Tangier Trip Overview
Discover the true soul of Tangier on this unforgettable 3-5 hours private walking tour, perfectly planned for tourists in short-stay in Tangier or visiting the city during a cruise trip. Plunge with our local guide into the charming history and the lively culture of the Medina (the old town) and the Kasbah (the fortress), prepare your senses for an overwhelming experience in the frenetic souks and squares, and explore the city’s architectural heritage resulting from a harmonious blending of the Moorish and Western styles.
Additional Info
* Duration: 3 to 5 hours
* Starts: Tangier, Morocco
* Trip Category: Cultural & Theme Tours >> Cultural Tours
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What to Expect When Visiting Tangier, Tanger-Tetouan-Al Hoceima, Morocco
Discover the true soul of Tangier on this unforgettable 3-5 hours private walking tour, perfectly planned for tourists in short-stay in Tangier or visiting the city during a cruise trip. Plunge with our local guide into the charming history and the lively culture of the Medina (the old town) and the Kasbah (the fortress), prepare your senses for an overwhelming experience in the frenetic souks and squares, and explore the city’s architectural heritage resulting from a harmonious blending of the Moorish and Western styles.
Itinerary
This is a typical itinerary for this product
Stop At: Medina of Tangier, Tangier Morocco
Upon meeting you, you will be welcomed by your professional tour guide that will escort you right to the heart of Tangier’s old town: the Medina. Once there, you’ll be immediately immersed into the historical heritage and the cultural prosperity of this part of Tangier. You will feel as if you have time-traveled back several centuries to a medieval time when the community still operates according to ancient norms and traditions. Hammams (public baths), communal ovens, fountains, squares, craftsmen, markets and cafes are all still working and remind us of a glorious era of Tangier.
The walking tour of the Medina will let you have a direct contact with the friendly locals; and by strolling down the Medina’s labyrinthine alleyways, the tour will take you through the most important landmarks of the city such as the Grand Socco, the Petit Socco, and the Kasbah. You will also visit monuments that are considered as architectural masterpieces decorated with mosaics, ornamental stucco, and wood carvings such as the Great Mosque, Dar El Mekhzen located in the Kasbah, and the American Legation, which is the only American national monument located outside of the United States, and the place of a large library specializing in North Africa, many paintings from Americans, Europeans and Moroccans, and several small models recreating some historic battles. The real bonus there is the “Paul Bowles” wing, named for the American author who called Tangier home for 50 years and died here in 1999.
You will have plenty of opportunities to stop for lunch (own expense) during the Medina tour, just ask our tour guide for suggestions, he will escort you to the type of restaurant you prefer. Just before the end of the tour, you will be left with some free time to scout for handcrafted souvenirs at bazaars (IF YOU WANT), or simply to sip on a mint tea in a traditional café and learn about mint tea rituals.
Duration: 4 hours
Stop At: Place du Grand 9 Avril 1947, Tangier 90000 Morocco
During the tour of the Medina, you’ll make a stop at this historical square which is commonly known as Grand Socco and that divides the Medina from the Ville Nouvelle area of Tangier. It is one of the places that hosted Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany when he visited Tangiers on 3 March 1905. The stopover that worsened tension between the Germans and the French and that, among other events, ultimately led to the World War I. It’s also the location where King Mohamed V delivered his speech and the symbol of his arrival to the city on April 9, 1947 when Tangiers was under international domination.
The square, which underwent further development in 2005, is particularly active during the evenings when vendors put up their extensive displays and sell a diversity of second-hand goods and clothes and gadgets. Not far from the Grand Socco a vegetable Souk is held every Thursday by mostly female peasant sellers that are known for their striped Foutas (towels) and wide-brimmed straw hats. Nearby as well are the Mendoubia Gardens, Cinema Rif, the Anglican Church of St. Andrew (1894) and the Sidi Bou Abib Mosque (1917).
Duration: 20 minutes
Stop At: Petit Socco, Tangier Morocco
During the tour inside the walls of the Medina, you’ll make a stop at this historical square which is locally known as Souk Dakhel and was once home to many notable writers and affluent people in the city like Paul Bowles, Jean Genet, Tennessee Williams and Mohamed Choukri. Today the facades of its Hispano-Moorish buildings are freshly painted, tourists abound and it’s a wonderful square for people-watching over a mint tea.
Duration: 20 minutes
Stop At: Tangier Casbah, Place de la Kasbah, Tangier 90000 Morocco
While touring the Medina you will mostly approach the Kasbah (the fortress) through either of the two gates, Bab Haha or Bab El-Assa, and enter on Place du Mechouar (often referred to as Place de la Kasbah). The Kasbah was a place for the local leader to live and a defense when the city was under attack. The Kasbah has high walls and it was built on hilltop so that it could be more easily defended.
Dar El-Makhzen, Which is situated in the eastern part of the Kasbah, was constructed in the 17th century over the ruins of the English “Upper Castle” by Pasha Ahmad ben Ali al-Rifi, general of the Jaysh al-Rifi army and semi-autonomous governor of Tangiers. It was built to be the seat of residence for the Sultans of Morocco when staying in the city. Nowadays Dar El-Makhzen or the Sultan’s Palace is home to The Kasbah Museum of Mediterranean cultures (le Musée la Kasbah des cultures méditerranéennes). The building is centered within two courtyards, which are decorated with wooden ceilings, marble fountains and arabesques. Some of the columns used are of Roman origin.
A tour of the Kasbah won’t be complete without going through Bab Bhar gate and spending some time on the that huge crenellated terrace overlooking the bay of Tangier, the view extends from Gibraltar to Cape Trafalgar.
Duration: 1 hour
Stop At: Musee de la Kasbah, El Casbah Square, Tangier Morocco
The Kasbah Museum or the Kasbah Museum of Mediterranean Cultures has been housed since 1922 by the Kasbah Palace known as “Dar-Al-Makhzen” or the Sultan’s Palace. The building occupies the eastern part of the Kasbah of Tangier. The site have undergone before the successive constructions of the residence of the Portuguese governors “Dorons Praefecti” between 1471 and 1661, then a larger “Upper Castle” which was the residence of the English governors from 1662 to 1684.
The palace of Kasbah is the work of Ahmed Ben Ali, son of Caïd Ali Ben Abdellah El Hamani Errifi, who drove the occupying Englishman out in 1684. A foundation inscription gives us the date in Hijri equivalent to 1738. Since then, the monument has been the seat of power and the symbol of local authority.
The decoration style of the palace is typically Moroccan: Zellige coating, chiseled plaster, and domes with painted or carved wood. However, the curved columns and white marble composite capitals adorning the large patio are European elements.
The Kasbah Museum recomposes the major aspects of the material culture of the city of Tangier and its region. The exhibition is divided into three sections organized according to a route that respects the architecture of the Palace.
Particular highlights are the mosaic of Venus from Volubilis and statuary, plus the giant replica maps. The first map tracks down trade routes from the Phoenician trade in metals to the electronic goods of the 21st century; the second is a gorgeous map of the known world made in Tangier in 1154, hence it’s upside down from the viewer’s perspective.
Open all week except Tuesdays from 10:00 to 18:00.
ADMISSION PRICES: 20 Dirhams for adults – 10 Dirhams for children – 5 MAD for children under 12 years.
Duration: 35 minutes
Stop At: St. Andrew’s Church, Rue d’Angleterre, Tanger, Morocco
Hovering at the edge of the medina, just off the bustling Grand Socco is this magnificent Anglican Church that is a real tribute to the harmony of Christianity and Islam. Tour the quiet gardens, the final resting place for many of the churches international community, before ducking into the church. Note the Lord’s Prayer written in exquisite Arabic calligraphy just about the pulpit and the numerous Andalusian-Moroccan touches throughout.
Inspect the mix of architectural styles at St Andrew, a 19th-century British Anglican church. Built in 1894 and consecrated in 1904, the church commemorates many people, including the Sherifa of Wazzan, Emily Keene, who brought the cholera vaccine to Morocco. As you walk through the religious site, notice the combination of Moorish and British styles, including the bell tower resembling a minaret. Visit the church’s graveyard, where well-known individuals such as writers, generals, and bankers lie buried.
Duration: 20 minutes
Stop At: Gran Mezquita de Tanger, Tangier Morocco
The Great Mosque of Tangier is a nineteenth-century construction that stands in what was once the center of the Medina of Tangier. The site of the mosque was formerly the home of several significant religious buildings from various civilizations that previously occupied Tangier, dating back originally to a fifth century Roman church. After the Muslim conquest of Tangier in the eighth century, the church was converted to a mosque by the Marinid Dynasty and remained so until the late fifteenth century. The mosque was replaced by a church during the centuries in which Tangier was under Portuguese and English rule. After Moulay Ismail recaptured the city for the Alawi dynasty in 1684, the church was once again transformed into a mosque. Sultan Sulayman completely rebuilt the mosque in 1815 due to its poor physical condition, creating the building that stands in Tangier today.
Duration: 20 minutes
Stop At: American Legation, __8 Rue d’Amerique, Tangier 90000 Morocco
Close to the aptly named “Bab Merican,” this elegant five-storey mansion is the only American national monument located outside of the United States. As you may know, Morocco was the first country to recognize the fledgling United States, in 1777, and this was the first piece of American real estate abroad, as the original building was given to the United States to serve as a diplomatic presence in Morocco by Sultan Mulay Suliman in 1821 and served as such in some capacity until 1961, and that is the longest period (140 years) any building abroad has been occupied as a United States diplomatic post.
It is now officially called the Tangier American Legation Institute for Moroccan Studies, and is a cultural center, museum, and a research library, concentrating on Arabic language studies. The museum is a place of a large library specializing in North Africa, many paintings from Americans, Europeans and Moroccans, and several small models recreating some historic battles. You can find some unusual displays, including a Moroccan Stars and Stripes carpet, and an 1839 letter from a hapless US consul who had been given two lions as a diplomatic gift. The museum also holds an impressive display of paintings that give a view of Tangier’s past through the eyes of its artists, most notably Scotsman James McBey, whose hypnotic painting of his servant girl, Zohra, has been called the Moroccan Mona Lisa. There is a small bookshop and a wing dedicated to American author Paul Bowles.
The museum is open Mondays-Fridays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. It is closed Sundays and Moroccan holidays. Entrance fee is 20 Dirhams per person. The guided tour is 50 Dirhams per person.
Duration: 40 minutes
Stop At: Moise Nahon Synagogue, Rue de la Synagogue, Quartier Beni Ider, Tangier 90000 Morocco
Located on a dead end street off Rue des Synagogues in the Beni Idir quarter of the Medina of Tangier, this synagogue was constructed in 1876 by Moïse Jacob Nahon, a prominent educator and scholar from an influential Jewish family in Tangier. The synagogue ceased activity in the second half to the 20th century, and subsequently fell into disrepair until its restoration in 1994. It now functions as a museum.
The prayer room of the synagogue is accessible via a small courtyard at the end of the entrance corridor. The interior is elaborately decorated in an Andalusian style. Carved stucco walls are decorated with a repeating motif featuring ornamental embedded columns, trefoil arches, and arabesques with floral and geometric motifs. And what is remarkable, is the Arabic calligraphy repeated in three medallions vertically aligned below the superior lobe.
A stairway off the courtyard leads to an upstairs gallery that served as the Hazara, or women’s prayer area. There is no carved wood or stucco decoration on the walls of the second floor gallery. Instead, it is decorated with framed embroidery, tapestries, banners, and other artifacts donated by the Jewish community in Tangier throughout the years.
Duration: 30 minutes
