Question 1

Tangier on Your Own

Accepted Answer

Tangier's old town sits beside the Tanger Ville port, so if your ship berths there an independent day can start on foot. A good plan is a climb through the medina to the Kasbah, a museum or two, and a coffee with a view of the strait before you walk back down to the port. Up to the Kasbah: The Kasbah Museum, in the former sultan's palace, shows finds from Phoenician times onward and has a garden. The terrace on the north side of the Kasbah looks over the port and, without haze, across to Spain. The American Legation: The Tangier American Legation Museum at 8 Rue America, in the heart of the old medina, holds art and historical collections and a wing for the writer Paul Bowles. The Grand Socco: This round square on the edge of the medina has a marble fountain and palm trees, and an arch from it leads up Rue d'Italie toward the Kasbah. One short ride: A taxi to Cape Spartel and the Caves of Hercules, about 14 kilometers west, takes around a quarter of an hour each way. Agree the fare, including the wait and the return, before you set off. Guides: Use only a guide with an official badge and local-authority permission. Many people posing as guides are not. Getting back on time: All-aboard is usually about 30 minutes before sailing, and your ship posts the exact time. A ship will not wait for passengers touring on their own, so leave the medina early; its alleys are easy to get lost in. Watch the clock: Morocco's clocks have changed several times in recent years and may differ from Spain's or your ship's. Go by the ship's time for all-aboard.

Question 2

Getting Around

Accepted Answer

The medina, the Kasbah and most sights are within walking distance of each other and of the port. For anything farther, there are two kinds of taxi, and the type matters. Petits taxis are turquoise cars for trips inside the city. They normally run a meter; if one does not, agree the fare before you get in. Grands taxis are cream-colored and are the only taxis allowed to go outside the city limits, for example to Cape Spartel. Agree the total price, not a per-person price, before you leave. Petit taxi drivers often pick up other passengers on the way. Taxis booked through ride apps may be unlicensed and uninsured. Locals may not know the French name for the newer town: the port is "Marsa", the main avenue "the Boulevard" and the beach "Playa". The beachfront road, Avenue Mohammed VI, runs from the port east along the bay.

Question 3

Where to Eat

Accepted Answer

Tagines, couscous and mint tea are the Moroccan staples, and small restaurants serving them are all over the medina. Street food is good for a quick lunch: fresh orange juice, sandwiches, and cooked vegetables with rice from tiny stalls in the souk. Simple seafood places for local people sit on the docks inside the port, serving fish, shrimp and calamari with salad and bread. Cafés in the medina and by the port serve coffee in the morning, and bread vendors nearby sell bread with cheese and honey. Café Hafa, open since 1921, looks out over the Strait of Gibraltar. Vegetarian tagines are common, though they are often made with lamb stock. Drink bottled water. Alcohol is served only in licensed restaurants and bars, and drinking anywhere else, including in the street, is illegal.

Question 4

Culture & Local Life

Accepted Answer

Morocco is a Muslim country, and visitors are expected to respect local customs, especially around mosques and during Ramadan. Tangier has also been a meeting place of Muslim, Christian and Jewish communities, and of European and American writers and painters, for well over a century. During Ramadan, eating, drinking or smoking in public in the daytime may cause offense, and shops and restaurants may change their opening hours. Ask permission before photographing people, especially children, and do not photograph military or political sites. Women may get unwanted attention, and loose clothing that covers the arms, legs and chest helps. Avoid showing affection in public. Delacroix's paintings of Morocco drew later artists here, and Matisse stayed in Tangier several times. Paul Bowles lived and wrote in Tangier for more than 50 years, and William S. Burroughs wrote Naked Lunch here.

Question 5

A Brief History

Accepted Answer

Tangier began as a Phoenician trading town and has been fought over by nearly every power that wanted to control the Strait of Gibraltar. Portugal, England and Spain each held it, and in the 20th century it became an international city before rejoining an independent Morocco in 1956. Phoenicians and Romans: Phoenicians founded the town, probably by the 8th century BC. The Romans called it Tingis and made it the capital of the province of Mauretania Tingitana. Arab conquest, early 700s: Tangier fell to the armies of Musa bin Nusayr between 707 and 711, and his deputy Tariq ibn Ziyad set out from here to begin the Muslim conquest of Spain. Ibn Battuta, 1304: The traveler Ibn Battuta was born here in 1304 and left home at 20 on the pilgrimage to Mecca. Portugal and England: Portugal occupied Tangier in 1471. In 1661 it passed to England as part of Catherine of Braganza's dowry to Charles II, and after years of siege the English destroyed the harbor and left in 1684. The United States in Tangier: Morocco's sultan recognized American independence in 1777, and in 1821 the sultan gave the US a house in the medina for its legation, the first property the US government owned abroad. International Zone, 1923 to 1956: France, Spain and Britain, later joined by Italy, ran Tangier jointly. Its tax-free trade drew diplomats, spies, writers and refugees, and Spain occupied it during the Second World War, from 1940 to 1945. Independence: On April 9, 1947, Sultan Mohammed V gave a speech in Tangier, and the Grand Socco is officially named for that date. Tangier rejoined Morocco when it regained full sovereignty in 1956. To learn more ashore: The Tangier American Legation Museum at 8 Rue America covers the city's diplomatic history, and the Kasbah Museum in the former sultan's palace at the top of the medina holds finds from Phoenician times onward.

Question 6

Traveling with Family

Accepted Answer

With children, take Tangier slowly: the medina is steep and busy, so a short loop up to the Kasbah and back, with stops for juice and views, suits most ages. Older children and teenagers who want more can add a taxi out to the caves at Cape Spartel. Younger children: Keep to the Grand Socco, with its fountain and benches, and the Mendoubia Gardens beside it. A stroller is hard work in the medina's narrow, uneven alleys, so a carrier is easier. School age: The walk up to the Kasbah ends at a terrace with views of ships in the strait, and the Kasbah Museum's garden is a calm stop. Teenagers: The Caves of Hercules at Cape Spartel have a sea opening said to be shaped like a map of Africa, and the cape itself marks where the Mediterranean meets the Atlantic. Touts: Children and young men may offer to lead you out of the medina for a few coins. A clear, friendly no is enough.

Question 7

Accessibility

Accepted Answer

The port sits at the foot of the medina, so most sightseeing starts with an uphill walk through narrow, bumpy alleys, some of them reachable only on foot. Visitors who use a wheelchair or cannot manage slopes should expect the medina to be hard going. Scooters sometimes speed through the medina's narrow alleys, so stay alert. Ask your cruise line before you sail about accessible transport, since an adapted vehicle is not something to count on finding at the port.

Question 8

Shopping in Tangier

Accepted Answer

The medina is full of small shops selling leather, slippers, clothing and brasswork, and prices are not fixed, so bargaining is expected. Agree prices in dirhams rather than euros. Much of the brass sold in Tangier is made in other Moroccan towns. Some shops are tourist traps, and persistent salesmen are common. On a group tour, street touts may follow you through the medina, so do your buying in shops. Scammers sometimes swap inferior goods for the item you paid for, so watch your purchase being wrapped. Card fraud is common, so keep your card in sight when you pay.

Question 9

Beaches

Accepted Answer

Tangier's city beach runs along the bay beside Avenue Mohammed VI, east of the port, with cafés and hotels along the road. Many beaches in Morocco have little or no lifeguard cover. Strong currents and sudden waves can occur, so swim only where others are swimming and avoid isolated spots. Petty theft happens on beaches, so bring only what you need. Robinson Plage, below Cape Spartel, is the way into the Caves of Hercules.

Tangier, Morocco

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