Things to do · Tangier · Morocco
15 best things to do in Tangier
15 sights and experiences ranked for a first visit, with honest notes on time, cost and crowds.
Updated By the AMZBooking editorial team
Photo: Boubloub, CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answer
The essential sights in Tangier are Tangier medina, Caves of Hercules and Kasbah Museum (Dar el Makhzen). Of the 15 picks below, 10 are free, 2 work on a rainy day and 4 suit children. Allow about 4 days to see the highlights without rushing.
Key facts
- Top sight
- Tangier medina
- Free sights
- 10
- Good on a rainy day
- Kasbah Museum (Dar el Makhzen)
- Time to see the highlights
- 4 days
At a glance
| Sight | Area | Time needed | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tangier medina | Medina | Half a day | Free |
| Caves of Hercules | Cap Spartel and Rmilat | 1 hour | Low cost |
| Kasbah Museum (Dar el Makhzen) | Kasbah | 1–1.5 hours | Low cost |
| Petit Socco | Medina | 30–60 minutes | Free |
| Grand Socco | Medina | 30–60 minutes | Free |
| Mendoubia Gardens | Medina | 30 minutes | Free |
| Tangier American Legation Museum | Medina | 1–1.5 hours | Low cost |
| Café Hafa | Marshan | 1 hour | Low cost |
| Phoenician tombs | Marshan | 30 minutes | Free |
| Cap Spartel | Cap Spartel and Rmilat | 1 hour | Free |
| St Andrew's Church | Medina | 30–45 minutes | Free |
| Terrasse des Paresseux | Ville Nouvelle | 20 minutes | Free |
| Place de France and Café de Paris | Ville Nouvelle | 45 minutes | Low cost |
| Corniche and Tanja Marina Bay | Corniche and Tanja Marina Bay | 1–2 hours | Free |
| Perdicaris Park | Cap Spartel and Rmilat | 1–2 hours | Free |
The 15 best things to do
Neighbourhood · Medina
1.Tangier medina
Whitewashed lanes climb from the port to the kasbah through a compact, hilly old town of small mosques, craft shops, bakeries and doorways painted blue and green. It is smaller and easier to navigate than the medinas of Fes or Marrakech, and most of it can be explored in a morning.
Use the kasbah at the top and the Grand Socco at the bottom as your landmarks; walking uphill always leads to the kasbah.
- Time needed
- Half a day
- Cost
- Free
- Iconic
- Free
- History
- Photo spot
- Shopping
Nature · Cap Spartel and Rmilat
2.Caves of Hercules
These sea caves on the Atlantic coast, about 14 km west of the centre, have an opening to the ocean said to resemble a map of Africa in reverse. Legend links them to Hercules resting between his labours. Cafés and souvenir stalls line the clifftop above.
Visit in the late afternoon and stay for sunset over the Atlantic at Achakar beach next door.
- Time needed
- 1 hour
- Cost
- Low cost
- Iconic
- Nature
- Kids
- Photo spot
Palace · Kasbah
3.Kasbah Museum (Dar el Makhzen)
The 17th-century sultan's palace at the top of the medina now houses a museum of the region's history, from Roman mosaics and Phoenician finds to Moroccan ceramics, arranged around tiled courtyards and an Andalusian garden. Place de la Kasbah outside leads to the Bab el Bahr gate and its terrace above the Strait.
Combine the museum with the terrace at Bab el Bahr on a clear day, when the Spanish coast looks close enough to touch.
- Time needed
- 1–1.5 hours
- Cost
- Low cost
- History
- Architecture
- Rainy day
- Views
Landmark · Medina
4.Petit Socco
The small square at the heart of the medina was the hub of International Zone Tangier, when its cafés were frequented by smugglers, spies and writers such as Burroughs and Kerouac. Café Central and Café Tingis still face each other across the square, serving mint tea to an all-day crowd.
Take a mint tea on a café terrace and watch medina life pass through the square.
- Time needed
- 30–60 minutes
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- History
- Food
Landmark · Medina
5.Grand Socco
Officially Place du 9 Avril 1947, the large square at the medina's western gate is the meeting point of the old and new cities. The tiled minaret of the Sidi Bou Abib mosque rises on one side, and the restored Art Deco Cinéma Rif houses the Cinémathèque de Tanger, with a café popular with students and artists.
Have a coffee at the Cinémathèque's café and check its programme of art-house and classic films.
- Time needed
- 30–60 minutes
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- History
- Architecture
- After dark
Garden · Medina
6.Mendoubia Gardens
Beside the Grand Socco, the gardens of the former residence of the Sultan's representative are shaded by giant banyan and dragon trees and dotted with old cannons. They are a peaceful place to rest between the medina and the Ville Nouvelle.
Sit under the huge banyan tree on a hot afternoon; it is one of the coolest spots in the city centre.
- Time needed
- 30 minutes
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- Outdoors
- Kids
- Nature
Museum · Medina
7.Tangier American Legation Museum
Morocco was one of the first countries to recognise the United States, and the Sultan gave this medina building to the US in 1821, making it the first American public property abroad. Now a museum and cultural centre, it displays maps, paintings and letters, and a wing devoted to the writer and composer Paul Bowles.
Look out for the room of paintings of old Tangier and the Paul Bowles wing with his books and recordings.
- Time needed
- 1–1.5 hours
- Cost
- Low cost
- History
- Art
- Rainy day
- Off the beaten path
Viewpoint · Marshan
8.Café Hafa
Opened in 1921, this simple café on terraces cut into the Marshan cliffs has served mint tea to generations of locals, students and visiting writers such as Paul Bowles. The view across the Strait to Spain is the reason to come, best in the late afternoon.
Order mint tea and bissara and stay for sunset; it is at its liveliest at weekends.
- Time needed
- 1 hour
- Cost
- Low cost
- Views
- Food
- Couples
- History
Historic site · Marshan
1.Phoenician tombs
Dozens of ancient tombs are cut into the rock on the Marshan cliff edge above the sea, in what was once the necropolis of ancient Tingis. They are open ground with sea views, a short walk from Café Hafa.
Combine them with Café Hafa on a walk west from the kasbah.
- Time needed
- 30 minutes
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- History
- Views
- Off the beaten path
Viewpoint · Cap Spartel and Rmilat
2.Cap Spartel
The north-western tip of Africa, marked by a lighthouse built in the 1860s, overlooks the meeting of the Atlantic and the Mediterranean. The road there winds through pine and eucalyptus forest above the coast.
Go on a clear day and combine it with the Caves of Hercules, about 10 minutes further south.
- Time needed
- 1 hour
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- Views
- Photo spot
- Outdoors
Religious site · Medina
3.St Andrew's Church
Built in the 1890s on land given by the Sultan, this Anglican church near the Grand Socco is designed in Moorish style, with the Lord's Prayer carved in Arabic around the chancel arch. Its overgrown churchyard holds the graves of notable foreign residents, including the journalist Walter Harris.
The caretaker usually shows visitors around; a small donation is appreciated.
- Time needed
- 30–45 minutes
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- Architecture
- History
- Off the beaten path
Viewpoint · Ville Nouvelle
4.Terrasse des Paresseux
The 'Lazybones' Terrace' on Boulevard Pasteur is a viewpoint with old cannons looking over the port and across the Strait. Locals gather here in the evening, and the Café de Paris and Place de France are a few steps away.
Stop here during an evening stroll along Boulevard Pasteur, then take a drink at the Café de Paris.
- Time needed
- 20 minutes
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- Views
- After dark
Landmark · Ville Nouvelle
5.Place de France and Café de Paris
The Café de Paris has faced Place de France since 1920 and was a meeting point of diplomats and spies during the International Zone years. It remains a classic place for coffee and people-watching at the hub of the Ville Nouvelle.
Sit on the terrace mid-morning with a coffee and watch the city go by.
- Time needed
- 45 minutes
- Cost
- Low cost
- History
- Food
Waterfront · Corniche and Tanja Marina Bay
6.Corniche and Tanja Marina Bay
The long seafront promenade along the city beach fills with families walking, jogging and buying snacks on summer evenings. At its western end, the redeveloped marina has restaurants and a view up to the medina walls and the kasbah.
Walk the Corniche in the early evening, when Tangier's families come out and the sea breeze cools the city.
- Time needed
- 1–2 hours
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- Kids
- After dark
- Outdoors
Park · Cap Spartel and Rmilat
7.Perdicaris Park
A forest park on the Rmilat hills west of the city, with pine and eucalyptus woods, walking paths and sea views. It surrounds the villa of Ion Perdicaris, whose 1904 kidnapping caused an international incident.
Visit on the way to Cap Spartel for a short forest walk with views over the Strait.
- Time needed
- 1–2 hours
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- Nature
- Outdoors
- Kids
Pick by interest
| Interest | Best picks |
|---|---|
| Art and museums | Tangier American Legation Museum |
| History | Kasbah Museum (Dar el Makhzen), Tangier medina, Petit Socco and Grand Socco |
| Views | Kasbah Museum (Dar el Makhzen), Café Hafa, Phoenician tombs and Cap Spartel |
| Outdoors and nature | Caves of Hercules, Mendoubia Gardens, Cap Spartel and Corniche and Tanja Marina Bay |
| Food and markets | Petit Socco, Café Hafa and Place de France and Café de Paris |
| After dark | Grand Socco, Terrasse des Paresseux and Corniche and Tanja Marina Bay |
| With children | Mendoubia Gardens, Caves of Hercules, Corniche and Tanja Marina Bay and Perdicaris Park |
| On a rainy day | Kasbah Museum (Dar el Makhzen) and Tangier American Legation Museum |
Plan the rest of your trip
Questions travellers ask
+What is the number one thing to do in Tangier?
Tangier medina. Whitewashed lanes climb from the port to the kasbah through a compact, hilly old town of small mosques, craft shops, bakeries and doorways painted blue and green.
+What can you do for free in Tangier?
Tangier medina, Petit Socco, Grand Socco, Mendoubia Gardens and Phoenician tombs. More free things to do.
+What is there to do in Tangier when it rains?
Head indoors to Kasbah Museum (Dar el Makhzen) and Tangier American Legation Museum.
+What is there to do in Tangier at night?
Grand Socco, Terrasse des Paresseux and Corniche and Tanja Marina Bay are best after dark.