Explore the real-world places that appear in The Stranger by Albert Camus. Each location on the map shows what happens there in the novel, the real history of the place, and what's there today. Featured locations include Bab el Oued, Marengo Nursing Home, Algiers Beach, The Cinema, Raymond's Apartment and 5 more.
Working-class district — Meursault's apartment
Meursault lives in this working-class district near the harbor. He returns here after his mother's funeral, sleeps heavily, and wakes to find the familiar sounds of his neighborhood. From his balcony, he watches people pass by with detached observation. Marie Cardona visits him here, and they begin their casual relationship in his modest apartment.
Bab el Oued was one of Algiers' most densely populated working-class neighborhoods during the colonial period. It housed many European settlers and Arab workers, creating the diverse urban environment Camus knew intimately from his childhood.
Bab el Oued remains a bustling residential area of Algiers, though much changed since independence. The neighborhood retains its working-class character with narrow streets and traditional buildings.
Outskirts of Algiers — Maman's death
Meursault receives the telegram that his mother has died at the nursing home in Marengo. He travels there for the wake and funeral, sitting through the vigil with uncomfortable indifference. The director explains his mother's friendship with Thomas Pérez, an old man who loved her. Meursault observes everything with emotional detachment, more concerned with physical discomfort than grief.
Marengo was a small town outside Algiers during the colonial period, typical of rural settlements where French colonists established institutions like nursing homes for the growing European population.
The area that was once Marengo is now part of greater Algiers' suburban sprawl, with the specific nursing home from the novel being fictional.
Mediterranean coast — Swimming with Marie
The day after his mother's funeral, Meursault goes swimming at the public beach. Here he encounters Marie Cardona, a former typist from his office. They swim together, laugh, and begin their casual romantic relationship. The beach represents Meursault's connection to physical pleasure and his rejection of conventional mourning.
Algiers' Mediterranean beaches were popular recreation spots for the city's European population during the colonial era. The warm climate made swimming possible much of the year.
Algiers still has several public beaches along its Mediterranean coastline, though they have changed significantly since Camus' time. The waterfront remains an important recreational area for residents.
Visit: Plage Sidi Fredj (park)
Downtown Algiers — Fernandel comedy
Meursault and Marie attend a Fernandel comedy at one of Algiers' cinemas. Meursault finds the film amusing but observes it with his characteristic emotional distance. This mundane activity occurs shortly after his mother's death, further demonstrating his apparent indifference to social expectations of grief.
French colonial Algiers had several cinemas that showed European films, particularly French comedies and dramas. These theaters were gathering places for the European community.
While the specific cinema is fictional, Algiers maintains several movie theaters, though the film industry and cinema culture have evolved significantly since independence.
Same building as Meursault — The letter incident
Raymond Sintès lives in the same building as Meursault and befriends him. Raymond asks Meursault to write a letter to his Arab girlfriend, designed to lure her back so Raymond can abuse her. Meursault writes the letter without moral consideration. This relationship draws Meursault into the conflict that leads to the fatal shooting.
Multi-story apartment buildings in working-class Algiers neighborhoods typically housed both European settlers and Arab residents, though often in segregated sections.
Similar apartment buildings still exist throughout Algiers' older neighborhoods, though the specific building is fictional.
Central Algiers — Meursault's workplace
Meursault works as a clerk in an office in central Algiers. His boss offers him a promotion requiring a move to Paris, but Meursault responds with indifference, saying it doesn't matter to him. His coworker Emmanuel sometimes joins him for lunch. The office represents Meursault's routine, purposeless existence.
Colonial Algiers had a significant administrative and commercial center where many Europeans worked in clerical and administrative positions for French companies and government offices.
Central Algiers remains the city's business district, though the colonial administrative apparatus has been replaced by Algerian institutions.
Seaside bungalow — The fatal shooting
Raymond invites Meursault and Marie to his friend Masson's beach house for a Sunday outing. The group encounters Raymond's Arab girlfriend's brother and his friend on the beach. After an initial fight, Meursault returns alone to the beach and encounters one of the Arabs again. Blinded and overwhelmed by the intense sun, Meursault shoots the Arab five times, committing the murder that defines the novel.
Wealthy European colonists often maintained beach houses or bungalows along Algeria's coast for weekend retreats, away from the crowded city.
The Algerian coast still has private beach houses and resorts, though the specific location in the novel is fictional.
Serkadji Prison — Meursault's imprisonment
After his arrest, Meursault is imprisoned while awaiting trial. He gradually adapts to prison life, learning to pass time by sleeping and remembering his past life. He meets other prisoners and observes the prison routine with the same detachment he showed toward everything else. The prison represents his physical and philosophical confinement.
Serkadji Prison, built during the French colonial period, was Algiers' main detention facility. It housed both common criminals and later, political prisoners during Algeria's struggle for independence.
Serkadji Prison was closed and demolished in the 1990s. The site has been redeveloped, though some historical documentation of the prison remains.
Government quarter — Meursault's trial
Meursault's trial takes place in Algiers' courthouse. His lawyer attempts to defend him, but Meursault's honesty about his lack of grief for his mother and his atheism doom him. The prosecutor argues that Meursault's moral indifference makes him a threat to society. The trial becomes less about the murder than about Meursault's character and his rejection of social conventions.
The French colonial administration established courts in Algiers that applied French law to the European population, while Arabs were subject to different legal codes.
Algiers maintains its judicial system in government buildings, though the colonial legal structure was replaced after independence in 1962.
Camus's childhood neighborhood
Though not explicitly named in the novel, Belcourt represents the working-class Algiers neighborhood that shaped both Camus and his protagonist. The atmosphere of modest apartments, diverse populations, and Mediterranean proximity permeates Meursault's world and worldview.
Belcourt was a mixed working-class neighborhood where Camus grew up in poverty with his illiterate mother and deaf grandmother. The area housed both European settlers and Arab families in modest conditions.
Belcourt remains a working-class area of Algiers, though it has changed significantly since Camus's youth. Some streets bear plaques commemorating the Nobel laureate.
Visit: Camus Childhood Home Area (historic site)
More by Albert Camus: L'Étranger locations map · All Albert Camus books
Other nearby maps: The Truth About the Savolta Case by Eduardo Mendoza locations map