Síguenos en Facebook web en Castellano Website in English Français web web en català
   »   The North and The Coast
The North region is between two seas that cross civilizations in the confluence of two worlds, maybe a lost piece of Andalusia…the Rif, secret region; the coast is the access door to rich remains, Berber dynasties and Spanish and Portuguese conquerors.

TÁNGER It is a bridge between Europe and Africa, so close and yet so far…it is not a cultural city, it is full of little treasures and stories. It was many times considered as thoroughfare but will always remain in your memory if you visit it.

Tangier was called "the door of Africa" and is one of the thrilling, mysterious and interesting cities of Morocco. It has about 500.000 people living there.
Located at 60 kilometres of Gibraltar and at 14 kilometre of Tarifa, it is neither a Moroccan city nor European or African, but it is a mix of those three cultures. We can note internationals influences very marked and an amazing easiness in charming the foreigners.

It was the house of numerous celebrities, artists and kings.
Tangier "tanja" pronounced in its mother tongue reached its extreme splendour in the 50's. People of all social categories came from all over Europe and USA becoming infatuated by the exotic and charming claimed. Everybody was looking for a better life and did not want to go back home. It also attracts literary people such as Oscar Wilde, Andre Gide, Jack Kerouak, Tenesee Williams but also artists like Henri Matisse and numerous politics figures like Winston Churchill.
With its traditional bazaars, shops, snakes charmers, musician and mosques, Tangier is without any doubt, an irresistible destination.

Places of interest:
The Great Souk or the 9th April 1947square: it is the city mall, with its oriental shoes shops, spices and unusual artefacts of all kind. We can also find the Sidi Bou Abid mosque, built in 1917 with its minaret decorated with tile.
The Great Mosque: it was built in the 17th century by Mulai Ismail, to celebrate the Moroccan reconquest of Tangier. It was extended in 1815
The Bit el-Mal: located on the main square of the Citadel you will be able to appreciate its government finance funded by Mulay. This octagonal minaret of the mosque is one of the examples of the elegant Islamic architecture.
The Dar el Makhzen or Museum of the Kasbah: it is the Sultan palace and was built during the Mulay Ismail reign. This palace was used for the last time in 1912 by the Sultan Mulay Hafid.
The American Consulate: This building is the most ancient of the world, it is now a museum decorated with furniture from the 19th century, portraits, a library and an operations room.
The Mandoub palace: is the palace of Forbes that created a great polemic during his 70th birthday celebration with his 700 friends. Before, a part of the palace was a museum of soldier figurines and other military themes. It is completed with a vertical garden and a beautiful view on the Trafalgar Cape.



TETUÁN
With its walls crenellated walls, gardens and terraces, it is a really nice setting and under the Rif with the new town and its style hispano-mooresque, built on a hill with its medina, it is full of muddling streets, Tetouan is by far the most beautiful town of the North Country.
"Tetouan" called the "white dove" was described by the first Spanish conquerors in 1860 as the jewel the most precious of African Andalusia. It is located in the North of the country and its name is Berber and means "the anchorage" for the abundant water in town.
Before the protectorate, the town lived like in the Middle-Ages and was limited to its medina, surrounded by great walls.
It was conquered by the Spanish in 1860 and 1913, it was elected to be the capital of the Spanish protectorate and near the surrounded town, and they built a charming new town.
The town was conceived around the ancient medina and declared World Site Heritage by UNESCO; with the Spanish extension, the ensemble is splendid. On the other side, everything is the best colonial area of Morocco; the outskirts of the protectorate and the new areas came out after the country independence.
The bazaars are abundant in the city, traditional restaurants and fast food as well as cafeterias, patisseries and typical cafes.

Places of interest:
The Yalaa square: On this square, you will admire the interesting collection of the Europeans cannonballs captured by the pirates of Tetouan in the 17th centuries.
Archaeological museum: they possess a beautiful collection of coins in which you will find the exceptional mosaic of Lixus, romans jars, ancient gold coin, as well as researches on the prehistoric era in the North of the country and some collection that come from the excavation of Tamuda and Ad Mercuri..
The Medina: was declared World heritage site by UNESCO, it is united to the town by the Hassan II square. The medina is composed by unequal streets that lead to the square where you will see the gathering of artisans and retailers.
Museum of the Moroccan Art: Funded in 1928 and built with fine defences by Mulay Abd Er-Rahman (1822 - 1859) it contains an impressive range of objects and handiwork relics: furniture, costumes and music instruments.

CHEFCHAOUEN
Surrounded by nature, the bright colours of its market product with its blue coloured houses preserve its aspect quite well despite some modifications that change a bit its medieval physiognomy. For many years the entrance of foreigners was prohibited into the city.
Chefchaouen is a charming little town that contains 40.000 people. It is located at about 100km of Ceuta, in the mountains Tisouka (2050 m.) and Megou (1616 m.) of the Rif cordillera. It is above the village like two horns, giving its name to the town (Chefchaouen in Berber means: "look at the horns") At about 660m. of altitude and with a low car traffic you will be able to breath a fresh air and spend some days in which you will be able to visit the beautiful surroundings. It is considered like a sacred city and is composed like all the other Moroccan cities of a new town and a medina or old town where the daily routine is appreciated by the tourist.
Its white and blue houses with its decorated windows of turquoise and its complex network are like a fairytale in which you can enter as easily as you can get out. People are also very friendly and you can easily talk to them.
Due to its orography, Chefchaouen offers to the reckless tourist, streets and alleyways in which you can be lost in a dense aroma atmosphere of spices, camel leather and music.

Places of interest:
The Medina: located in the East part of the modern city, it is the ancient same part of the town that is more peaceful than the others but really superb.
It has five doors in which you can penetrate and have a litmus test. You will be flooded by new sensations, for example the different aromatic smells coming from the spices that you can obviously buy in shops and bazaars, the smell of hot bread coming from the oven or the smell of camel leather. Meantime our eyes will see unusual things, with a variety of colours of different products that shops from the medina are selling. There is a certain different between colours of the houses as well. It will also be possible to taste to different and unique sensations with the voices, the whispers and the unknown sounds that will lead you to the complicated streets and finally let you arrive to the Outa El-Hamman square.
The Kasbah and the Entomology museum of Chaouen: It is located on the Outa El-Hamman square, close to the Great Mosque and was built in the 15th century, more precisely in 1471 by Rachid Ben Ali.
It is in a good state and in fact there is inside the Entomology museum that possesses an important collection of popular art and very interesting coins of the North of Morocco.
The Hamman square: The Outa-El Hamman square is located in the heart of the medina and is at the same time the most important square of the city. It is dominated by the colour red thanks to its Kasbah and is surrounded by coffees and restaurants where you will be able to relax and taste some of the typical delightful plates, like the couscous or the tajines, just after having drunk a delicious green tea.
The Great Mosque: it is located in the Medina, near the Kasbah. It was built in the 16th century by Mohammed Ibn Ali Ibn Rachid and is composed of a rectangular nave, with four entrance doors. The main door is known as Bab al-Hamra and was extended in the 17th century..



SAFI
It is very attractive by its seafood, pottery of unknown origin; it even triples its power of attraction with its Portuguese buildings and a sardine port very attractive. It is converted in an exciting and expanding city. Its medina, very lively is especially great to see at night.
It is located at 157 Km. at North East of Marrakech. This active fishing port possesses an old district that is surrounded by spectacular ravines and cliffs; it is a town that has mainly industrial and fishing activities.

It is also much known for its well known medina and its great tradition of goldsmiths art and pottery, it is after all the capital of ceramic in Morocco.
You must not miss the great mosque, the Independence square, the Portuguese chapel and the Kechla, a portugese fortified city very strong with crenellated tours and a beautiful view on the city and the sea.
It is also renowned for its delicious sardines: in the port, you will be able to find dozen of fishermen with their nets full of fresh sardines that you can also buy just after.

Places of interest:
Dar El-Bahr (Castle of the sea): the castle Dar El-Bahr is without any doubt one of the most famous site of all Safi. This majestic castle is still powerfully armed of cannonballs dating from the 16th and 17th century. They were built by the Portuguese, Spanish and Dutch.
It is known as "the castle of the sea" and is a place that you should visit if you are in Safi.
The Medina: it is located in the heart of the town and still got its great walls that surround it. This historic medina was built by the Portuguese around the 17th century… it is an attraction inside as well as the outside, you will be able to see the great Mosque, that is located in the centre and the Kechla, a Portuguese citadel that is located in the East.
Kechla (Bory ed-Dar): The Kechla is an ancient fortress, impressive and protected by immense towers. The fortress was built by the Portuguese in the 16th century. Furthermore, it shelters a national ceramic museum where you will be able to admire rare ceramic pieces with incredible relief.

ESSAOUIRA
Is a beautiful city, in there you will be able to see its great walls, its port and its immense beach the seagulls singing in the sly, the perfumed sea air, the white houses with blue windows, and an ideal temperature that turns around 25° all year.
Located at 176 Km. in the West of Marrakech, it is one of the city the most attracting of all the Moroccan Atlantic coast, due to its temperate climate and this all year, attracts the tourists. You can easily talk with people in the town, you will be able to admire its exceptional architecture and the atmosphere in its streets where fishermen, retailers and artisans are melting; this explains better its power of attraction by the locals and the tourist.
It is full of decorated square, great walls, fortifications and historic sites. It emphasizes its impressive great wall with beautiful entrance doors, the Sqala, the medina and its small mosque, synagogues and churches, like Riad, they all left the city in its original state to exhibit the pure Moroccan style.
You must not forget its animated fishing ports, its famous souks and wooden sculptor and a great variety of restaurants.

Places of interest:
The Medina: is a good example of fortified city, it was built in the 18th century. This medina was declared World Heritage site by UNESCO in 2001, at the same time as the Kasbah and the Jewish district of the Mellah.
It is recommended to walk across the streets of these peaceful areas. They will lead you to narrows places, white fronts and blue doors, to exotics cafes and to artisan workshop. All those different places show the uniqueness of this town.
In the same median, you will be able to appreciate the Orson Welles square, composed with a garden and a bust of the famous director that filmed "Otelo" in the splendid setting of the city.
The Mosque of Ben Youssef: it has Almoravide origins and was built in the 16th century and reformed in the 19th century. Nearly half of the front wall borders the Mechouar. You will surely be impressed by its minaret. The mosque received a lot of visitors as well locals as tourists attracted by their curiosity (even the entrance is forbidden to non Muslim).
The Skala of the town: it has an important fortification built around 15th century that surrounds the city. It was the main defence of the medina and of the entire city and was built in two levels. On the first level, it kept the weapons and all the military material of the city whereas on the second level, it was used as an armed protection for the port with cannonballs.
There are magnificent views on the sea. Its length is about 200 m. and is built on a cliff where the waters are opening to the Atlantic. There is a collection of metal from the 18th century and 19th century that is not to miss.


Morocco a la carte
Morocco a la carte

The Best of Morocco offers the possibility of CREATE YOUR OWN PATH . Tell us in the fields shown below, what type of route you want to do and we will contact you to offer it.
Create Route
Mapa Marruecos

Home      ::      Morocco a la carte      ::      Our Tours     ::      Contact Us
Tel: +34 650 204 542 :: Email: info@lomejordemarruecos.com
Síguenos en Facebook Síguenos en Facebook Síguenos en Pinterest Síguenos en Youtube
Visitar CTA