansion inland.
UNESCO notes that the Kasbah overlooks the small islands where a Carthaginian trading post was set up in the 4th century BC; its lanes run down to the port.
- Latitude
- about 36.8° north
- Longitude
- about 3.0° east
- Setting
- on a semicircular bay of the Mediterranean
Amazing facts
-
The word Kasbah first meant only the top of the old town's hill.
The word Kasbah first meant just the highest point of the old town. Today it means the whole old town inside its walls.
UNESCO notes that "Kasbah" originally designated the highest point of the medina in the Zirid era and now applies to the whole old town within the Ottoman ramparts.
-
About 50,000 people live in the old Kasbah of Algiers.
Nearly 50,000 people live in the Kasbah, among old houses, palaces, hammams, mosques and markets.
UNESCO counts nearly 50,000 residents in the Kasbah and sees its continuing residential use as a strength for the site.
-
Algiers has trains that run in tunnels under the city.
Regular metro trains began running in Algiers on 1 November 2011, mostly underground.
Algiers Metro Line 1 opened to regular service on 1 November 2011 with 9.5 km and ten stations, and reached 18.8 km by 2018.
-
The Great Mosque of Algiers is more than 900 years old.
The Great Mosque of Algiers was built in 1096 and has eleven long aisles inside.
Djamaa el Kebir, dated 1096, follows the Almoravid style; it has eleven aisles, the central one longer, with the mihrab at its end.
Words to know
- bay
- a part of the sea that curves into the land
- kasbah
- the old walled part of a North African city
- medina
- the old town of a city in North Africa, with narrow streets
- hammam
- a public bathhouse with hot rooms and steam
- trading post
- a place where traders from far away stop to buy and sell goods
- independence
- when a country rules itself instead of being ruled by another country
Discovery challenge
-
Algiers is the capital of which country?
Algiers is the capital city of which country?
Algiers became the capital of which independent country in 1962?
- Morocco
- Algeria
- Egypt
Show the answer
Algeria
Algeria! Algiers is its capital.
Algeria, in North Africa.
Algeria, independent since 1962.
-
What is the old town of Algiers called?
What is the old walled town of Algiers called?
Which part of Algiers did UNESCO inscribe as a World Heritage Site in 1992?
- The Kasbah
- The Harbor Fort
- The Old Bridge
Show the answer
The Kasbah
The Kasbah! Its lanes climb a hill.
The Kasbah, with narrow lanes running down to the port.
The Kasbah, the old town inside its late-16th-century Ottoman ramparts.
-
Which sea is next to Algiers?
Algiers lies on a bay of which sea?
On which sea's semicircular bay does Algiers stand?
- The Red Sea
- The Mediterranean Sea
- The Black Sea
Show the answer
The Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea.
The Mediterranean Sea, on Africa's north coast.
The Mediterranean; Europe lies across it to the north.
-
When does Algiers get the most rain?
In which season does most of Algiers' rain fall?
According to WMO normals, which months bring Algiers its heaviest rain?
- Summer
- Winter
- It never rains
Show the answer
Winter
Winter! Summer is hot and dry.
Winter. December is the wettest month, and July gets almost none.
Winter: November and December, with about 90 mm each; July averages only 4.5 mm.
-
What runs in tunnels under Algiers?
What began regular service in Algiers on 1 November 2011?
Which system started regular service from the Grande Poste to Haï El Badr on 1 November 2011?
- A river
- A metro
- A canal
Show the answer
A metro
A metro! Its trains run in tunnels.
The Algiers Metro, mostly underground.
Metro Line 1, 9.5 km with ten stations at opening.
Nearby places
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Watch
Landmark
Qal'at Bani Hammad
Qal'at Bani Hammad is the ruin of a walled city in the mountains of northern Algeria. It was founded in 1007 as the first capital of the Hammadid rulers. Inside its 7 kilometers of walls are the remains of a great mosque, a tall minaret and several palaces.
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Watch
Landmark
Djémila
Djémila, called Cuicul in Roman times, is the ruins of a Roman town in the mountains of northeastern Algeria, 900 meters above sea level. It was founded at the end of the 1st century AD and has a forum, a theater, baths, houses with mosaic floors and a stone arch. It has been a World Heritage Site since 1982.
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Watch
Landmark
Timgad
Timgad is the ruin of a Roman town in the mountains of Algeria. It was founded in 100 AD, and its streets crossed at right angles in a neat grid. Columns, an arch, baths and rows of stone seats still stand among its stone streets.
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City
Oran
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Park Güell
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Explore next
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Country
Algeria
Algeria is a country in North Africa and the largest country on the whole continent. More than four-fifths of it is the Sahara Desert, so most of its 47 million people (2025) live in the greener north, along the Mediterranean Sea. Its capital is Algiers.
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Cairo
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Tunis
Tunis is the capital of Tunisia, at the end of a wide bay on Africa's north coast. Its old town, the Medina, holds about 700 historic monuments and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Tunisia's statistics institute estimated 599,368 people in the city at the start of 2023; the wider Tunis governorate counted more than a million in 2024.
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Rabat
Rabat is the capital of Morocco, on the Atlantic coast where the Bou Regreg river reaches the sea. It grew from a fortress built in the 1100s, now the Kasbah of the Udayas, and became the capital in 1912. Morocco's 2024 census counted 515,619 people in the city.
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- Watch Geography What is a World Heritage Site? World Heritage Sites are places so important that they belong, in a way, to everyone. Under a 1972 agreement, countries nominate their most outstanding places, experts check them, and a UNESCO committee decides. By 2026 the list held 1,273 sites: cultural places like the Taj Mahal, natural places like the Galápagos, and mixed ones like Machu Picchu.
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City
Oran
Oran is a port city on the Mediterranean Sea in northwestern Algeria, and Universalis calls it the country's second city. It sits on a plateau above a wide bay, at the foot of Mount Aïdour. The 2008 census counted 803,329 people in the urban area.
For parents & teachers
What children will learn
- Locate Algiers on the Mediterranean coast of North Africa.
- Describe a medina, or old walled town, and how people still live in one.
- Trace a city's long history from a trading post to a modern capital.
- Compare a Mediterranean climate's dry summers and wet winters.
Recommended ages: 3 to 17 · About 15 minutes
Talk about it
- About 50,000 people live in the old Kasbah. What might be good and hard about living in a very old neighborhood?
- The Kasbah's builders still use old skills to repair it. Why do you think it matters to repair old buildings the way they were first built?
- Algiers is squeezed between the sea and the hills. How might the land around a city decide where it can grow?
Try at home or in class
- Build a hillside town: stack small boxes in steps up a pile of books, leaving narrow 'lanes' between them, and roll a marble down the lanes to the 'port'.
- Make an earth brick: mix soil, a little sand and water, press it into an ice-cube tray and let it dry in the sun for a few days.
- Make a rain chart for Algiers: draw bars for each month (about 81, 73, 55, 58, 42, 9, 5, 8, 28, 59, 90 and 91 mm) and color summer and winter.
Key vocabulary: bay, kasbah, medina, hammam, trading post, independence
Where these facts come from
- Wikidata , Wikimedia Foundation (CC0 1.0)
- Natural Earth vector data , Natural Earth (NACIS) (Public domain)
- Algeria: Provinces & Major Cities , City Population (Thomas Brinkhoff), from the Office National des Statistiques
- Kasbah of Algiers , UNESCO World Heritage Centre
- Alger , Gran Enciclopèdia Catalana (enciclopedia.cat)
- Algiers metro and tramway , UrbanRail.Net
- Algiers: climatological information , World Meteorological Organization, World Weather Information Service
- Wikimedia Commons , Wikimedia Foundation (Per file (public domain, CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA); see each media record)
Checked, not yet human-reviewed. Last updated November 1, 2026. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.