In short
Tangier looks at Spain: fourteen kilometres of strait separate the city from Europe, visible on a clear day. That position made its history — an international zone from 1923 to 1956, administered by several powers at once — and explains its mix of languages.
The medina climbs from the sea to the Kasbah, which commands the strait. The Petit Socco is its old heart, the Grand Socco the hinge with the modern city. The Marshan district, above, is residential and quiet.
Arriving and getting around
The Al Boraq high-speed train links Tangier to Casablanca via Rabat: it is Africa's first high-speed line, in service since 2018. The journey takes about two hours ten to Casablanca.
Beware an expensive confusion: Tanger Med port, where most ferries leave from, is some forty kilometres east of the city. Tanger Ville port, in the centre, runs only a fast link to Tarifa. Check which one is on your ticket before planning the transfer.
The medina is walked. City petits taxis are blue and metered; ask for the meter to be switched on.
What it really costs
Tangier is cheaper than Marrakech for accommodation and eating, and the sales pressure is lower.
The city is an economic gateway to Spain: exchange offices and ATMs are everywhere, but commissions vary sharply from one counter to the next.
When to come
April–June and September–October. Summer is hot but tempered by the winds of the strait; winter is mild and wet.
The easterly wind, the chergui, blows hard in spells and makes the beaches uncomfortable.
What nobody tells you
The American Legation, in the medina, is the first public property acquired by the United States abroad and the only US National Historic Landmark outside American territory. It is a museum today, and almost nobody goes.
Cap Spartel and the Caves of Hercules, fifteen kilometres out, mark the meeting of the Atlantic and the Mediterranean. The cave's opening onto the sea draws a silhouette often described as that of Africa.
Tangier was a city of writers — Paul Bowles lived here for decades. Café Hafa, terraced above the sea and open since 1921, keeps the trace of it.