Things to do in Tangier

Tangier looks at Spain. The strait is 14 km across at its narrowest, and on a clear morning the Spanish hills are plainly there. The city climbs from the port in tiers.

What the international years left

From 1923 to 1956 several powers governed Tangier jointly, and nobody quite did. That brought smugglers, tax exiles and writers. The reputation outlived it.

Morocco was the first state to recognise American independence. In 1821 a sultan gave the United States a house in the medina. It is the only American National Historic Landmark on foreign soil.

Kasbah, cape and caves

What visitors see falls in two clusters: one in town, one on the headland.

• The Kasbah — the sultans' palace at the top of the hill, now a museum, with a terrace over the water.
• The medina — small by Moroccan standards, walked in an afternoon, far less relentless than Fes.
• The Grand Socco — the hinge between old town and new, with the market and the Cinema Rif.
• Café Hafa — terraces cut into the cliff since 1921, mint tea, Spain on the horizon.
• Cap Spartel — the lighthouse on the north-west corner of Africa, where the Atlantic turns into the strait.
• Caves of Hercules — next door, where the sea opening happens to be shaped like Africa.

Where the day trips go

• Chefchaouen — the blue town up in the Rif, two hours each way, with the Akchour waterfalls an hour beyond.
• Tetouan — an hour east, a medina on the UNESCO list since 1997 behind a Spanish new town.
• Asilah — forty-five minutes south, white ramparts and lanes painted every summer.

Short visits are the other pattern. Ferries and cruise ships land people for a few hours, and the answer is a four-hour loop. A full day buys the medina at walking pace.

Practical

• Crossing from Spain. The fast boat from Tarifa takes an hour and docks in the city. Ferries from Algeciras land at Tanger Med, 45 km east.
• Weather. This is the wet corner of Morocco. Winter brings rain and hard wind off the strait; summer stays in the twenties.
• Clocks. Morocco keeps one clock all year and drops an hour for Ramadan, so the gap to Spain runs from nothing to two hours.
• Languages. Spanish is as useful as French here, and English is common near the port.
• Cheap tours. A low price is paid for in carpet and pharmacy stops. Tours sold as no-shopping cost more and earn it.
• Taxis. Petit taxis are blue and metered, except on ship days, when drivers quote a flat price.
• Lunch. The catch lands at the port in the morning and is grilled behind the Grand Socco by one.