Intro

I'm writing down some notes about my solo trip to the north of Morocco, where I spent approximately 7 days.

I visited Tangier, Chefchaouen, Fes, and Rabat, traveling by public transport only.

After a long, tiring yet very fulfilling 2024, and with my wife Pragya skiing in the Italian Alps, I thought that some me-time was what I needed to unplug and recharge my batteries.

Morocco and its cities bustling with life (literally) 24/7 sounded like a good destination for me and my camera .

I'll recap the overall route below and delve into each city later on.

The route

As mentioned, I visited Tangier, Chefchaouen, Fes, and Rabat.

Day 1

Landed around 8PM in Tangier via Manchester from Copenhagen, and had dinner before a well deserved sleep.

Day 2

What a luxury it is to run by the beach with a mild climate in December!

After a 7k on the marina, I explored Tangier for whole day.

Day 3

Took a 3 hours bus to Chefchaouen, and walked around town in the afternoon.

Day 4

Took an almost 5h bus to Fes, and explored the city in the afternoon.

Day 5

Time to move on to Rabat after lunch, by train this time. It takes approximately 3 hours.

Day 6

Back to Tangier for the last stretch of the holiday.

Day 7

Last Moroccan run in the morning, and overall I took a very slow day after a long week and also given it rained the whole day.

Day 8

Flying to Italy, via Bruxelles this time.

Driving Vs public transport 

On a normal day, I would always drive and have the flexibility of stopping and detouring as per my likes.

This time around, though, I wasn't in the mood for driving and opted to get around public transport.

I wanted to experience Morocco as a local and do it at a slower pace than usual. I really had no FOMO in that sense. I would see what I would see.

Both buses and trains accomplished their jobs at moving me from point A to point B without any problem. Cheap and on time, all the time.

I traveled in December, low season, and no journey was overcrowded.

Safety

It always takes a little time to get used to a new country, city and culture, so I made sure to have my eyes and ears always wide open, just in case.

Nevertheless, I never felt in danger and the people of Morocco have been very open and welcoming, especially after having any sort of interaction with them.

Tangier

Let's start from Tangier.

Tangier is a city with strong French and Spanish influence, and I was impressed to see how almost everyone speaks at least 4 languages. 

French, Spanish, Moroccan Arabic (Darija) and Berber, the original indigenous language.

Many people know a bit of English as well.

On my first morning I went for a run along the marina, and was struck by the cleanliness of this city and the amount of people exercising.

I then explored the Medina, the old city center and home of the most crowded and buzzing markets.

There are two sides of it. The Medina itself with all the markets and its working atmosphere.

When then heading to the Kasbah, you discover a cleaner, more colourful part of town.

One day is enough to bounce back between both of them and see how Tanjawis, the people of Tangier or Tanja in Arabic, go about their lives.

I didn't do any day trip to Hercules Caves, but heard they're nice.

Where I slept

- Hotel Rembrandt, the first time.

- Grand Hotel Villa de France, the last two nights.

Where I ate

- Bachir (add)

- Saveur de Poisson 

- Le Salon Bleu

- Chez Hassan

Other things worth mentioning

- I really enjoyed Le Petit Socco square and spent most of my last morning in town at Café Tingis writing these notes

- El Morocco Club has a wonderful cafe in a small square, where it's amazing to just sit and see people passing by. Time feels like moving slower than usual there.

- I didn't take many pictures of it, but the first market was beautiful!

Final impressions 

Very nice city to spend a couple of days in and soak in the culture, food and rhythm of a culture so far yet so close to ours.

It seems life is very slow until around noon, and then increases in intensity until 4am, when the city finally falls asleep.

Chefchaouen 

'The Blue Pearl', they call it. 

It reminds me a lot of Jodhpur in India, with its blue-painted walls.

The whole Medina is full of small stands selling local products, and a full day is more than enough to explore it all.

Where I ate

I had dinner at Assaada and had their Kefta Tajine, a dish with tomato sauce, minced meat and eggs.

It was recommend by the person at the hotel but the restaurant is nothing to die for. 

Where I slept

I stayed at Dar Rass El Maa. Loved it!

Final impressions 

One day is more than enough to walk around the old town, and I visited in around 4 hours (only one afternoon).

Fes

What a wonderful city. Looking back, I probably regret not spending one more night there. I rushed to move on too quickly after only 24 hours.

The Medina is nothing but a huge-scale, fortified maze with 30m tall walls all around you.

The GPS doesn't often work and getting lost becomes routine.

Fes is one of the 4 imperial cities and has been the capital of Morocco for centuries, which is something you can feel and breathe all around you.

The Medina is the oldest and biggest in the world, and it buzzes with life 24/7.

I started walking around with no destination in mind and I ended up very quickly to the tanneries and then headed to 'Number 10', which has the best view.

The following morning I kept roaming around town with two destinations in mind: 'Al-Attarine Madrasa' and 'Abdullah'.

The architecture of the Madras is stunning, and you’ll get great bird’s-eye views of the streets below.

After that, being thirsty, I stopped by Abdullah for an amazing mint tea.

As a side note, mint tea is fantastic! Also, I know we Italians pride ourselves with the best coffee in the world, but it's not.

Espresso in Morocco is more of a 'lungo', but way creamer and denser than Italian espresso. Plus it's never burnt or bitter! Loved it.

Compared to the other cities, I felt locals in the streets here where a bit more pushy trying to get something out of tourists. Many times I was told a given road was closed, though it wasn't in the end. I think it was just a way for them to get some cash out of you in exchange of them taking you to your destination via another 'open' route.

Where I slept

Riad Dar Bensouda

Where I ate

- Darori for dinner. Had a stellar chicken tajine. Maybe the best meal of the holiday.

- Berrada for lunch. Here they make you try different dishes before you make your choice.

Rabat

The least beautiful city of the ones I visited and I honestly would not recommend visiting it if one is short on time.

While it's probably the most livable one and with the least tourism, it has less charme than the others.

I was lucky enough, during a morning run, to witness fishermen coming back from the night at sea and selling fish to restaurant and cafés early in the morning.

But that's about it. 

I left after lunch the day after arriving, to go back to Tangier and end up my time in Morocco. 

Final impressions 

I really liked Morocco.