Things to do · Tangier
Two squares tell the story of Tangier. The Petit Socco was the smoky heart of the International Zone; the Grand Socco is the wide hinge between old town and new. Between them runs the most atmospheric corridor in the city — here is what to find around each.
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Small, sloping and ringed by café terraces, the Petit Socco was the louche centre of mid-century Tangier, where writers, smugglers and spies overlapped. It remains the medina's most evocative spot to sit and watch the city pass.
The most famous of the Petit Socco terraces, Café Central appears in the era's literature as a haunt of the Interzone crowd. A coffee here is as much about the location and ghosts as the cup itself.
The old silversmiths' street climbs from the Petit Socco toward the Grand Socco, the medina's busiest lane. Halfway along stands the Spanish Church of the Immaculate Conception, a relic of the international city.
The grand keyhole gate marks the medina's edge on the Grand Socco. Passing through it is the clearest threshold in Tangier between the walled old town behind and the open modern plaza ahead.
The broad, palm-fringed plaza is named for the date Sultan Mohammed V made a landmark speech for independence here. It is the city's great meeting point, ringed by traffic, cafés and the entrances to the medina and souks.
The restored Art Deco cinema on the Grand Socco is now the Cinémathèque de Tanger, an arthouse film centre and café. Its façade is one of the square's defining landmarks and a hub of the city's cultural life.
Just off the Grand Socco, this shaded garden was once the grounds of the Mendoub's residence. Ancient dragon trees and a vast banyan make it a cool green pause steps from the square's bustle.
Below the Grand Socco spill the produce and goods markets, busiest on market days when Rif farmers — including the distinctive Jbala women in striped fabrics and straw hats — come down to sell. It is the most local scene in central Tangier.
The Grand Socco is the large open plaza at the edge of the medina, where the old town meets the modern city. The Petit Socco is a small intimate square deep inside the medina, historically the social and café heart of the International Zone. 'Socco' comes from the Spanish word for market.
The Petit Socco was the legendary social centre of Tangier's International Zone in the mid-20th century, frequented by writers such as William Burroughs and Paul Bowles and by the era's mix of artists, diplomats and smugglers. Its cafés still trade on that storied past.
Around the Grand Socco you can visit the Cinema Rif arthouse cinema, relax in the Mendoubia Gardens, pass through the Bab el-Fahs gate into the medina, and browse the produce souks downhill — all within a few minutes' walk.
Yes. The two squares are linked by Rue es-Siaghin, a short, busy medina street that takes only a few minutes to walk. It is the classic route into the old town from the Grand Socco down to the Petit Socco.
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