Tangier Medina
Walled old town with gates, squares and museums
Tangier's medina is the old town inside the city walls, protected together with its gates and the Great Mosque since 1940. In its lanes stand the American Legation, the only National Historic Landmark in Morocco, and Dar Niaba, a museum of diplomatic history and travelling artists.
On this page
A walled old town
Tangier's medina is the old town inside the city walls. In 1940 its walls and fortifications were placed under protection, together with the Great Mosque, the Issawa Mosque, the fountain on Rue Siaghine and several gates, among them the Porte de la Marine, the Porte de Dar Niaba and the Porte de Dar Baroud. The same law covered the palace known as "York Castle" and the towers on Rue Sania and Rue Amsrouk.
Above the lanes rises the Kasbah, the fortress that dominates the medina, with the Kasbah Museum in its former palace. Two buildings inside the medina, Dar Niaba and the American Legation, were listed as heritage buildings in 2016.
Squares and buildings
The Petit Socco, also called Souk Dakhel, shows how European the town once became: with its banks and cafés it was a business and trading centre of international standing.
The Tangier American Legation stands at 8 Rue d'Amérique. It has been on the US National Register of Historic Places since 1981 and a National Historic Landmark since 1982, the only National Historic Landmark in Morocco. Today the building is a museum, and guided tours can be arranged with the Legation.
Dar Niaba, at 41 Rue Siaghine opposite the Assayag Synagogue, was given to France by Sultan Moulay Slimane in 1816 to house the French consulate. In 1851 it became the seat of Dar Niaba Essaida, the office of the sultan's representative, set up to deal with foreign affairs. In 2020 the building was restored as a museum of diplomatic history, and since 2022 it has been run by the Fondation Nationale des Musées. Its permanent exhibition has two parts: one on Tangier's diplomatic history, the other on artists who travelled through Morocco, among them Eugène Delacroix. The collection comes from a donation of around 350 works and objects.
The Mendoubia building on Place du 9 Avril was listed in 2016, and the gardens of the Mendoubia are among the city's sights. St Andrew's, the Anglican church at 50 Rue d'Angleterre, holds Holy Communion every Sunday at 11:00, and all are welcome.
Exploring the lanes
Bogus tourist guides often approach visitors in the medina quarters. If you want a guide, make sure they carry an official badge and have permission from the local authority. Petty crime such as pickpocketing and bag-snatching is common in tourist areas, and especially in the medinas, so avoid quiet lanes after dark and do not carry large amounts of money or valuables. The safety page has more on this.
If you would like to stay inside the walls, the where to stay page covers the medina as a base.
When to visit
Dar Niaba opens from 10:00 to 18:00 and is closed on Tuesdays, like the two museums in the Kasbah. The American Legation opens Monday to Friday from 10:00 to 17:00 and on Saturdays and Sundays from 10:00 to 15:00, so weekend visits are shorter. On Sundays, St Andrew's holds its service at 11:00.
For the climate through the year, see weather in Tangier. The other sights of the city are on the things to do page.