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Tetuan is «the White Dove»: 300,000 inhabitants at the foot of the Rif Mountains, in the Martil River valley, and the Moroccan city with the strongest Spanish influence of all of them.
Sun Medina has been a World Heritage Site since 1997 and you’ll see in a day. Here are the ten places, lined up to be chained together on foot.
It is neither a coincidence nor a cliché: The city was re-founded by a man from Granada.
Sidi Ali Al-Mandari, born in Granada around 1440 and from Boabdil’s faction, he fled here following the conquest and rebuilt the city in the 15th century along with the expelled Andalusians. He is regarded as its founder, and that is where the nickname «the daughter of Granada».
Four centuries later, between 1913 and 1956, was capital of the Spanish Protectorate. That is why, even today, there are still shopkeepers who serve you in Spanish and restaurant menus in Spanish.
The reason for UNESCO’s statement. It is one of the least altered medinas in North Africa: its Andalusian layout has hardly changed, with white alleyways, latticework and covered passageways.
It is walled and you enter through its gates, the bab. You can find them all at the 8 gates of the medina of Tetouan.
The advice: Don’t try to follow a map. Get lost and find your way out however you can.
The medina is divided into two parts, and it’s worth bearing this in mind:
On haggling: Ask about the price, offer less than you’re prepared to pay, and take your time before making a decision. And if you’re not going to buy, don’t even start. You can find more tips at how to travel to Morocco from Spain.
Spread over several floors. On the ground floor, the round stone tables where fish is sold from the Mediterranean; upstairs, a grocery shop, a textile shop and even a florist’s.
It’s the place where you can see the city in action, not the city as it appears to visitors.
The hides are still being tanned here in bathtubs set into the floor, just as it has been for centuries. The smell is strong, but the process explains where the bags, slippers and rugs in the souks come from.
And here’s a figure that gives an idea of what is being lost: where there were once more than a hundred craftspeople, there are now barely four active tanners.
The ancient defensive citadel, situated in the upper part of the medina, from which the valley was kept under watch. Built by the Merinis, blending Andalusian and Moroccan architecture.
Go for the views: From up here, you can see the sea of white rooftops with the Rif in the background. It’s the best panoramic view of the city.
One of the best-known gates in the city walls, and right next door, the Ethnographic Museum, housed in an old fortification.
The information required: closed on Tuesdays, opens from 10.00 to 18.00 the rest of the week and it’s hard 30 dirhams, about three euros. It costs garden and terrace with views to the city and the mountains.
It’s well worth a visit and hardly anyone goes in. The staff themselves often accompany you and explain the collection to you: costumes, musical instruments, traditional crafts and the city’s Al-Andalus history.
The main mosque, whose minaret shapes the skyline of the medina and sets the rhythm of the day with the call to prayer. The interior is not open to visitors For non-Muslims, it’s still well worth a visit for its tiled decoration and the entrance portal.
The mellah, where a significant Sephardic community lived for centuries. Its streets are straighter and with iron balconies, and the contrast with the layout of the rest of the medina is striking.
Nearby is the Jewish cemetery, one of the largest in Morocco, with more than 20,000 graves arranged in terraces, some of the 15th century. Many they bear no inscription: identification was left to the family’s recollection.
You leave the medina and find yourself in a different century and on a different continent: wide avenues, white façades and airy buildings Art Deco built during the Protectorate.
Its centre is the Moulay El Mehdi Square, which everyone still calls Primo Square: circular, with a fountain and the Church of Our Lady of Victories presiding over it. It is from this that the Mohammed V Avenue.
It was filmed here Time Between Stitches, the series based on the novel by María Dueñas, which is set in Tetuán during the Protectorate. If you’ve seen it, you’ll recognise the square.
The square serves as a link between the old town and the new town. It is traditionally known as the feddan.
It is chaired by the Royal Palace, built around 1740 as the governor’s palace. During the Protectorate, it housed the Khalifa, the Sultan’s representative, and the Spanish High Commissioner. Not open to visitors, and much of the square is cordoned off for security reasons, but the façade with its bronze doors is one of the most photographed sights, especially when it is lit up.
Next to it lies the Feddan Park, with a café, a children’s play area and plenty of shade. It’s the perfect spot to sit and have a cup of tea before heading back.
Tetouan cuisine blends Moroccan and Andalusian influences: tajines lamb or chicken with plums, couscous —traditionally on Fridays, a holy day—, kebabs, pastela and harira.
The Bouhlal Palace, an old riad right in the heart of the medina, is where groups usually have their meals: it operates on set menu and sometimes with live music. It’s fine as a stopgap, although if you’re on your own In the medina, there are smaller options that offer better value for money.
Two tips: Choose places where there are people and have a drink bottled water. And it leaves room for the Moroccan sweets with mint tea.
Tetouan is 60 kilometres east of Tangier, about an hour’s drive away. And just ten minutes from the sea, in Martil.
Everything about the crossing, at What to see in Tangier.
Ramadan in 2027 is expected to run from 8 February to 9 March. The dates depend on moon sightings, so they are confirmed shortly beforehand.
You can travel without any problems, but it changes the pace of the city:
The trade-off: Evenings are the best time of year in the medinas, with the streets bustling until late and an atmosphere you don’t see at any other time of year.
If you have any questions before you go, Is it safe to travel to Morocco?.
We are a local operator based in Málaga with over 50 years’ experience organising trips around Andalusia and northern Morocco. The day trip crosses the Strait and includes a local guide and a Moroccan meal with traditional entertainment:
To continue north, you have the blue cities y what to buy. The entire destination, in The Morocco Guide.
The World Heritage-listed medina, the souks divided into food and craft sections, the wholesale market, the tanners’ quarter, the Kasbah for its views, the Bab El Okla gate with its Ethnographic Museum, the Great Mosque, the Jewish quarter, the Spanish Expansion with Moulay El Mehdi Square and Hassan II Square with the Royal Palace. It makes sense to spend the morning in the medina and the afternoon in the Ensanche.
For two reasons separated by four centuries. The city was refounded in the 15th century by Sidi Ali Al-Mandari, a man from Granada born around 1440 who arrived there as a refugee following the conquest, alongside the expelled Andalusians. And between 1913 and 1956, Tetouan was the capital of the Spanish Protectorate, which is where the ‘Ensanche’ district, the Castilian Spanish still spoken in shops, and many restaurant menus in Spanish come from.
The 2027 event is expected to run from 8 February to 9 March, although the dates depend on lunar observations. You can travel without any problems, but shops open later, many local restaurants close during fasting hours and tourist attractions have reduced opening hours. Out of respect, it is advisable to avoid eating, drinking or smoking in the street during the day.
Around 30 dirhams, about three euros. It’s next to the Bab El Okla gate; it’s closed on Tuesdays and open from 10.00 to 18.00 the rest of the week. It has a garden and a terrace with views of the medina and the Rif Mountains, and the staff usually guide visitors through the collection of traditional costumes, instruments and crafts, providing explanations along the way.
Cross the Strait by ferry to Tangier and continue 60 kilometres east by road, a journey of around an hour. From Tarifa, you reach Tangier City, right in the centre, and from Algeciras, you reach Tangier Med, 45 kilometres away. The other route is via the land border at Ceuta. For a day trip, the most convenient option is an organised tour, which handles the crossing, border formalities and transfers.
Yes. The series, based on the novel by María Dueñas, is set in the Tetuán district during the Spanish Protectorate and was filmed in the city, with Moulay El Mehdi Square — formerly Primo de Rivera Square — as one of its recognisable locations. It’s a good way to get a feel for the Ensanche district before visiting it.
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