Trip date: September 2023
It was early when I left my friend's apartment in Paris after just 36 hours. My Uber stopped by Gail's hotel to pick up her and Caitlin, then we were on our way to Paris-Orly airport. And more excitingly to Morocco, my 54th country! We arrived at the airport at 8am for our 11am flight and had more than enough time to check bags, go through security, get breakfast, and shop.
The 3-hour flight and passport/customs in Tangier (or Tanger in French) was easy. I had made arrangements with our hotel, Palais Zahia, to pick us up at the airport, and they were waiting for us when we walked out. The hotel is in the old town, or medina, which is closed to auto traffic, so we did have to walk up from the parking lot. Luckily the driver took a few of our bags!
The hotel welcomed us with mint tea and little almond cookies, all served on beautiful dishware. Since we arrived at 1pm, our rooms were still being made up, so we decided to have lunch in the hotel's beautiful courtyard restaurant. We hadn't even been in the country for an hour, and already everything looked exactly like it was out of a design magazine!
After lunch, we checked into our rooms and did a bit of unpacking. I had the Suite Zahia, which didn't have any kind of view but was large and decorated in various shades of green. It was great!
As Morocco is a Muslim country, there are many regulations around alcohol, since the religion prohibits it. Even our hotel here in Tangier did not serve any alcohol. I had done my research on each of the cities we would be in so that we had options for drinks at various hotels and restaurants (and even a couple of actual bars!)
We set out with our Google maps to find
Dar Nour, a guest house with a rooftop bar I had read about. The map looked pretty straightforward but the minute we were out of site of our hotel the passageways became smaller and twistier. But it was also really beautiful!
We had all read about locals taking advantage of lost tourists by offering them directions in exchange for money, so everytime someone pointed us down a road we brushed them off. But they were right! We found ourselves down a tiny lane that was a dead end and also a small neighborhood of local homes. We finally realized that everyone really was trying to be helpful, and we got on the right track to our destination. YMMV.
I don't think any of us realized how absolutely gorgeous Tangier was! The buildings in the medina are all white washed with interesting and intricate doors. It's a hilltop city and as you make your way up you will find amazing views of Spain and the Strait of Gibraltar from the walls of the old fort, or Kasbah. It's also one of the oldest cities in Morocco, dating back 2,500 years!
It took us 40 minutes to walk to the guest house in what should have taken 10, but we'd made our way through our first medina in Morocco! Once we climbed the four flights to the rooftop, our reward was cold drinks and an absolutely stunning 360 degree view.
Feeling much better about traversing the old city after a couple of drinks, we made our way to
Le Saveur de Poisson, which is located where the medina ends and city starts. They don't take reservations so expect to wait a bit. We were very lucky and only had 2 other parties in front of us. There are no menus, everyone gets 4-courses served family style, and the specialty is whatever has been fresh caught that day, prepared with lots of herbs from the nearby Rif mountains.
After being seated we were served bowls of a delicious fish soup along with bread, olives, and condiments. Next came a huge tagine of baby shark, calamari, and monkfish. Everything was super tender and scorching hot!
Four whole grilled fish arrived for our main. Oh my gosh we were all so stuffed by this point and couldn't believe they served us more than a whole fish each! I don't remember what kind each were but they were delicious. All 4 bites I was able to take!
Throughout the meal we drank fresh juice made from figs and for dessert there were bowls of fresh pomegranate seeds and roasted walnuts. The restaurant was hot, filled with delicious smoky scents, and busy! Our server was the owner and he never stopped moving. It was a great meal and all for just 250 dirham each ($25USD)! Pro tip, it's cash only!
Breakfast was included in our hotel rate and the next morning we tried to make sense of the seemingly 50 different types of bread product on the buffet! All good too!
The hotel also offered us a free walking tour of the medina which was fantastic as we had planned to do a self-guided one. Our guide Lena met us in the courtyard after breakfast and led us to the old city gate. She was great at answering all of our questions, and we had a lot of them!
We made our way up the hill on Rue de la Kasbah, just on the outside of the city wall, before passing through a gate and into the tiny alleyways we had been in the night before. We were near Dar Nour but the labyrinth was hard to decipher.
Not every ally looked the same though, Lena led us to a couple of really pretty ones to check out. These are all local's homes and everyone pitches in to take care of the street. We wouldn't have seen most of the ones she led us through on our own, unless we were lost!
Lena is just out of college and has taken courses in tourism and business. She explained to us that tourism is the 3rd largest industry in Morocco, and it's competitive especially as she is a woman, so it's important to her to get in and established right away. We were very happy to be supporting!
We then walked past The Grand Mosque and Lena explained that unlike in other Muslim countries, you have to be Muslim in order to enter mosques in Morocco. Also there are separate entrances for women and men. Most women in Morocco don't cover their hair, unless they are going to the Mosque, but they are expected to dress conservatively, which we did also (no bare shoulders, cleavage, or above the knee clothing). It was quite hot, and it would have been great to wear a little sundress, but my friends and I try to be respectful of cultures when we travel.
She brought us to
Macondo, a super cute cafe with an amazing rooftop terrace, for a cold drink and to continue talking with Lena about life as a woman in Morocco. It was really interesting; she is very smart and very positive about her future. And the views were just amazing!
You really can't walk more than a few steps anywhere in Morocco without coming across a kitten or a cat or 3. Lena explained that Muslims consider cats holy and they are allowed to go most anyplace. They are revered for their cleanliness and are said to have blissful energy. We saw people all over the country setting out food and comfy sleeping boxes for cats. We even saw some in the mosques!
We stopped to take in the views of Europe across the Strait at Bab Al Bahr or Gate of the Sea. It was such a stunning day!
It was also a Friday, and Friday in Morocco is the day you eat couscous, so back at Palais Zahia we had lunch again in the courtyard. The traditional dish, mine with stewed lamb and chickpeas, also had a topping called tfaya, which is a caramelized onion and raisin mixture, as well as toasted almonds. It was delicious!
We walked off our lunch by exploring more of Tangier outside of the medina. We walked about 10 minutes, past the Grand Socco and through a small souq with vendors selling bread, olives, meat, etc, to the
El Minzah Hotel. This hotel, built in 1930, is considered the grandest in Tangier. The walls are lined with photos of famous celebrities who have stayed, there's a pretty tiled courtyard restaurant (but was closed when we arrived), and there are views of the Strait.
We were there for a glass of wine at their piano bar that was supposed to be open all day, but it wasn't. So we sat in one of the big main restaurants which honestly didn't have a lot of ambiance. The hotel felt a little past its prime.
We continued exploring and passed the famous Grand Paris Cafe, but as it was mainly empty and smelled heavily of cigarettes, we didn't stop in. Back in the medina we did stop at Nougat de Tanger for some absolutely delish nougat. We'd find the confection all over Morocco, but none that ever looked this good again.
Back at the hotel, Gail's room had a little balcony (it's the one right above the intricate hotel door in the photo below), so we hung out there for a bit with our duty free wine and checked out all the restaurant rooftops around us.
That evening we headed back up to the Kasbah, but this time we knew our way, and found
Hotel Nord Pinus where we had reservations for dinner. What a stunning property this is! We headed up to the rooftop and enjoyed drinks with an absolutely spectacular view of the Strait of Gibraltar.
Looking down on the many rooftops in this area you can see that some have gorgeous terraces while others are in ruins. You could also see the massive construction project going on at the marina, which was being redeveloped for the ferry, cruise ships, yachting, etc. So lots of highs and lows going on here in the North Africa, as in so many places around the world.
We moved inside for dinner which was excellent. I ordered the pastilla, which is very common all around Morocco, and is a chicken (or pidgeon) pie of flaky pastry dough seasoned with cinnamon and powdered sugar. It's got that sweet savory thing like a monte cristo sandwich.
Right next door is El Morocco Club, which was perfect for nightcaps. It's a restaurant upstairs and a cocktail lounge below. And I was able to get an actual martini!
We had a very early pick up the next morning as we were heading to Fes with a few stops along the way. When our private driver arrived at the hotel, the streets were empty except for a few women selling bread and this trio of adorable kittens.
I am so glad that we started our Moroccan trip in Tangier! It gave us a chance to navigate a smaller and calmer medina before experiencing the much, MUCH bigger ones to come. Also it is so beautiful! I would highly recommend this city as a weekend destination if you are in the south of Spain as there is an hour long ferry from Algeciras to Tangier that I bet would be stunning, or just grab a cheap flight.
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