Tétouan wears its Andalusian heritage in whitewash. After the Christians conquered Granada in 1492, thousands of Muslim and Jewish refugees crossed the strait to North Africa, and a good number settled in this city beneath the Rif mountains, which had been rebuilt a few years earlier by a former Granadan commander, Sidi Ali al-Mandri. They brought music, cooking and architecture, and the medina they created is a maze of narrow lanes, tiled fountains, courtyards and carved wooden doors that still carries the memory of Spain. UNESCO inscribed it in 1997, and it is among the best preserved of Morocco's old cities, and one of the least touristed.
In the twentieth century the city served as the capital of the Spanish protectorate, from 1913 to 1956, and the Spanish Ensanche, a district of wide boulevards and white and cream Art Deco buildings, sits next to the medina. Spanish is still widely understood, and the cafes of the Plaza Hassan II, the old Plaza de España, are favourite spots for a long mint tea. The medina gates, Bab Okla and Bab Tout, open onto the souks of leather, pottery and brass, and at the old fish market the stalls overflow in the mornings.
For riders, the medina is a pedestrian place. Park outside the walls, on one of the streets or at a guarded car park, and walk in, because the lanes are too narrow for anything with wheels except handcarts and the occasional donkey. Tétouan is a city of over three hundred thousand, so fuel is plentiful, and the road to the coast at Martil is short. The route from Chefchaouen, on the ride list, is the great reward. It threads through the Rif on bends and ridges, with cork oaks, pines and village houses in blue and white, and the surface varies from good to broken. Heavy rain and fog can come down in the mountains in winter and spring.
Spring is the best season, with green slopes and cool mornings, and autumn is also good. Summers on the coast are hot and busy with Moroccans on holiday, so book ahead.
Eat in the medina if you can. A plate of grilled sardines, a bowl of harira soup and a pastry from one of the almond sweet shops will set the day right.