We parked Wilson the mobile home in the parking lot of the Sidi Bou Saïd marina.

And early in the morning we climbed a staircase to visit the village as the sun rose over the Mediterranean.

The village of Sidi Bou Said is the archetypal picture-postcard village that is so popular with tourists, Tunisians too, since they themselves say that Sidi Bou Said is "the pearl of Tunisia." So, the day before, we had to turn back in front of the people gathered at the entrance to the village.

Sidi Bou Saïd is a bit like the model of a Tunisian coastal village, clean and well-maintained, with its discreet guesthouses hidden behind a door painted yellow or blue, but that's it, you quickly get around it. What distinguishes this village from others? Its freshness, its whiteness, its purity? Is this what could justify its inclusion on the heritage list? Isn't it a bit overrated?

But let's not be harsh because in the morning when there are still no people, what could be more delicious than sipping a coffee when the establishment opens, a gazelle horn for breakfast, with a view overlooking the rooftops, Carthage and the Bay of Tunis!

We can understand the painters Paul Klee and August Macke coming here to drag their slippers, to capture on their canvases the harmony of the volumes and this very special light!

On this subject, what's great about being interested in culture is the connections between different places, different themes, different eras: …

The dossier for Sidi Bou Said speaks glowingly of an important Mediterranean hilltop town, with palaces and big houses and important religious shrines and so on. The reality (at least for our visit) was a typical Mediterranean tourist village, featuring a packed main street with souvenir stalls, Nutella crepe vendors and so on.

We spent an hour or so here and honestly didn’t find much of interest. It was cold and raining steadily during our visit, so it wasn’t the sparkling jewel we had semi-expected. The highlight for us was Dar El Annabi, a restored old mansion built in the traditional style. It was interesting to wander around, a felt like a very fancy version of Dars we had stayed in elsewhere in Tunisia.

Ultimately this is a thumbs down from me. I really don’t see any OUV, and with all the blue and white painted buildings, the vibe is a smaller and less impressive version of Mykonos or Oia on Santorini (the latter is mentioned as a similar example in the dossier). Forcing inscription here feels like adding Mykonos or Santorini, simply because they are Mykonos or Santorini.

Alongside the recent inscription of Djerba, it’s hard not to conclude that “let’s get WH status for our key tourist attractions” is Tunisia's current strategy.

Getting there

It’s extremely easy to access, being one stop further along the train line from Carthage Hannibal station, where most visits to the Carthage site will start. There are buses along the main road …