Constantine & the Gorge

Ancient Cirta, capital of Numidia and later renamed for Constantine the Great. Built on a dramatic gorge with bridges spanning 175m drops. Roman ruins include baths and aqueducts. The city's strategic position made it a wine trading hub.

What to do there

5 things to do

1. 1 Stand Where Jugurtha Called Rome 'A City for Sale' History · Free

   Where: The corniche overlooking the Rhumel Gorge on the Sidi M'Cid side — specifically the viewpoint at the north end of the plateau near the suspension bridge approach, Constantine city center, 36.3724°N, 6.6142°E.

   What: You are standing in Massinissa's capital. Around 150 BC, this Numidian king — the man who handed Rome its greatest victory at Zama in 202 BC by defecting with 9,000 cavalry at the decisive moment — ruled from this limestone plateau for 54 years. He introduced vineyards and olive trees to Numidia. He fathered 44 sons. He led armies at age 90. His grandson Jugurtha inherited the kingdom, went to Rome to settle a political dispute, bribed half the Senate, walked out a free man, and reportedly said as he left: 'A city for sale, and doomed to speedy destruction if it finds a buyer.' Sallust recorded it: urbem venalem et mature perituram, si emptorem invenerit. The Jugurthine War (112–105 BC) followed — Rome finally sent Marius, then his quaestor Sulla, who got Jugurtha's ally King Bocchus to lure him to a meeting under false pretenses. Jugurtha was seized, brought to Rome in chains, had his royal robes stripped and his earrings ripped from his ears, and was strangled in the Tullianum prison in 104 BC. That seizure was the first military triumph of Sulla's career — and the beginning of the Marius-Sulla rivalry that would split Rome into civil war decades later. All of this started here, on this rock.

   How: Walk to the northern corniche near the Sidi M'Cid bridge approach. The gorge drops 175 meters on three sides. Face north toward the gorge and look down — on clear mornings griffon vultures with 2.5-meter wingspans ride the thermals below you. Constantine airport (CZL, code) is 9 km south; taxi to city center costs 200-300 DA (€1.50–€2.50). Yassir app works like Uber. Best time: early morning before 9am for light and silence.

   Backup: If the corniche area is busy, the gorge view from the Place des Martyres in central Constantine gives a similar panorama — Novotel Constantine has a terrace accessible to non-guests in the lobby area.

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2. 2 Cross the Bridge That Was the Highest in the World Adventure · Free

   Where: Sidi M'Cid Suspension Bridge, Constantine — 36.3724°N, 6.6142°E. The entrance is at the north end of the old city plateau; the bridge connects the Casbah to Sidi M'Cid hill.

   What: From 1912 to 1929, this was the highest bridge on earth — 175 meters (574 feet) above the Rhumel River. French engineer Ferdinand Arnodin designed it with the same hybrid cable-stayed suspension system he used for bridges across France. It looks like a smaller Brooklyn Bridge, except more than twice the height. Under your feet: 164 meters of steel cable and wooden planking. Below you: a natural rock arch that looks like a second bridge, then the Rhumel River threading through limestone the color of old bone. If you're lucky — and if your timing is right around dawn or dusk — you'll see griffon vultures. Wingspan 2.5 meters (8 feet). They nest in the cliff walls below the bridge deck, in colonies. They're not soaring above you. They're below you.

   How: Walk from the city center — 15-20 minutes on foot following signs toward Sidi M'Cid. The bridge is free, open to pedestrians and cars. Go at sunrise for soft light and no traffic — the morning light turns the limestone gorge walls amber. Renovated in 2000 with new cables. Cross the full span (164m), stop in the middle, look straight down. 4.7/5 stars on travel platforms, top free attraction in Constantine.

   Backup: If you have vertigo or the bridge feels too exposed, the téléphérique (cable car, Step 4) crosses the gorge from below the bridge level and offers the same depth perspective from inside a cabin rather than on open walkway.

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3. 3 Find the Bronze Victory That Stood in Massinissa's Capital History · Price: low

   Where: Musée National Cirta (National Cirta Museum), central Constantine city center, 36.3648°N, 6.6153°E. The building was constructed 1920–1930 to house finds from the ancient site of Cirta.

   What: This is the third-largest museum in Algeria and it holds, among other things, the Bronze Victory of Cirta — a bronze goddess figure discovered at the site of the Roman Capitole that once stood above Massinissa's city. Think about what that means: a temple to Jupiter, Juno, and Minerva, built on the plateau where a Numidian king had ruled since 202 BC, on the exact stone that made this city unconquerable. The museum also holds 2nd-century Roman mosaics, the tomb of a Berber king, weapons from the Khroub tower (near Massinissa's actual burial mausoleum), and the Numidian/Roman remains of Constantine's 2,200-year occupation. Founded in 1853, it is the oldest museum in Algeria after the Bardo in Algiers.

   How: Hours Sat–Thu 8:30am–12pm and 1pm–4:30pm; Fri 2–4pm. Admission 200 DA (approximately €1.50; students 100 DA; under 16 free). If you speak French, go — staff are knowledgeable and most signage is in French and Arabic. Ask specifically to see 'la Victoire de Cirta en bronze' (the bronze Victory). Budget 90 minutes. The collection is not enormous but the Roman mosaic room rewards slow looking — the tesserae are individually fired with the kind of color precision that says: this was a wealthy city.

   Backup: If closed (Friday morning), the Roman aqueduct of Constantine is visible at an open-air archaeological site near the city — ask at the museum entrance for directions, or your hotel can point you to it.

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4. 4 Ride Above the Gorge at Raptor Height Adventure · Free

   Where: Télécabine de Constantine (Constantine Cable Car) — eastern terminal at Place Tatache Belkacem, 36.3650°N, 6.6180°E. Connects east to west across the Rhumel Gorge.

   What: Closed for six years, reopened in 2024 — 33 detachable cabins, 15 seats each, crossing the full width of the gorge in 8 minutes at heights that make the Sidi M'Cid bridge look manageable from this angle. You're not looking down from a bridge now — you're suspended in the gorge itself, in a glass-windowed cabin, level with the cliff walls where the griffon vultures nest. The gorge is 200 meters deep here. The cable car was built in 2008 as a commuter link — 2,000 people per hour, 20 DA per ticket. Locals use it to cross the city. You'll use it to understand what the Rhumel River has been carving for millions of years through this limestone — the same limestone that made Cirta impregnable, that gave Massinissa his fortress city, that made Constantine survivable through every siege since 200 BC.

   How: Ticket: 20 DA (approximately €0.15). Carry cash — card payment unreliable. Walk to Place Tatache Belkacem on the eastern plateau side. Cabins run continuously; just queue and board. 8-minute crossing. Return on the same cable — it's worth riding twice, once each direction. Best in late afternoon when the gorge walls go orange.

   Backup: If the cable car is closed for maintenance, the Sidi Rached Viaduct offers a walkable road crossing at 107m height — the longest (447m) and most architecturally impressive of Constantine's bridges, built the same year as Sidi M'Cid (1912) as the tallest concrete bridge in the world.

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5. 5 Taste the Wine That Once Made France Lie About Its Labels Wine · Price: low

   Where: This step happens before or after Constantine — specifically in Algiers, at a licensed wine shop (épicerie fine or hotel bar), as Constantine's interior location makes it one of the more conservative cities in Algeria for alcohol access.

   What: Here is a wine story almost no one outside France knows: from the 1860s through 1962, Algeria was the world's largest wine exporter. When phylloxera devastated French vineyards in the 1870s–1880s, Algerian wine quietly became the backbone of the French wine trade — exported to France, blended into wines that were labeled Bordeaux and Burgundy. By 1930 Algeria was producing 10 MILLION hectoliters per year. When the wine critics praised the depth and power of certain French wines in those decades — much of what they were tasting was Algerian. The main regions: Mascara, Coteaux de Tlemcen, Médéa — all northwest Algeria, far from Constantine itself. The producer to know: Grands Crus de l'Ouest (GCO), who produces 'Koutoubia' and 'Cuvée de Tlemcen' — their wines now sit in the Latitude 20 cellar of Bordeaux's Cité du Vin alongside wines from across the Roman world. And the deeper history: Massinissa introduced viticulture to Numidia. The Phoenicians had already planted vines across North Africa. Mago of Carthage wrote the first documented guide to winemaking before 146 BC. This land grew wine 2,200 years before France was drinking it seriously.

   How: In Algiers (before flying to Constantine CZL or after returning): ask at the hotel concierge for a wine shop (un marchand de vins). Look for GCO Koutoubia or any Coteaux de Mascara labeled wine. In Constantine itself: the Novotel hotel bar is the most reliable venue for a glass of Algerian wine in the city — hotel bars in 4-star properties are the pragmatic answer. Budget 500–1500 DA per bottle in a shop (€3–12); 400–700 DA per glass in a hotel bar.

   Backup: If wine is unavailable, order mint tea at any café on the old medina (Swiqa) and ask the owner about the French colonial period — almost every older Constantine resident has a story about wine in their family's past. The conversation IS the step.

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