The Kasbah is the highest, oldest and quietest part of Tangier’s medina. It holds a sultan’s palace that is now a museum, a gate Matisse painted, and a terrace where you can see Spain on a clear day. Here is how to get the most out of it.
See the Private Walking Tour
A kasbah is a fortified citadel, the part of a Moroccan city where the ruler lived and the garrison was kept. Tangier’s sits on the clifftop at the northwest corner of the medina, and for centuries it was the seat of power over the Strait. Today it is a residential quarter of white lanes, small guesthouses and cats asleep in doorways, with a palace and a view that make the climb worth it.
Most visitors walk through it in twenty minutes. It deserves two hours.
What to See in the Tangier Kasbah
The palace courtyard is the coolest, quietest spot in the medina on a hot afternoon.
The Kasbah also has a long artistic history. Henri Matisse painted the gate to the Kasbah during his stays in Tangier in 1912 and 1913, and writers from Paul Bowles to the Beat Generation drank tea in its cafes. Cafe Baba, in a narrow lane of the Kasbah, has been serving mint tea since the 1940s and still has photos of its famous guests on the walls.
For the palace history, the Wikipedia entry on the Kasbah Palace is a good short read before you go.
How to Get Up There
The Kasbah sits at the top of the medina, so every approach from the port or the Grand Socco is uphill.
- On foot from the Grand Socco: about 15 to 20 minutes through the medina lanes. Follow the slope upward and you will reach the Kasbah gates. It is steep in places.
- By petit taxi: taxis can drop you at the Kasbah’s outer gate on the Marshan side, so you walk down through the quarter instead of up. The easiest option in summer.
- From the port: walk up along the ramparts, about 25 minutes, with good views most of the way.
The Kasbah lanes look alike and many are dead ends. Young men will offer to show you the way, then ask for money. If you are on your own, a map on your phone works perfectly well here.
The Best Time to Visit
Late afternoon tea on a Kasbah terrace, with the Strait turning gold below.
The museum’s opening days and hours change from time to time, and it usually closes one day a week, so check before you plan around it. Entry is a small fee.
Seeing the Kasbah With a Guide
You can walk the Kasbah alone without any trouble. What a guide adds is the story: which house belonged to whom, why the palace was built where it was, and the small doors and courtyards you would never notice on your own. It also means nobody offers to guide you for money along the way.
Tangier Private Walking Tour
From 40 euros per person, private tour
- 3 to 4 hours through the medina and the Kasbah
- Kasbah Museum entry tickets included
- Certified local guide, just for your group
- Grand Socco, Petit Socco and the American Legation on the way
- Start time to suit you, morning or late afternoon
Nearby, After the Kasbah
- Cafe Hafa, about ten minutes’ walk west in the Marshan district, with terraces stepping down the cliff toward the sea
- The Phoenician tombs, rock cut graves on the cliff edge a few minutes past Cafe Hafa
- The medina and the Petit Socco, straight downhill, for the souks and a late lunch
- The ramparts to the port, the easiest way back down if your ship or ferry is waiting
Frequently Asked Questions
It is the fortified citadel at the highest point of Tangier’s old medina, where the sultan’s governors lived for centuries. Today it is a residential quarter with the Dar el Makhzen palace, now the Kasbah Museum, and a viewpoint over the Strait of Gibraltar.
Yes. It is the most atmospheric part of the medina, the palace museum is beautiful, and the view from the walls over the Strait is one of the best in Tangier. Allow about two hours.
Walk uphill from the Grand Socco through the medina in 15 to 20 minutes, or take a petit taxi to the outer gate on the Marshan side and walk down through the quarter.
It usually closes one day a week, and hours can change, so check before you go. Entry costs a small fee, and it is included on the private walking tour.
On clear days, yes. From the Bab el Bhar viewpoint on the Kasbah walls, the Spanish coast is visible across the Strait of Gibraltar, about 30 km away.
Walk the Kasbah With a Local
A private three to four hour walk through the medina and the Kasbah, museum tickets included, at a time that suits you.
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