Tangier
Morocco'S Gateway On The Strait Of Gibraltar, About 14 Km From Spain; An International Zone Under Joint Administration Until 1956, Which Is Why Its Architecture, Languages And Literary History Are Unlike Anywhere Else In The Country · Tangier, Tanger-Tetouan-Al Hoceima
Tangier sits where the Mediterranean meets the Atlantic, on hills above the Strait of Gibraltar, with the Spanish coast about 14 km away and visible on most clear days. It is Morocco's gateway and most visitors treat it as that, arriving by ferry or on the Al Boraq high-speed train and leaving the same day. Two days is the better call. The medina is compact and walkable, climbing to a kasbah quarter where the former sultan's palace is now a museum, and the Grand Socco and the Petit Socco are still the two hinges of the city. Down the hill, the American Legation is said to be the oldest American diplomatic property abroad and is now one of the best small museums in the country. West of town, Cap Spartel's lighthouse marks the corner of Africa and the Hercules Caves open to the sea through a gap often described as the shape of the continent. Honest caveats: the hustle around the port and the medina edges is the most persistent a new arrival meets in Morocco; the International Zone's literary mythology is largely gone; and the city is rebuilding itself fast around its new port.
Medina and kasbah above the port, with the Grand Socco and the Petit Socco at its heart, on the Strait of Gibraltar, Tangier, Tanger-Tetouan-Al Hoceima, Morocco
The medina, the two Soccos and the kasbah walls have no opening hours at all; shops run from mid-morning to about 20:00 and the cafes along the Strait stay open late. Museums and monuments keep a broad pattern of roughly 9:00 or 10:00 to about 17:00 or 18:00, with several closed one day a week - the Kasbah Museum and the American Legation each keep their own rhythm, and the Legation has historically worked shorter weekday hours, so confirm before you climb up to it. Ramadan shortens most monument hours and Friday midday prayers shift some of them. Getting there: Al Boraq high-speed trains run from Casablanca and Rabat, commonly quoted at a little over two hours from Casablanca, and the station is a short petit taxi from the medina; fast ferries cross from Spain, and note that Tanger Med port lies roughly 45 km east of the city rather than in it. Nothing in town needs booking ahead except a car out to Cap Spartel.