Antonine baths

The Antonine Baths are the remains of a large Roman thermae complex located on the waterfront of ancient Carthage. The ruins represent one of the most substantial public bathing complexes built in Roman North Africa.

Visitors see foundations, vaulted substructures and the footprint of service rooms, frigidarium, tepidarium and caldarium that once formed a major civic centre for bathing and social life. The complex demonstrates the scale and engineering of Roman thermal architecture in a provincial capital.

The baths date to the Roman imperial period when Carthage was a major city in the province of Africa; they were constructed and used as part of the urban amenities of the Roman city and later fell into ruin and partial collapse. Excavations and conservation have exposed large sections of the structural plan.

Situated on the coastal edge of the archaeological zone of Carthage, the baths are accessible from the main visitor routes through the site and lie on the Mediterranean shoreline within the modern Tunis metropolitan area.

• Scale: One of the largest Roman bath complexes in North Africa, with extensive foundations and masonry visible on the Carthage coastline.

The Antonine Baths (the Baths of Carthage) lie within the Carthage archaeological zone on the outskirts of Tunis. You can reach Carthage from central Tunis by suburban TGM rail (the Tunis-Goulette-Marsa line) to the Carthage area and then walk a short distance across the archaeological site to the baths. By car it is a short drive from central Tunis (roughly a quarter-hour to half-hour depending on traffic).

• Go early in the morning right when the Carthage site opens to see the Antonine Baths with cooler light and far fewer visitors than mid‑day.
• Enter the wider Carthage archaeological complex (there's a main visitors' entrance) rather than trying to reach the baths from the coastal road; the baths are best visited as part of the larger Carthage circuit.
• Most visitors linger on the ground level - take time at the raised viewing platforms to understand the baths' layout and relationship to the ancient shoreline, which the site panels explain.
• Combine the baths with nearby Carthage sites (Punic ports, Byrsa hill) to make the trip worthwhile and avoid return visits; weekdays and off‑season see noticeably smaller crowds.