CIGARETTE? Not for me, thanks. But a waterpipe - or shisha - is a different proposition.

The deliciously smooth and exotic mix of tobacco and molasses filtered through water fills me with a longing to be, just for a second, on the sunlit streets of Damascus, Marrakesh, Cairo or Tunis.

I love the shisha - its sturdy, curving base, thin stem, charcoal holder and the tongs that go with it. In Tunis last summer for an Arabic course, I was soon ordering wahad shisha tufair, an apple shisha, as naturally as I would a cup of coffee.

Back in London, on the Edgware Road, the city's “Little Beirut”, I had enjoyed the ritual of sharing a waterpipe with friends after work, savouring the delirious head rush at the end of a long day.

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But the Government's smoking ban threatens to turn even this cultural experience into a pale imitation of the real thing as smokers are pushed outside on to the narrow, uninviting footpath.

So I needed little encouragement to return to Tunis, a city that provides such an accessible, inexpensive and aesthetically pleasing café culture that I am surprised how few Brits go there.

Just a two-and-a-half-hour flight from London, the Tunisian capital is worth visiting for a quick shish and cup of mint tea, but there are countless other delights in this underrated city - a World Heritage-listed medina containing spectacular palaces and the stunning Zitouna Mosque, founded in the 8th century and the fifth most significant mosque in the Muslim world; the gorgeous Roman mosaics at the Bardo museum and the remains of Carthage; the grand boulevards left by the French; and the ancient hammams still in everyday use.

But back to the cafés. One of my favourites, despite the large number of tourists, is Café Sidi Chebaane in Sidi Bou Said, an exquisite clifftop village just north of Tunis, reached by the fast and inexpensive TGM train. The village was named after a Muslim sage who established a sanctuary there in the 13th century, and has long been a favourite with European artists, including Paul Klee, who was impressed by the quality of the light, writing in 1914: “Colour has taken possession of me; no longer do I have to chase after it, I know that it has hold of me for ever.”

Even today, the village is defined by its colours. With whitewashed villas and blue doors, voluminous bougainvillea and crisp orange trees set against a brilliant blue sky, Sidi Bou Said is reminiscent of Greece at its finest. From the stepped terrace at the Café Sidi Chebaane, you can see dramatic views across the Gulf of Tunis to the mountains of the Cap Bon peninsula, a scene resembling what the Bay of Naples must have looked like a hundred years ago.

Back in Tunis, I could spend a lifetime touring the capital's cafés - indeed many local men do. Away from Avenue Bourguiba, the modern city centre, Tunisian women are rarely seen smoking, but tourists generally can puff away with impunity.

The medina contains some lovely old cafés, many in states of considerable decay. I had a smoking session and lengthy discussion with a muezzin from the local mosque near Bab Jazira in Montfleury, in the south of the city, but my favourite district was Halfaouine, a gritty residential area north of the medina filled with lively cafés and markets.

On Place Halfaouine, a small square of faded elegance filled with fruit and vegetable stalls and dominated by the Italianate Sahib et Tabaa mosque, an American friend and I smoked a shisha for just one dinar - the equivalent of 50p. Behind the mosque is a hammam of the same name dating from 1812, its interior an atmospheric ensemble of pillars and arches. A full scrub-down here costs £1 - leaving you fresh and ready for the next café.

Need to know

Getting there Tunisair (020-7734 7644, www.tunisair.com) flies direct to Tunis from Heathrow, from £101 return, including taxes.

British Airways (www.ba.com, 0870 850 9850), flies from Gatwick from £99, including taxes.

Stay Hotel Dar Said (00 216 71 72 96 66, www.darsaid.com.tn) in Sidi Bou Said is a converted villa with large antique rooms, elegantly tiled internal patios and a peaceful garden. Double rooms cost from £100 a night, including breakfast.

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