Tétouan

Mountain Ghorghiz in Tetouan

Tétouan is a city in Mediterranean Morocco. Tétouan's Medina has been inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Understand

The city is an important transportation hub in the north. Many travelers only see the bus station en route from Ceuta or Tangier to Chefchaouen, but it is well worth a longer visit.

Climate

Tétouan enjoys a typical Mediterranean climate with hot, dry summers and mild winters. The average summer temperature is 35°C, while the average winter temperature is a wholly comfortable 22°C.

The city boasts an amazing amount of sunshine.

Get in

By plane

Ryanair flies to several European destinations: Belgium (Brussels Charleroi), France (Marseille), Spain (Alicante, Madrid, Malaga, Seville). Royal Air Maroc offers a couple of domestic flights to Al Hoceima, Casablanca.

1 Sania Ramel Airport (TTU  ^IATA) (6 km NW from Gare routière de Tétouan). A small airport built by the Spanish colonial administration to serve Ceuta. Not much to do inside: there is only one small coffee shop and intermittently working WiFi. (updated Dec 2022)

Getting there/away: the only viable option is taxi. The Grand taxi stand is in front of the airport, they are willing to go anywhere in Morocco, prices are rather elevated, e.g. 10-min trip to Tetouan bus station costs 100 dirham. To cut down the costs walk another 200 m further off the airport to the busy road nearby, where petit taxis will charge only 20-25 dirham (as of Dec 2022) using taximeter for the ride to the bus station or city center.

There are more international connections to the airports of Tangier, Rabat, Casablanca and also Fez. From Rabat and Casablanca you can go via Tangier with high-speed train. From Tangier and Fez there are intercity buses to Tétouan.

By bus

Tétouan is on the Tangier - Fes/Meknes road thus it has the best connection with these cities. Some of those buses make a stopover in Chefchaouen. Besides long-distance buses are available from other major Moroccan cities but are less frequent.

Supratours offers combined tickets comprising a bus to Tangier's train station followed by a train to anywhere else in Morocco.

There are local city buses going to nearby destinations like the beach towns of Fnideq (70 min), Martil (25 min), M'Diq (1 hour); the easiest place to board them is perhaps at the main road - Ave Hassan II (CTM bus station is located on this avenue).

When heading to Ceuta, you can take bus number 35 from just outside the CTM terminal, takes about an hour and drops you in Fnideq. You can walk from there to the border (~30 min). After the border there are buses to the city center (€0.85).

• 2 Gare routière. Serves all bus companies but CTM ones. The Grand Taxi station is next to it. The station has ticket offices, toilets, ATM and a large cafe with a terrace. (updated Jan 2023)
• 3 CTM bus station. It has big waiting area, toilets, but no cafe. (updated Jan 2023)

Get around

The CTM bus station and the non-CTM bus station are in the center, though the walk from the CTM station to the center is a hike up a rather steep hill.

The city center is quite small and most tourist attractions and hotels are there, so there really is no need to use petite taxis. But if you choose to stay at one of the hotels on the way to Martil (Champs or Dreams) petite taxis and grand taxis are always available.

Petite taxis are very cheap, though the fare increases if you have luggage.

Though there is a decent-sized public bus system, the buses are notorious for running late and being filthy.

To get to nearby beaches, like Martil, Cabo Negro, Rincon, Marina Smir, and Kabila, grand taxis are easily found at a bottom of Rue Moulay Abbas (the road running along the park, beautiful views of the Rif Mountains). The fare for a single passenger to Martil is 5 dirham, but if you want a little more room, you should purchase two seats. For less popular destinations, like Marina Smir, or for a more direct route to beaches like Cabo Negro and Kabila which require two different grand taxi rides; you can bargain with the driver to purchase the whole taxi. This is often more expensive, but well worth it considering the time saved and the increased comfort. Drivers are often very happy to arrange to pick you up after their day at the beach, saving you time and hassle.

Local buses are an adventure but obvioiusly is cheaper than a taxi.

See

Bab El Okla

Old Medina

Moulay el Mehdi square

Medina

Unlike any other Moroccan Medina, Tétouan's 1 Medina (UNESCO World Heritage Site) offers a unique perspective on the multicultural history of northern Morocco and, because of its relatively small size, it offers visitors a chance to explore without getting hopelessly lost. There are three distinct sections of the Medina, the Andalusian, the Jewish, and the Berber sections, though the untrained eye might have trouble distinguishing between the three. Be sure to hire a guide and you'll enjoy the medina that much more. There were seven historic gates (bab in Arabic) of Tetouan:

• 2 Bab El Okla, 68, Rue Skala, ☏ +212 5 39 99 31 21. W-M 10:00-18:00. Houses Ethnographic Museum (also known as Bab El Okla Museum). A nice, small museum, with dresses, artefacts, furniture, guns, history of Tétouan. The guides show you around in exchange for a tip. 20 dirham. (updated Jan 2023)
• Bab Sebta. (updated Jan 2023)
• 3 Bab Jiaf. (updated Jan 2023)
• 4 Bab Mkaber. (updated Jan 2023)
• 5 Bab Saida. (updated Jan 2023)

• 6 Museum of religious heritage (Musée du patrimoine religieux). It's on the premises of the former Mosque of Laouk. It displays Muslim religious artefacts. (updated Feb 2020)
• 7 Dar El Oddi Museum, 5, Derb Oddi, ☏ +212 539 72 16 71. Tu-Su 10:00 – 18:30. El Oddi family built their house in 1920-th, which later fell into a state of complete disrepair and has been restored in 2018. It now houses permanent exhibition "Visions of Tetouan" displaying a collection of pictures of Tetouan's places, landscapes and urban spaces. 25 dirham. (updated Jan 2023)

• 8 Tannery (small door on the left hand site of the Bab Mkabar gate). This is the first tannery constructed in Tetouan and it dates back to the end of 15th - beginning of 16th centuries. It's much smaller and less colourful than the ones in Fes, but still it showcases the whole process of leather processing. (updated Jan 2023)

• 9 Royal Palace, Place El Mechouar. Palace is used by King Mohammed VI during his summer visits to Tetoan. It was built in 1988 in what was once Feddan Park. It is off-limits to the public' as is the most part of adjacent Place El Mechouar square.. (updated Jan 2023)

• 10 Kasbah. A dilapidated fortified castle on top of the hill overlooking the city with good views of the mountains. You can only circle around it as it's under construction. (updated Jan 2023)

Modern part of the city

• 11 Mohammed V Ave. A pedestrian-only road in the center. Filled with people in the evenings, after the day's heat has passed. Mohammed V is filled with dozens of cafes, teleboutiques, restaurants, tourist shops, and street vendors. Further down the street you'll find used book sellers, offering books in a wide variety of languages, and then the king's palace. (updated Jan 2023)

• 12 Archaeological Museum of Tetouan. W-M 10:00–17:30. Among other things, it displays items found at the excavations of Tamuda, Lixus and the Yebala region. 10 dirham. (updated Feb 2020)
• 13 Museum of Modern Art (Centre d'Art Moderne), Avenue Al Massira (walk to the lowest part of the park south of the medina (sometimes called 'Lovers Park') and you are at a big crossroads, the museum is clearly visible at the other side), ☏ +212-666 04 60 81, camt@minculture.gov.ma. Tu-Sa 09:30–13:00 and 14:00–17:00. This museum displays mostly current Moroccan artists, and also Andalusian ones. It is in the nicely renovated old train station of Tétouan and is worth a visit; it especially showcases the reciprocal influcences of Morocco and Spain and started as a cooperation between Andalusia and Morocco. Free admission. (updated Jan 2023)

Arts galleries:

• 14 École des arts et métiers de Tétouan (opposite Bab Okla, at the intersection of Avenue Mohamed Ameziane and Avenue Lamfadal Afilal; if you stand in front of Bab Okla and look into Avenue Lamfadal Afilal straight ahead, it's the building at the right hand corner of the two streets), ☏ +212-539-97 27 21. M-Th 08:30-16:30, F 08:30-11:30 and 15:00-18:00. This is a school teaching classical arts and crafts which can be visited by the public and which is in a nicely decorated, interesting building with a nice garden. 10 or 15 dirham. (updated Feb 2016)
• 15 Saida Art Contemporain Tetouan, 9 Wazir Mohamed Seffar (coming out of the medina at gate Bab Okla, turn left into the street (Avenue Mohamed Ameziane); when the Avenue takes it first sharper turn left, don't follow it, but go in the small road on the other side of the street, the gallery is on the left side after about 50 m), ☏ +212 539 716565, info@saidaartcontemporain.com. A privately-run gallery displaying and selling modern art (current exhibitions can be found on website), and has a café/restaurant called Club de Tapas. (updated Feb 2016)

Do

Tétouan is surrounded by two mountains: 1 Mount Dersa and 2 Mount Ghorghiz which offer splendid hiking opportunities.

Learn

• 1 Dar Loughat - Cross-Cultural Language Center, Place Moulay Mehdi 8, Rue M'hammed Benaboud, ☏ +212 66 66 8 77 88, info@cclc-morocco.org. Dar Loughat is a professional language center in Morocco providing intensive courses in all levels of Modern Standard Arabic and Colloquial Moroccan Arabic throughout the year. Through various immersion and language exchange activities, Dar Loughat provides its students daily contact with Moroccan life, allowing them to expand their vocabulary, improve their spoken language performance and better understand the local culture. (updated Jan 2014)

Buy

You will find some shops in the pedestrian area and around the city center. If you want to experience the local market feeling, go to the 1 central market square or the 2 central market building.

• 3 Carrefour, Avenue 9 Avril. Big supermarket, nothing fancy except for it being the only shop selling alcohol in a radius of 100 km. (updated Jan 2023)

Eat

Budget

• 1 Restinga Restaurant, 21 Av. Mohamed V. (updated Sep 2022)
• 2 Dallas, 11 Rue Youssef Ben Tachfine. Small teashop/patisserie with lots of sweets and baked goods on offer. Small, somewhat dark seating area in the back, filled with both women and men. Brownies 5 dirham, croissants 2 dirham, pot of mint tea 8 dirham. (updated Sep 2022)
• 3 Restaurant La Union, appt. 8, 2 Av. Mohamed Ben Larbi Torres. (updated Sep 2022)
• 4 Cafeteria Pizzeria Lisboa, n°1, Av. Hassan II, Résidence SOLYMAR - Bloc A. (updated Sep 2022)

Mid-range

• 5 El reducto, Rue Zaouia. (updated Sep 2022)
• 6 Café Pizzeria Patesserie Jenin, Avenue El Ouahda. (updated Sep 2022)
• 7 Diamond Tetouan, 28 Av. Hassan II. Restaurant, café, pâtisserie. (updated Sep 2022)

Drink

Za3Za3 is one of the most locally famous juices. It's a kind of milk-shake with avocado, banana, apple, some almonds, and some other ingredients.

Sleep

Budget

• 1 Hotel Panorama Vista, Avenue Moulay Abbas, ☏ +212 5399-64968. Breakfast included 300 dirham, breakfast included. (updated Jan 2023)
• 2 Pension Iberia, Place Moulay El Mehdi, ☏ +212 5399-63679. Relatively cheap, clean rooms, sink in the room, shared toilet, shower 10 dirham (warm). From 100 dirham. (updated Sep 2016)

• 3 Riad Dalia, Place El Ouessaa 25 (in the Medina), ☏ +212 539964318, contactdalia@googlemail.com. Check-in: after 13:00, check-out: before 12:00. Dates from the 19th-century and used to be the house of the Dutch consul during the days of the Spanish protectorate. The rooms range from cheap singles to expensive palatial suites, featuring antique furniture, elegant fabrics and a traditional decor. Wi-Fi available. Beautiful terrace view. Every morning, a continental breakfast is served on site. The restaurant offers traditional dishes and guests can relax in the lounge. From 250 dirham. (updated Jan 2023)

Mid-range

• 4 Blanco Riad, 25, Rue Zawiya Kadiria, ☏ +212 539704202. Beautiful hotel in a restored riad with lovely touches, such as stained glass windows on room doors. Friendly staff, nice garden area with a resident turtle, and good restaurant. Free breakfast and Wi-Fi. Small double rooms 600 dirham, larger ones 900-1600 dirham. (updated Jan 2023)
• 5 Hotel El Reducto, 38, Essaid Zanqat Zawya Kadiriya, ☏ +212 539968120. From 600 dirham. (updated Jan 2023)

Stay safe

Be alert at the bus station here; since many travelers only pass through, this is a popular spot for touts. When attempting to purchase a ticket, only talk with someone behind one of the counters, not with anyone standing anywhere near it. Some even have friends working in the bus station who will back them up in their attempt to divert you into an expensive taxi by agreeing that there are no buses to your destination. Be persistent, and show a willingness to wait as long as it takes.

While some complain this town is filled with hustlers and hasslers, others find it charming and a perfect place to make some Moroccan friends, especially if you speak Spanish.

Go next

• Chefchaouen – A historic city also dubbed the blue city.
• Oued Laou – A coastal town on the way to Chefchaouen.
• Ceuta – Spanish semi-exclave.
• Tangier – Famous port city with ferry connections to Spain.
• Oujda – In the very east of Morocco, near the Algerian border.