Monastir, also called Mistīr (Arabic: منستير‎ Monastīr / Mistīr, from the Greek μοναστήριον "hermit's cell, monastery"), is a city on the central coast of Tunisia, in the Sahel area, It is 20 kilometres (12 miles) south of Sousse and 162 kilometres (101 miles) south of Tunis. Traditionally a fishing port, Monastir is now a major tourist resort. Its population is about 93,306. It is the capital of Monastir Governorate.

Monastir was founded on the ruins of the Punic–Roman city of Ruspina. The city features a well-preserved Ribat of Monastir that was used to scan the sea for hostile ships and as a defence against the attacks of the Byzantine fleet. Several ulema came to stay in the ribat of this peaceful city for contemplation. The ribat was, in the 1970s, also one of the filming locations for both the miniseries Jesus of Nazareth and Monty Python's Life of Brian.

The city is on the electrified, metre-gauge Sahel Metro line with trains serving Sousse and Mahdia. Other services run to Tunis.

Monastir – Habib Bourguiba International Airport has flights from most Western European countries. It is run by Tepe Akfen Ventures Airport Holding (TAV).

Monastir enjoys a dry Mediterranean climate with hot summers, extremely mild winters, lots of sunshine and low rainfall year-round. The city sits in the northeast of Tunisia, on its central coast. It is milder than inland areas of Tunisia, forty percent of which is part of the Sahara. In the summer, while humidity is low, the soaring heat can still be hard to handle. The average high temperature of 29 °C (84 °F) in June skips past the 30 °C (86 °F) mark in the middle of the month and climbs up to 33 °C (91 °F) in July and August.

Nouvelair has its head office in Monastir in the Dkhila Tourist Zone,^[1][2] near the Hôtel Sahara Beach.^[3]

The city of Monastir has:

Monastir is also a university city, incorporating the University of Monastir which was founded on September 2, 2004^[4] and covers the governorates of Monastir and Mahdia. The university of Monastir includes sixteen faculty departments, of which ten are located in Monastir:

The student population of Monastir exceeded 27,000 in 2007-2008, making the city one of the largest in terms of university studies along with Tunis, Sfax and Sousse.

Tunisian ex-president Habib Bourguiba was born in Monastir, and his mausoleum is located in the city. Many other famous politicians are also from Monastir:

Among other notable people:

Monastir is twinned with:

and cooperates with