diff --git a/sigal/__init__.py b/sigal/__init__.py
index 5d683b3..e669d2c 100644
--- a/sigal/__init__.py
+++ b/sigal/__init__.py
@@ -20,20 +20,18 @@
 # FROM, OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS
 # IN THE SOFTWARE.
 
-from __future__ import absolute_import, print_function
-
 import click
 import importlib
-import io
 import locale
 import logging
 import os
+import socketserver
 import sys
 import time
 
 from click import argument, option
+from http import server
 
-from .compat import server, socketserver, string_types
 from .gallery import Gallery
 from .log import init_logging
 from .pkgmeta import __version__
@@ -68,7 +66,7 @@ def init(path):
     from pkg_resources import resource_string
     conf = resource_string(__name__, 'templates/sigal.conf.py')
 
-    with io.open(path, 'w', encoding='utf-8') as f:
+    with open(path, 'w', encoding='utf-8') as f:
         f.write(conf.decode('utf8'))
     print("Sample config file created: {}".format(path))
 
@@ -173,7 +171,7 @@ def init_plugins(settings):
 
     for plugin in settings['plugins']:
         try:
-            if isinstance(plugin, string_types):
+            if isinstance(plugin, str):
                 mod = importlib.import_module(plugin)
                 mod.register(settings)
             else:
diff --git a/sigal/compat.py b/sigal/compat.py
index 268b777..49f2e83 100644
--- a/sigal/compat.py
+++ b/sigal/compat.py
@@ -35,26 +35,3 @@ if not PY2:
     from urllib.parse import quote as url_quote
     import socketserver
     import pickle
-else:  # pragma: no cover
-    text_type = unicode  # NOQA
-    string_types = (str, unicode)  # NOQA
-    unichr = unichr
-
-    def strxfrm(s):
-        return locale.strxfrm(s.encode('utf-8'))
-
-    from urllib import quote as url_quote  # NOQA
-    import SimpleHTTPServer as server  # NOQA
-    import SocketServer as socketserver  # NOQA
-
-    try:
-        import cPickle as pickle
-    except:
-        import pickle
-
-
-class UnicodeMixin(object):
-    if not PY2:
-        __str__ = lambda x: x.__unicode__()
-    else:  # pragma: no cover
-        __str__ = lambda x: unicode(x).encode('utf-8')
diff --git a/sigal/gallery.py b/sigal/gallery.py
index bb233bf..fffa37a 100644
--- a/sigal/gallery.py
+++ b/sigal/gallery.py
@@ -25,12 +25,12 @@
 # FROM, OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS
 # IN THE SOFTWARE.
 
-from __future__ import absolute_import, print_function
-
 import fnmatch
+import locale
 import logging
 import multiprocessing
 import os
+import pickle
 import random
 import sys
 import zipfile
@@ -40,9 +40,9 @@ from collections import defaultdict
 from datetime import datetime
 from itertools import cycle
 from os.path import isfile, join, splitext
+from urllib.parse import quote as url_quote
 
 from . import image, video, signals
-from .compat import PY2, UnicodeMixin, strxfrm, url_quote, text_type, pickle
 from .image import (process_image, get_exif_tags, get_exif_data, get_size,
                     get_iptc_data)
 from .settings import get_thumb
@@ -53,7 +53,7 @@ from .video import process_video
 from .writer import Writer
 
 
-class Media(UnicodeMixin):
+class Media:
     """Base Class for media files.
 
     Attributes:
@@ -89,7 +89,7 @@ class Media(UnicodeMixin):
     def __repr__(self):
         return "<%s>(%r)" % (self.__class__.__name__, str(self))
 
-    def __unicode__(self):
+    def __str__(self):
         return join(self.path, self.filename)
 
     @property
@@ -222,7 +222,7 @@ class Video(Media):
             self.mime = get_mime(ext)
 
 
-class Album(UnicodeMixin):
+class Album:
     """Gather all informations on an album.
 
     Attributes:
@@ -289,7 +289,7 @@ class Album(UnicodeMixin):
         return "<%s>(path=%r, title=%r)" % (self.__class__.__name__, self.path,
                                             self.title)
 
-    def __unicode__(self):
+    def __str__(self):
         return (u"{} : ".format(self.path) +
                 ', '.join("{} {}s".format(count, _type)
                           for _type, count in self.medias_count.items()))
@@ -341,13 +341,13 @@ class Album(UnicodeMixin):
                 root_path = self.path if self.path != '.' else ''
                 if albums_sort_attr.startswith("meta."):
                     meta_key = albums_sort_attr.split(".", 1)[1]
-                    key = lambda s: strxfrm(
+                    key = lambda s: locale.strxfrm(
                         self.gallery.albums[join(root_path, s)].meta.get(meta_key, [''])[0])
                 else:
-                    key = lambda s: strxfrm(getattr(
+                    key = lambda s: locale.strxfrm(getattr(
                     self.gallery.albums[join(root_path, s)], albums_sort_attr))
             else:
-                key = strxfrm
+                key = locale.strxfrm
 
             self.subdirs.sort(key=key,
                               reverse=self.settings['albums_sort_reverse'])
@@ -360,9 +360,9 @@ class Album(UnicodeMixin):
                 key = lambda s: s.date or datetime.now()
             elif medias_sort_attr.startswith('meta.'):
                 meta_key = medias_sort_attr.split(".", 1)[1]
-                key = lambda s: strxfrm(s.meta.get(meta_key, [''])[0])
+                key = lambda s: locale.strxfrm(s.meta.get(meta_key, [''])[0])
             else:
-                key = lambda s: strxfrm(getattr(s, medias_sort_attr))
+                key = lambda s: locale.strxfrm(getattr(s, medias_sort_attr))
 
             self.medias.sort(key=key,
                              reverse=self.settings['medias_sort_reverse'])
@@ -646,10 +646,7 @@ class Gallery(object):
             # 63 is the total length of progressbar, label, percentage, etc
             available_length = get_terminal_size()[0] - 64
             if x and available_length > 10:
-                text = text_type(x.name)[:available_length]
-                if PY2:
-                    text = text.encode('utf-8')
-                return text
+                return x.name[:available_length]
             else:
                 return ""
 
diff --git a/sigal/image.py b/sigal/image.py
index da0ac63..8d5da82 100644
--- a/sigal/image.py
+++ b/sigal/image.py
@@ -48,7 +48,7 @@ from PIL import IptcImagePlugin
 from pilkit.processors import Transpose
 from pilkit.utils import save_image
 
-from . import compat, signals, utils
+from . import signals, utils
 from .settings import get_thumb, Status
 
 
@@ -332,8 +332,7 @@ def get_exif_tags(data, datetime_format='%c'):
 
         try:
             simple['dateobj'] = datetime.strptime(date, '%Y:%m:%d %H:%M:%S')
-            dt = simple['dateobj'].strftime(datetime_format)
-            simple['datetime'] = dt.decode('utf8') if compat.PY2 else dt
+            simple['datetime'] = simple['dateobj'].strftime(datetime_format)
         except (ValueError, TypeError) as e:
             logger.info(u'Could not parse DateTimeOriginal: %s', e)
 
diff --git a/sigal/plugins/feeds.py b/sigal/plugins/feeds.py
index 6c08e72..3a35731 100644
--- a/sigal/plugins/feeds.py
+++ b/sigal/plugins/feeds.py
@@ -18,14 +18,13 @@ Example::
 
 """
 
-import codecs
 import logging
 import os
 
 from datetime import datetime
 from feedgenerator import Atom1Feed, Rss201rev2Feed
 from jinja2 import Markup
-from sigal import signals, compat
+from sigal import signals
 
 logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
 
@@ -72,8 +71,7 @@ def generate_feed(gallery, medias, feed_type=None, feed_url='', nb_items=0):
 
     output_file = os.path.join(root_album.dst_path, feed_url.split('/')[-1])
     logger.info('Generate %s feeds: %s', feed_type.upper(), output_file)
-    encoding = 'utf-8' if not compat.PY2 else None
-    with codecs.open(output_file, 'w', encoding) as f:
+    with open(output_file, 'w', encoding='utf8') as f:
         feed.write(f, 'utf-8')
 
 
diff --git a/sigal/plugins/media_page.py b/sigal/plugins/media_page.py
index 3d36269..1d7c632 100644
--- a/sigal/plugins/media_page.py
+++ b/sigal/plugins/media_page.py
@@ -31,7 +31,6 @@ previous/next :class:`~sigal.gallery.Media` objects.
 
 """
 
-import codecs
 import os
 
 from sigal import signals
@@ -65,7 +64,7 @@ class PageWriter(Writer):
 
         output_file = "%s.html" % file_path
 
-        with codecs.open(output_file, 'w', 'utf-8') as f:
+        with open(output_file, 'w', encoding='utf-8') as f:
             f.write(page)
 
 
diff --git a/sigal/plugins/nomedia.py b/sigal/plugins/nomedia.py
index d23cd33..099bc8d 100644
--- a/sigal/plugins/nomedia.py
+++ b/sigal/plugins/nomedia.py
@@ -48,7 +48,6 @@ them for good.
 
 """
 
-import io
 import logging
 import os
 from sigal import signals
@@ -107,7 +106,7 @@ def filter_nomedia(album, settings=None):
             album.medias = []
 
         else:
-            with io.open(nomediapath, "r") as nomediaFile:
+            with open(nomediapath, "r") as nomediaFile:
                 logger.info("Found a .nomedia file in %s, ignoring its "
                             "entries", album.name)
                 ignored = nomediaFile.read().split("\n")
diff --git a/sigal/settings.py b/sigal/settings.py
index 76e8518..18262b9 100644
--- a/sigal/settings.py
+++ b/sigal/settings.py
@@ -22,14 +22,11 @@
 # FROM, OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS
 # IN THE SOFTWARE.
 
-import locale
 import logging
 import os
 from os.path import abspath, isabs, join, normpath
 from pprint import pformat
 
-from .compat import PY2, text_type
-
 
 _DEFAULT_CONFIG = {
     'albums_sort_attr': 'name',
@@ -146,19 +143,13 @@ def read_settings(filename=None):
                                    'templates')):
             paths.append('theme')
 
-        enc = locale.getpreferredencoding() if PY2 else None
-
         for p in paths:
-            # paths must to be unicode strings so that os.walk will return
-            # unicode dirnames and filenames
-            if PY2 and isinstance(settings[p], str):
-                settings[p] = settings[p].decode(enc)
             path = settings[p]
             if path and not isabs(path):
                 settings[p] = abspath(normpath(join(settings_path, path)))
                 logger.debug("Rewrite %s : %s -> %s", p, path, settings[p])
 
-        if settings['title'] and not isinstance(settings['title'], text_type):
+        if settings['title'] and not isinstance(settings['title'], str):
             settings['title'] = settings['title'].decode('utf8')
 
     for key in ('img_size', 'thumb_size', 'video_size'):
diff --git a/sigal/utils.py b/sigal/utils.py
index 4feee53..7ac80d9 100644
--- a/sigal/utils.py
+++ b/sigal/utils.py
@@ -20,15 +20,12 @@
 # FROM, OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS
 # IN THE SOFTWARE.
 
-import codecs
 import os
 import shutil
 from markdown import Markdown
 from markupsafe import Markup
 from subprocess import Popen, PIPE
 
-from . import compat
-
 VIDEO_MIMES = {'.mp4': 'video/mp4',
                '.webm': 'video/webm',
                '.ogv': 'video/ogg'}
@@ -75,7 +72,7 @@ def read_markdown(filename):
     # Use utf-8-sig codec to remove BOM if it is present. This is only possible
     # this way prior to feeding the text to the markdown parser (which would
     # also default to pure utf-8)
-    with codecs.open(filename, 'r', 'utf-8-sig') as f:
+    with open(filename, 'r', encoding='utf-8-sig') as f:
         text = f.read()
 
     md = Markdown(extensions=['markdown.extensions.meta',
@@ -102,10 +99,8 @@ def call_subprocess(cmd):
     """Wrapper to call ``subprocess.Popen`` and return stdout & stderr."""
     p = Popen(cmd, stdout=PIPE, stderr=PIPE)
     stdout, stderr = p.communicate()
-
-    if not compat.PY2:
-        stderr = stderr.decode('utf8')
-        stdout = stdout.decode('utf8')
+    stderr = stderr.decode('utf8')
+    stdout = stdout.decode('utf8')
     return p.returncode, stdout, stderr
 
 
diff --git a/sigal/video.py b/sigal/video.py
index c3aa392..e615ee1 100644
--- a/sigal/video.py
+++ b/sigal/video.py
@@ -21,8 +21,6 @@
 # FROM, OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS
 # IN THE SOFTWARE.
 
-from __future__ import with_statement
-
 import logging
 import os
 import re
diff --git a/sigal/writer.py b/sigal/writer.py
index 0c9b746..f638870 100644
--- a/sigal/writer.py
+++ b/sigal/writer.py
@@ -21,9 +21,6 @@
 # FROM, OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS
 # IN THE SOFTWARE.
 
-from __future__ import absolute_import
-
-import codecs
 import jinja2
 import logging
 import imp
@@ -121,5 +118,5 @@ class Writer(object):
         page = self.template.render(**self.generate_context(album))
         output_file = os.path.join(album.dst_path, album.output_file)
 
-        with codecs.open(output_file, 'w', 'utf-8') as f:
+        with open(output_file, 'w', encoding='utf-8') as f:
             f.write(page)
diff --git a/tests/test_cli.py b/tests/test_cli.py
index 9a4499d..089c0bd 100644
--- a/tests/test_cli.py
+++ b/tests/test_cli.py
@@ -1,6 +1,5 @@
 # -*- coding: utf-8 -*-
 
-import io
 import logging
 import os
 from click.testing import CliRunner
@@ -52,7 +51,7 @@ def test_build(tmpdir, disconnect_signals):
                                        '-n', 1, '--debug'])
         assert result.exit_code == 1
 
-        with io.open(config_file) as f:
+        with open(config_file) as f:
             text = f.read()
 
         text += """
@@ -71,7 +70,7 @@ rss_feed = {'feed_url': 'http://example.org/feed.rss', 'nb_items': 10}
 atom_feed = {'feed_url': 'http://example.org/feed.atom', 'nb_items': 10}
 """
 
-        with io.open(config_file, 'w') as f:
+        with open(config_file, 'w') as f:
             f.write(text)
 
         result = runner.invoke(build, ['pictures', 'build',
diff --git a/tests/test_video.py b/tests/test_video.py
index 02efcf0..2f5a6f1 100644
--- a/tests/test_video.py
+++ b/tests/test_video.py
@@ -1,7 +1,5 @@
 # -*- coding:utf-8 -*-
 
-from __future__ import division
-
 import os
 import pytest