Medina and Kasbah
White lanes running down to the port, with Spain visible across the water on a clear day.
Duration
2 hrs – 4 hrs
Best time
Late afternoon
Open
Every day
Entry price
Free
Tangier had a status of its own: from 1923 to 1956 it was an international zone administered by several powers, with no real fiscal or police authority. That made it a city of spies, smugglers and writers — Bowles, Burroughs and Genet all lived there.
The medina slopes down to the port, with the kasbah above it to the north-west. From the kasbah terraces you see the Strait of Gibraltar and the Spanish coast, fourteen kilometres away: the point where two continents look at each other.
Getting there
Enter from the Grand Socco or from the port. The medina is walked, climbing towards the kasbah.
What to bring
- Walking shoes
Rules on site
Fake guides are especially numerous and persistent in Tangier, above all at the port exit: decline firmly and keep walking. The lanes are steep and the cobbles slippery after rain.