What to see, where to stay and what to eat in the blue city of Chefchaouen:
Day 4 of our two weeks in Morocco has us heading to Chefchaouen from Tangier. Unfortunately the train does not run in between these cities so you’ll have to make a choice. The adventurous traveler could opt to try Morocco’s Grand Taxis. Beige colored Mercedes that leave from Tangier whenever they’re full and run you 70-100 dirhams. I read some stories of crammed cars, broken air conditioners and an overall unpleasant experience though, so when our taxi driver who picked us up at the Tangier train station offered to take us the whole way, we accepted. We paid around $40 USD.
Chefchaeouen was at the absolutely top of my Morocco itinerary and one of the reason why planning this trip was so complicated. Set in the valley of the surrounding Rif mountains, it’s a small city in the middle of nowhere with one major feature – everything is blue. '
FIRST AND FOR MOST: HOW MANY DAYS DO YOU NEED TO VISIT CHEFCHAOUEN?:
We had a busy Morocco itinerary with many stops and ultimately decided that 1 day aka 24 hours in Chefchaouen was best for our overall trip. This ended up being perfect and I would recommend doing the same. The blue streets of Chefchaouen while amazing to walk around, really only cover a small area. You can definitely see them it in a day or even a few hours if your time is really limited.
There are several popular hikes you could look into if you wanted to spend more time here. We had rain the day we visited, otherwise I would have liked to walk to the Bouzafer Mosque which sounds like a nice add on if you have more time.
WHERE TO STAY FOR 24 HOURS IN CHEFCHAOUEN:
Hotel Dar Munir
At $70 a night, Hotel Dar Munir is set in right in the middle of the Chefchaouen’s blue buildings. So in the middle we had a difficult time finding the right alley way ha! Hotel Dar Munir offers cute rooms and nice staff that helped to arrange our next transportation.
WHAT TO DO FOR 24 HOURS IN CHEFCHAOUEN:
The perfect itinerary? Wander around and get lost! Seriously the buildings are so pretty that you could wander for hours here. I took photo after photo and didn’t stop til it got too dark. The main alley ways run along the north side of the main square, Outa El Hammam. Also in the square is the Kasbah Tower that you can tour for 20 dirhams.
On the north east side of town, there is a picturesque area where you can cross the river and eat along its side. Follow stairs down the river rocks to Café El Molino. You’ll be sat right along the river in your own little nook to enjoy all the sights and sounds of Chefchaouen. If you’ll lucky, the Lavadero de la ciudad – the cities’ river washed laundry service will be in operation. It’s entertaining to watch all the hard work that goes into washing a rug in the middle of a river. Back breaking scrubbing that seems to never rinse clear enough!
WHERE TO EAT FOR 24 HOURS IN CHEFCHAOUEN:
Wander more post lunch and then find yourself for dinner at Restaurant Bab Ssour. Here we had one of our favorite dishes in Morocco. Oxtail in some sort of sweet sauce that I can still taste to this day! We also tried the pastilla here – a classic Moroccan dish of meat (traditionally pigeon!) wrapped in filo that you should try if you see it. It’s a specialty of this region but not a favorite of mine.
Once stuffed, camera roll full and back at our cozy hotel, we packed our bags again before continuing on to Fes the next morning!
Check out some of our other itineraries on our 2 weeks in Morocco:
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