Algiers

Algiers is the capital city of Algeria, located on the Mediterranean Sea in the north-central portion of the country. In 2025, an estimated 4.325 million people resided within the urban area. Algiers is the largest city in Algeria, the third-largest city on the Mediterranean, the sixth-largest city in the Arab world, and the 29th-largest city in Africa by population. Algiers is the capital of the Algiers Province; it extends over many communes without having its own separate governing body. It extends along the Bay of Algiers surrounded by the Mitidja Plain and major mountain ranges. Its favor

OverviewAI-generated

Algiers is a human settlement and city located in Algeria, situated on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. It serves as the capital of Algeria, the Regency of Algiers, and Algiers Province. The city has also historically been part of France and the Zayyanid Dynasty. Its native labels include الجزائر, Lezzayer, Alger, and Dzayer, with Arabic and Standard Algerian Berber as official languages.

The population of Algiers is 2,364,230. It is located within Algiers Province and has a postal code range of 16000–16132. The local dialing code is 021. Algiers has twinned administrative relationships with Caracas, Montreal, Tunis, and Tyre. The city was established in 944 and covers an area of 363. It is referenced by 7,723 other encyclopedia articles.

Synthesized by Vinony from 50 facts across 7 sources: Wikidata, Open Meteo, Openweathermap, OpenStreetMap, GeoNames, Vinony graph, Geo. Generated from structured data (not the Wikipedia text) and checked against those facts — may still contain errors.

Weather now

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27°clear sky

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7-day forecast

via Open-Meteo

Place details

Locality: Alger ⴷⵣⴰⵢⴻⵔ الجزائر
Region: الجزائر ⴷⵣⴰⵢⴻⵔ
Country: ⵍⵣⵣⴰⵢⴻⵔ الجزائر
Population: 2,364,230
Timezone: Africa/Algiers

via OpenStreetMap · GeoNames

Air quality

67US AQIModerate

PM2.5: 22.4 µg/m³
PM10: 33.9 µg/m³

As of 2026-08-11 01:00 · Open-Meteo

Key facts

Settlement.leader_name1: Mahdia Benghalia (since 2021)
Settlement.established_title: Incorporated
Settlement.name: Algiers
Settlement.native_name: الجزائر
Settlement.native_name_lang: ar
Settlement.nicknames: Algiers the White; Algiers the Dazzling; The White City
Settlement.image_flag: Flag of Algiers.svg
Settlement.image_shield: Algiers-COA.svg
Settlement.settlement_type: Capital city
Settlement.imagesize: 290px
Settlement.pushpin_map: Algeria#Africa
Settlement.pushpin_relief: yes
Settlement.pushpin_mapsize: 275
Settlement.pushpin_map_caption: Location in Algeria and Africa
Settlement.subdivision_type: Country
Settlement.subdivision_type1: Province
Settlement.subdivision_name1: Algiers
Settlement.subdivision_name: Algeria

via Wikipedia infobox

Travel guide

Understand

The city's name is derived from al-Jazā'ir (Arabic: الجزائر), which is one of two broken plurals of the word jazīra (Arabic: جَزِيرَة, "island").

Get around

Algiers’ public transportation system includes a single metro line, a single tram line, and buses. Taxis are also available, and you can easily find one in the city center.

Do

thumb|Kasbah Of Algiers thumb|Algiers City Center thumb|Algerian Handicrafts

thumb|Palace23 thumb|The Ancient Civilizations Museum Taking a stroll along the beach promenade and park at is a popular family activity.

Buy

Unofficially exchanging money can be done in the Square Port Said and in Abane Ramdane Street, and in some shops in the area such as mobile phone operators. It's an incredibly common practice and transactions are done openly. The exchange rate is typically 40%-50% better than the official rate. People are most interested in exchanging euro. As of March 2024, you can get about DA235 for €1.

Eat

There are several restaurants in the Bois des Arcades area. This is the hill 500 m southeast of the big Martyrs memorial. Particularly good views over Algiers and the coast can be found from here. The hill is also a woodland, so is a nice area for walking too.

Drink

Algeria's red wine is of very high quality and will be appreciated by wine aficionados. It is rarely found on the international market. Locally produced beer is good quality. Alcohol is readily available in hotels, good restaurants and shops.

Travel guide from Wikivoyage (CC BY-SA 4.0)

~53 min read

Encyclopedic overview

43 sections

Contents

Name origin
History
Early history
Medieval history
Early modern history
Ottoman rule
French rule
Algerian War
Independence
Crisis of the 1990s
Geography
Location
Climate
Climate change
Administration
Administrative changes over time
During French rule
After Independence
Districts of Algiers
Immediate urban districts
Local architecture
Monuments
Demographics
Economy
Tourist attractions
Education
Infrastructure
Transport
Railways
Sports
Football clubs
International relations
Twin towns – sister cities
Cooperation agreements
Films about Algiers
Notable people
See also
Notes
References
Citations
Bibliography
Further reading
External links

Algiers was formally founded in 972 AD by Buluggin ibn Ziri, though its history goes back to between 1200 and 250 BC as a Phoenician trading settlement. Over time, it came under the control of several powers, including Numidia, the Roman Empire, and various Islamic caliphates. In 1516, it became the capital of the Ottoman Regency of Algiers, a status it held until the French invasion in 1830, after which it served as the capital of French Algeria. During World War II, it briefly functioned as the administrative center of Free France from 1942 to 1944 before returning to French colonial rule. It has remained the capital of the modern Algerian state since the Algerian Revolution in 1962.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Algiers” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.