Situated on a small cape at the southern tip of Cap Bon, 60km from Tunis, Hammamet is attached to the administrative capital of the Nabeul governorate. One of Tunisia's leading seaside resorts, Hammamet's long beaches stretch for some twenty kilometres along the eponymous gulf. Where does the name Hammamet come from? Quite simply, it's the plural of Hammam. As is often the case in Tunisia, the Romans passed through here and left many thermal baths, the tradition of which has been carried on by the inhabitants to this day. In ancient times, the city was called Pupput. Unfortunately, not much remains of the ancient ruins of Hammamet's ancestor, near Jinène Hammamet (between the medina and Yasmine Hammamet). Unfortunately, Africa's largest Roman necropolis lies under the foundations of the large resorts that have invaded the coast.
In the 19th century, the town began to attract artists such as Gustave Flaubert, Guy de Maupassant and Oscar Wilde. Then in the 20th century, the great German painter Paul Klee was seduced by its light, as were the Frenchmen André Gide and Jean Cocteau, followed by the British Winston Churchill and Kings Edward VIII and George VI. So many celebrities who have succumbed to the charm of Hammamet.
