City Hall
Bronze lions.
Boumlik Messaïli — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Maya-Anaïs Yataghène from Paris, France — CC BY 2.0 · Oxbow3131 — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Maya-Anaïs Yataghène — CC BY 2.0
Oran's historic central square, once called the Place d'Armes, ringed by the city's finest buildings of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, with a memorial, gardens and palms at its centre. Its best-known buildings are the City Hall with its grand facade, whose steps are guarded by two bronze lions that have become a symbol of Oran, the city of lions, and Oran's regional theatre, the Opera, with its ornate facade and dome, alongside elegant blocks with iron balconies. The city centre's shopping streets lead off the square, the modern tram passes through it, and it is close to the seafront and to the old Sidi El Houari quarter with its lanes and Ottoman and Spanish remains. The square is open and free at any time; the buildings are seen from outside, and the theatre welcomes visitors at performances. Morning or evening, when the facades are lit, is best for photographs.
Bronze lions.
An ornate facade.
The old quarter.
Central Oran, near the seafront
Seafront (Front de Mer)Oran's best-known promenade, a broad boulevard on the cliff edge above the port 10 minutes walk4.4
Ahmed Zabana National MuseumThe largest museum in Oran and western Algeria, named after the martyr Ahmed Zab11 minutes walk4.2
Santa Cruz FortA historic stone fort on the summit of Mount Murdjajo, nearly four hundred metre19 minutes walk4.7Old legends tie lions to the city, and two bronze lions guarding City Hall have become its symbol.