🇲🇦 Morocco in 5 Days: Northern Route with Friends

🕊️ Day 1 – Tetouan, the White Dove

We landed at Tetouan airport around 2:00 pm, remembering that Morocco is one hour behind Spain. Barely a 90-minute hop by plane, and we were already standing on African soil. 🇲🇦 Our driver, Soufian, was waiting for us and took us to Plaza Primo, where we started to soak up the Moroccan atmosphere.

Our first food stop was the charming Hotel Restaurante Blanco Riad, a place with an inner courtyard and fountain straight out of a storybook. We tried orange-blossom salads, chicken and vegetable pastillas, crunchy brewats and a surprising garlic-fried goat. Although the spiced flavours (cinnamon especially) didn't win everyone over, the goat turned out to be a juicy, delicious win. 🍽️

Exploring the city with a "scavenger hunt"

With full stomachs, we started discovering Tetouan with Álvaro, an impromptu guide who turned the walk into a game: he'd mix true stories with invented ones, and at the end we had to guess which were which. A fun way to stay engaged and uncover the city's secrets 🔍. If you'd rather book a free tour, we recommend this one on GuruWalk.

The route started at the Trankat Market, a lively local market selling everything from spices to everyday utensils. It's a hive of activity that ends at the Fez Gate (Babi Nouader). From there, we walked towards the Ágatas Tower and in the direction of Feddan Park, which was closed that day for a local ceremony.

As we walked, Álvaro shared curiosities: Tetouan is known as the White Dove 🕊️ for the snow-white colour of its houses, symbolising peace and purity. We also learned that Atlético de Tetuán was the only Moroccan team to ever play in the Spanish league, during the Protectorate era, before giving way to the current Ceuta team.

We reached El Mechouar Square, facing the Royal Palace, a strategic spot which, seen from the sky, traces the eye of the dove that symbolises the city. Right next door stands the Spanish Cinema, a remnant of strong Hispanic cultural influence: during the Protectorate (1912-1956), Tetouan was the administrative capital of the Spanish-controlled zone, and that Hispanic imprint is still felt today in the language, architecture and food.

Our route also took us to the Central Market, which we reached late in the afternoon, with stalls closing among bird cages and an atmosphere that, perhaps because of the hour, felt chaotic and none too hygienic. A glimpse of Tetouan's rawer, more real side, far less touristy than other cities in the country.

Views from above and the cemeteries

Before leaving, we climbed up to the kasbah to enjoy a panoramic view of the city, stopping at the Spanish and Jewish civil cemeteries, places steeped in history and memory.

On to Chefchaouen

With our heads full of stories (real or invented? 😉) we set off for Chefchaouen, 1h30 from Tetouan. We arrived at sunset and stayed at the Riad Mauritania, right in the medina. There was an attempt to charge us more for an upgraded room, but in the end they honoured what we'd booked. An early warning of just how common it is to negotiate everything in Morocco.

For dinner we went up to the rooftop of Café Clock, where we tried the famous camel burger and a falafel bowl while gazing out over the city bathed in blue lights. 🌙 Afterwards, we headed to Bar Oum Rabie, one of the few places where you can order a beer in Chefchaouen.

💙 Day 2 – Chefchaouen, the blue city

We wake to our second day in Morocco in Chefchaouen, on a Friday, a sacred day in the Islamic world. Fridays are to Muslims what Sundays are to Christians: a time for rest, communal prayer and family gatherings. It's common for families to sit down together after the midday prayer for a good couscous. 🍲

We had breakfast at the riad with freshly baked bread, eggs, butter, jam and mint tea, a simple luxury that just tastes different in Morocco. With renewed energy we headed to our free tour. At 10 am the city was still drowsy, which let us wander the blue-tinted streets almost alone.

A walk through the blue pearl

The route began at Uta el Hamman Square, the heart of the city, flanked by the kasbah and the mosque. From here you can see the two mountains that give Chefchaouen its name: "shouf" (look) and "chaouen" (horns), referring to their twin peaks that resemble a goat's horns. 🐐

We strolled along Hassan II Avenue up to the Babi Al-Ain gate, one of the seven that once granted access to the medina. Getting lost among its blue alleys felt like walking inside a painting: courtyards decorated with flowers, pots reminiscent of Andalusian Córdoba, and corners so photogenic it seemed impossible not to stop every few steps.

Among curious stories, the guide showed us the house where General Francisco Franco used to stay during his visits to Chefchaouen in the days of the Spanish Protectorate. The city was an important stronghold back then, and in fact many locals still speak Spanish with a very particular accent.

Ras El Ma and the Spanish Mosque

The tour ended at the Ras El Ma spring, where you can still see women washing clothes in the river today. From there we tackled a 20-minute climb up to the Spanish Mosque, built in the 1920s by the colonial authorities but never used by local Muslims. Today it's the go-to viewpoint for taking in all of Chefchaouen, dyed blue and surrounded by mountains. 🌄

Shopping, couscous and the road

Before leaving, we treated ourselves in the souks: handmade sandals, bracelets and the odd blue souvenir. For lunch, we sat down at Restaurante Assaada, where we were served a huge plate of couscous for barely €3-4. We had to wait, since it coincided with the call to prayer, but the wait was worth it.

In the afternoon came the longest stretch of the trip: 4 hours on the road to Fez. We used the time to rest and doze off as the Moroccan landscape rolled past the window.

First contact with Fez

The heat hit us all at once: 40 degrees in the middle of summer. We arrived at our accommodation, Riad Misk Fez, where the staff's warmth made us feel right at home. They even offered us a guide for the following day at a great price.

That same night we went out to explore a little with a friend, a history teacher, who'd planned the route. Amid the maze of alleys, a local warned us we couldn't pass through certain streets during prayer time and offered to guide us. What seemed like a kind gesture turned into an uncomfortable situation: after leading us in circles until we were disoriented, he aggressively demanded money. In the end, we handed over a small amount to get rid of him, an unpleasant experience but also part of the trip's learning curve. ⚠️

We ended the day at the restaurant La Cave, where we tried the famous tajine for the first time. This slow-cooked clay-pot stew, with vegetables, meat and spices, turned out to be far tastier and more balanced than our meals on the first day. A warm ending to an intense day. 🍲

🌞 Day 3 – Fez, the endless medina

We woke up in Fez to breakfast on the rooftop of our accommodation: croissants, breads, butter and jams 🥐🍯. From up there you could already sense the sheer size of the old city. And this is no ordinary medina: Fez is home to the largest pedestrian medina in the world, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Its streets are so narrow that no cars or motorbikes fit through —only donkeys and handcarts— which keeps its medieval pulse perfectly intact. 🚫🚗

After the previous night's scare, and having seen the maze for ourselves, we accepted the riad's offer and hired an official guide. It was a total win: he picked us up after breakfast and let us forget about Google Maps entirely. Without him, we'd have seen half of it and spent the whole time feeling lost 🎯.

🕌 Between history and spirituality

With the morning still cool, we started walking through alleys and souks until we came across the funduq: old caravanserais where merchants left their animals on the ground floor, stored goods on the first, and slept on the upper floors. They worked as the "logistics hotels" of their day, witnesses to the huge commercial importance Fez held on the Caravan Route. 🐪

We visited the Mausoleum of Moulay Idriss II, founder and patron saint of Fez. There we learned about the tradition of throwing a coin and praying for prisoners' freedom, a gesture that blends faith and hope ✨. Nearby, we admired the city's crown jewel, Al-Qarawiyyin University, founded in 859 by Fatima al-Fihri: considered the oldest continuously operating university in the world. Historically it's been a hub of theology and Quranic studies. Alongside it, other madrasas in Fez are dedicated to medicine, mathematics or astronomy, showing the city's enormous intellectual legacy 📚.

🎨 The tanneries: Sidi Moussa

One of the most striking moments was peering into the Sidi Moussa tanneries. From a rooftop we watched an age-old process: hides (cow, lamb, sheep...) are softened with pigeon droppings 🕊️ and then dyed with natural pigments (mint green, cinnamon brown, saffron yellow...). They hand you mint leaves to fight off the smell —tip: keep hold of them—. An experience as raw as it is fascinating. 🌿

🌆 Souks, squares and mosques

We continued through Seffarine Square, where coppersmiths keep the rhythm with their hammers, and through the spice, pottery and leather souks. We saw the Andalusian Mosque, a testament to the Andalusian legacy. In the "central medina" you'll be grateful for the wooden boards covering the streets: they drop the temperature several degrees during the hottest hours. 💨

🍲 Local lunch and sweets

For lunch, our guide took us to Dar Zohra: traditional vegetable soup and various tajines, rounded off with Moroccan sweets and fresh fruit. We left delighted. 🍊🍉

Afterwards, we passed through pashmina shops and a local pharmacy selling natural products and spices. We crossed the iconic Blue Gate of Fez (Bab Bou Jeloud), one of the city's most photographed spots 📸.

🌇 From the viewpoint to the road

Before snacking on fruit at local markets, we visited traditional bread ovens and old looms, then headed out to a viewpoint on the edge of the city. Outside the medina walls the thermometer seemed to spike: the 40 degrees were very real! 🔥

In the afternoon, our guide left us set to continue. We headed for Rabat, where we stayed at Dar Bennis Medina, right in the centre. A shower, a night-time stroll through the souk hunting for a pair of Adidas Spezials, and a quick roast-chicken dinner at Snack Alíame 🍗. We closed the day on the rooftop, chatting under the breeze and the soft lights of the capital. 🌙✨

If you'd rather have some things sorted in advance, or need to book a guide, private transport or combined excursions, here are some of the most popular and best-rated options for northern Morocco:

🌍 Day 4 – Rabat and arrival in Tangier

Today it was time to discover Rabat with our friend Marina. But first, a hearty breakfast at Café Bellona, to start the day full of energy ☕🥐. If you'd like a specialised guide, we recommend this one on GuruWalk.

🏛️ Hassan Tower and the Mohammed V Mausoleum

Our first stop was the Hassan Tower, the city's unmistakable symbol. It was actually part of a megalomaniac 12th-century project: building one of the largest mosques in the Islamic world under the Almohad sultan Yaqub al-Mansur. But with his death in 1199, the works were left unfinished. Today only a 44-metre tower (which was meant to reach around 80m) and around 200 unfinished columns remain, scattered like an architectural skeleton, a witness to what might have been 🕌.

Right beside it stands the Mohammed V Mausoleum, built in the 1960s in honour of the king who led Morocco's independence. It's a solemn place, decorated with marble and mosaics, with royal guards on horseback watching over the entrance. ⚔️

🌿 Medina, fondouks and Andalusian Gardens

From there we headed down to the souk, crossing alleys full of life, spices and crafts. We saw a fondouk or two (old lodges for merchants and caravans), like Ben Aicha, where you can still feel that mercantile air from centuries past. We continued on to the Andalusian Gardens, a green oasis right in the heart of the medina, with orange trees, bougainvillea and fountains that inevitably bring to mind the Andalusian courtyards of Granada or Córdoba 🍊🌸.

🏰 Kasbah of the Udayas

Nearby stands the Kasbah of the Udayas, an 11th-century fortress at the mouth of the Bou Regreg river. It was originally built as a military stronghold, but over time became a residential neighbourhood of whitewashed houses and blue doors. Getting lost in its alleys is like walking into a miniature Chefchaouen. From Oudaya Square, at the end of the walk, you get spectacular views of Rabat's beaches and of the river meeting the Atlantic Ocean 🌊.

At the foot of the Kasbah you'll also find the Udayas cemetery, facing the sea, where generations who lived facing the Atlantic now rest.

🛍️ Last-minute haggling and departure to Tangier

Although Rabat had interesting lunch options like Sufra Restaurant, Dar Naji or La Menora, we decided to leave for Tangier at midday to save time and enjoy the beach there. Before leaving, though, there was no shortage of intense haggling at the souk over a pair of long-awaited Adidas Spezials 👟.

We had about 3 hours of travel ahead of us. We stopped for lunch at a roadside restaurant and arrived at our Tangier accommodation around 5-6 pm: Diafa Stay, perfect for a brief rest before heading out. 🏠

🏖️ Tangier beach

From our accommodation we took taxis (fairly cheap, though haggling is always the norm in Morocco). There are even ride-hailing apps, although drivers may ask for more and negotiation is still needed.

Down on the beach, the atmosphere was lively: there were horses and camels offering rides to tourists, though the animals' condition felt a little sad 🐪🐎. The water, mind you, was freezing, pure Atlantic... like bathing in ice! ❄️🌊

🍴 Dinner in Tangier

After a shower and another round of taxi haggling, we went out for dinner at Restaurante Kebdani. It was a total win: plentiful, delicious food and excellent service. We tried tajines and vegetable soups that tasted like heaven. 🍲

We ended the day with a calm walk back, stopping now and then to admire the street cats that wander around Tangier, always looking at you as though asking to come home with you 🐱.

🌍 Day 5 – Tangier and departure towards Ceuta

Our last day on Moroccan soil 🇲🇦. Today it was our friend Fernando's turn to show us the charms of Tangier, a bridge city between Africa and Europe. If you'd like a specialised guide, we recommend this one on GuruWalk.

☕ Breakfast at Café Hafa

Since our accommodation didn't include breakfast, Fernando took us to the legendary Café Hafa, a place with almost a century of history. The breakfast itself was simple —a French omelette with cheese and ham, or a cheese crêpe— but what really mattered was the setting: spectacular Atlantic views, with the feeling that the horizon never ends 🌊.

🏰 The Kasbah and Tangier's heritage

After breakfast, we took a walk through the Marshan Royal Palace, the king's official residence when visiting Tangier, and through Marshan Park, a pleasant green breather in the city. The Marshan neighbourhood is also one of the most elegant and peaceful parts of Tangier, full of embassies and historic mansions.

To enter the Kasbah, the fortified citadel, we passed through Bab al-Kasbah, its majestic entrance gate. Inside, we explored the main square, the Kasbah Museum (the former sultan's palace) and reached the Bab al-Bahr gate, with privileged views over the port area and the wall that protected the city since medieval times ⚔️.

🛍️ Souks and final shopping

We continued wandering through the Petit Socco, where we did our last shopping of the trip: teapots, postcards and souvenirs to carry the scent of Morocco back home. Walking on, we reached the Grand Socco, the real heart of the city where the old medina meets the modern part of Tangier. It's a vibrant spot, full of life, cafés and a constant flow of locals and tourists.

🐟 The fish market

Our final visit in Tangier was to the central market. Among fruit, meat and spice stalls, the fish section stands out above all. Here, fishermen sell the day's fresh catch straight from the Atlantic: sardines, hake, squid and even freshly caught tuna. The smell is intense, but the energy of the place is unique; buyers haggle over the day's price and many nearby restaurants buy here what they'll serve just hours later 🐠🦑.

🚤 On to Ceuta

With the accumulated tiredness and our bags full of memories, we set off for Ceuta, to close out the trip with two days' rest in Spanish territory. Here our Moroccan route ends, but the adventure still had a final chapter: you can read about our two days in Ceuta here.