Tanger

Tanger occupies one of the most storied addresses on the map — the narrow strait where the Atlantic meets the Mediterranean and Africa comes within fourteen kilometres of Europe. For much of the twentieth century it was an International Zone governed jointly by foreign powers, a status that drew diplomats, spies, exiled royalty and a generation of writers and artists — Paul Bowles, William Burroughs, Henri Matisse — whose presence still colours the city's cafés and legend.

That layered history is visible in the old town: a hillside Kasbah with sweeping views over the strait, a labyrinthine medina around the Grand and Petit Socco squares, and the American Legation Museum, the first piece of property the United States ever acquired abroad. A short drive out, Cap Spartel marks the official meeting point of the two seas, close to the deep limestone chambers of the Hercules Caves, framed by a sea-facing opening said to resemble the map of Africa.

Tanger today is a city in visible renewal — a modern marina, the Tanger Med port complex nearby, and the Al Boraq high-speed line that connects it to Rabat and Casablanca in just a few hours. For the luxury traveller, it is both a destination in its own right and the natural northern gateway to Chefchaouen's blue lanes and the beaches of Asilah, best explored with a private chauffeur who knows which viewpoints to time for the light.