The Constantinois - in the land of Cirta. Roman Algeria of Constantine

Upon your arrival in Constantine, you discover a city perched on a limestone block at 640 m altitude, surrounded by the deep gorges of the Rhumel. Nicknamed the "City of Bridges", it reveals its singular geography from the very first moments.

After settling into your hotel, you head out for a first orientation walk on the Rock. In the late afternoon light, you discover the suspension bridges spanning the Rhumel gorges. From the old War Memorial, your gaze extends over the surrounding valleys and the foothills of the Numidian chain.

In the evening, you dine in a traditional restaurant in the city center. Weather permitting, you also enjoy a first discovery of Malouf, Arabo-Andalusian music closely associated with Constantine.

The morning is devoted to discovering Tiddis, an ancient Roman citadel located on a mountainside, about thirty kilometers from Constantine. Little frequented, the site occupies a remarkable position at the entrance to the Khreneg Gorges, where it once served as an outpost to protect Cirta from incursions from the north. Throughout your visit, you discover the natural terraces built into the ochre rock, the cisterns carved directly into the stone as well as Libyan inscriptions still visible on certain blocks. Tiddis also testifies to the different periods that shaped the region, with Roman presence overlaying earlier Numidian and Berber traces.

In late morning, you head down towards the coast. Skikda — the ancient Roman Rusicade — opens onto the Gulf of Numidia, with its deep blue waters and wooded cliffs. The afternoon offers a well-deserved break: lunch of grilled fish facing the sea, then relaxation on the Stora beaches. Here, the Mediterranean is not just a backdrop: it is a breath, a counterpoint of light and salt after two days of canyon and stone.

From Skikda, you travel along the coast eastward to Annaba — the ancient Hippo Regius, one of the great cities of Roman Africa. It was here that Saint Augustine, bishop from 396 until his death in 430, wrote The City of God and the Confessions, two texts that would shape Western Christian thought for centuries.

The morning is devoted to the Hippone archaeological site: Basilica of Peace, baptistery, theatre, forum, baths and archaeological museum. The ensemble is less spectacular than Timgad or Djemila, but charged with a particular depth — here, the stones have a soul. You then have lunch with fish on the seafront.

In the afternoon, you climb to Séraïdi, a village perched in the wooded heights of the Edough massif. You discover the complex designed by architect Fernand Pouillon and enjoy a panoramic view over Annaba Bay and the Mediterranean.

Guelma, the ancient Calama, stands out immediately with its Roman theatre from the 3rd century, one of the best preserved in Algérie. According to inscriptions, its construction was financed by the priestess Annia Aelia Restituta, who spent 400,000 sesterces for the pleasure of her fellow citizens. You can continue your discovery at the adjacent museum, which houses fine collections of coins, bronzes and statues unearthed during excavations conducted in the region.

The day's surprise awaits you a few kilometers away, at Hammam Meskhoutine, where springs gush forth at 90 °C. The Romans, who already came to enjoy their therapeutic virtues, named them Aqua Tibatanae. The setting is strange and bewitching: sculpted by centuries of mineral accumulation, the limestone has given rise to fantastical forms that water vapor makes almost unreal. You take time to discover the place before heading back on the road to Sétif, your base for the stop at Djemila.

At 900 meters altitude, in the secret fold of mountains that the Romans deemed worthy of a city, Djemila — the ancient Cuicul — is perhaps the finest surprise of the circuit. Listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1982, it displays over 42 hectares of Roman urbanism remarkably adapted to mountainous topography: streets that follow contour lines and squares that open onto vast panoramas. The visit unfolds with all the time it deserves. You discover the Arc of Caracalla, which marks the northern entrance, then the old forum and new forum, the grand baths, the Christian basilica and the baptistery of the 4th century, whose basin still stands. The discovery continues in the museum, whose walls are entirely covered with mosaics of remarkable fineness and variety.

You have lunch at the Djemila site, before heading back on the road towards Batna.

The day begins in the Aurès plain with a vision that seems to emerge from nowhere: the Medghassen mausoleum, a cylindrical Numidian tomb from the 3rd century B.C., the oldest royal monument preserved in North Africa.

Sixty Doric columns encircle this silent tumulus which medieval Arab historians attribute to a king named Madghis. For twenty-three centuries, the mausoleum has stood facing the first ridges of the Aurès, a silent witness to Numidian history.

Then comes Timgad. Founded in the year 100 by the emperor Trajan for his veteran legionnaires, the colony of Thamugadi was buried under sand for centuries before being rediscovered in 1765 by British explorer James Bruce.

Its grid plan — two main axes, a central forum, thermal baths, a public library and a theater carved into the hillside — remains strikingly legible. You stroll through it like a living city whose inhabitants disappeared the day before. In a shop in the forum, an inscription sums up the art of Roman living: "Hunting, bathing, playing, laughing — that is living."

In late afternoon, you set off for a short excursion to Lambèse / Tazoult, the former camp of the IIIe legion Augusta, which defended the southern frontier of the Empire. Return to Timgad for dinner.

You continue on the road to Constantine in the morning. A few free hours allow you to enjoy the City of Bridges one last time: one last Moorish café on the Rock, a few souvenirs to take back or simply a stroll through the medina streets. Constantine remains. As it has always resisted — to oblivion, to erosion, to time.

Lunch before your transfer to Mohamed Boudiaf Airport for your international flight.