Grande Poste of Algiers

The Grande Poste was built in 1910 in the neo-Moorish style that colonial-era architects developed by borrowing from Maghrebi and Andalusian building: a white facade with horseshoe arches, carved plaster, a tiled dado and a broad flight of steps, applied to a thoroughly modern public building. Inside, the main hall is a tall space under a decorated ceiling with plasterwork, arcades and tiled walls, and it still functions as a working post office. The square in front is the effective centre of downtown Algiers, a meeting place at the top of the streets running down to the seafront, and it has given its name to the metro station beneath it.

What you actually see

• The neo-Moorish facade - horseshoe arches and carved plaster of 1910.
• The decorated main hall - plasterwork and tile inside a working post office.
• The broad entrance steps - the meeting place of the city centre.
• The square around it - downtown Algiers at its busiest.

When to go

Year round. One hour. It is open during postal hours and closed on Fridays and public holidays. The hall is best seen in the morning.

Honest expectations

It is a functioning post office, so the hall is full of queues and business. Photography inside is sometimes challenged. The square outside is crowded and pickpocketing happens. There is no interpretation of the building.

Nearby

The Casbah is north-west; the seafront lies below.