Read more in the March Sunday Times Travel Magazine's North Africa special

Cairo: for culture

Even if you find history a yawn, Cairo is gloriously, spellbindingly ancient. From the spooky City of the Dead, where people live among Ottoman Tombs, to the 5,000-year-old Sphinx – still missing the nose shot off by Napoleon – the Egyptian capital is stuffed with magnificent antiquity.

You don’t have to hunt it out: forget queuing to see the pyramids and take them lazily in from elegant rooftop bars instead – the pool cafe (and many of the rooms) at Le Méridien Pyramids hotel (00 202 3377 7070, www.starwood hotels.com) has fantastic views of the golden triangles.

The Sunday Times Travel Magazine - January

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For a taste of life in one of the world’s largest medieval cities – a boisterous warren of silversmiths and soap-sellers – hop off the metro at Ataba. Landmark 24-hour Fishawi’s cafe is right by the Khan al-Khalili bazaar. Order some chai tea and suck on an apple-flavoured shisha while the city whirls by.

The mosques and museums of the Citadel (a 12th-century fortress) are best appreciated from afar. Citadel View Restaurant (dinner for two, £15), in Al-Azhar Park, is built on a 500-year-old rubbish dump (even the garbage in Cairo is antique). There’s no alcohol, but they do a superb pigeon soup, and vistas across the colourful gardens to the thick towers and white domes of the Citadel are intoxicating.

Sleep Fancy an historic kip? It’s said Winston Churchill once drank a bottle of whisky every night (while, incongruously, reading a chapter of the Koran) at the luxurious, lavishly gardened Mena House Oberoi in Giza (00 202 3377 3222, www.oberoimenahouse.com; doubles from £130, room only). The basic-but-atmospheric Windsor hotel (00 202 2591 5277, www.windsorcairo.com; doubles from £30, B&B) is full of charming old soaks reminiscing about the reign of King Farouk.

Travel Egyptair (020 7734 2864, www.egyptair.com) flies from Heathrow to Cairo from £380 return. Or try BA (0844 493 0787, www.ba.com).

Tunis: for tastebuds

In the Tunisian capital, you’ll dine like a prince and pay like a pauper. Crunchy salads are doused in dark-green olive oil, pastries ooze fluffy ricotta and fresh seafood is everywhere. Start the day with an almond pastry and a bag of deglet nour – the best dates in town are this rich, caramel-coloured variety – in the noisy central market. Then head for the souks that crowd the great Zitouna Mosque.

The pavement restaurant Mahdaoui (Rue Jemaa ez Zitouna; mains from £3) has been here nearly as long as the mosque, and serves wonderfully spicy salade mechouia (roast tomatoes, peppers, tuna and a boiled egg). For something fancier, join politicians and diplomats at Dar el Jeld (00 216 71 560916; three courses from £30), where steamy beef stews and flaky fish pies are served in a lavishly restored house in the Medina.

As the late-afternoon haze sets in, follow the locals onto the TGM train for the 30-minute ride to Sidi Bou Saïd (returns from £1.20), the pretty blue-and-white village that overlooks the Bay of Tunis. Head for clifftop Café Sidi Chaabane, where mint tea is served with pine nuts and views of the sun slipping seawards. You’ll need to book ahead to get a table at nearby Au Bon Vieux Temps (56 Rue Hedi Zarrouk; three courses from £30), an old house with a small terrace and a big view over the bay. The pasta marinara and grilled seabass are delicious. Arrive for the late shift if you want to feel as if you’re in with the regulars.

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