Private walking Tour of Tetouan
Description
On this tour we are going to discover Tetouan the most Andalusian city in Morocco. Like other cities and regions of Morocco, Tetouan appears on the scene of the 11th century history, founded by Muslims on a pre-existing Berber population. It served as a refuge and rear guard for troops in war times between Castile and Portugal. We will visit during our tour the Spanish quarter (El Ensanche) with its beautiful architecture, the Feddan square, the Jewish quarter and we will have a stop to try the delicious cow cheese and nuts. Afterwards, we will walk towards the old Medina (declared a World Heritage Site in 1997). Next stop will be ElHout souK, it is a place where country women sell their handmade products, we will also see the Kasbah from the outside. We will also visit the tannery that has beautiful views.
Tour Options
Itinerary
From this square Views can be obtained of the Medina by just casually sitting on the bench and looking up at the continuous white buildings with the mountain as a gorgeous back drop. The park is not a green park itslef, but a complete pedestrian zone that encounters mainly locals enjoying social time.
The Medina of Tétouan developed on the steep slopes of the Jebel Dersa. In the Islamic period it had particular importance from the 8th century onwards since it served as the point of connection between Morocco and Andalusia. After the Reconquest, the town was rebuilt by refugees in this region who had been expelled by the Spanish. This is well illustrated by its art and architecture which reveal clear Andalusian influence. It is one of the smallest of the Moroccan medinas but indisputably the most complete and the majority of its buildings have remained untouched by subsequent outside influences.
Tetouan has traditionally been a leather-producing town, and there is a small tannery here. They're smaller than the tanneries at Fez, but still interesting. You will be amazed by the quality and variety of buttery soft leathers (mostly goat skins) that are processed there. The colors are beyond belief and vibrant. All the colors are created primarily from vegetables and some animals.
Situated on the dramatic sloping hillside of Mount Dersa overlooking the medina (old city), Tétouan’s Jewish cemetery (video here) was established 500 years ago. Aside from the remarkable vistas it commands, the cemetery (also known as the “Castilian Cemetery”) features many tombs with anthropomorphic engravings—a highly unusual feature for Jewish cemeteries. With an estimated 35,000 graves, the Jewish cemetery was among the largest in Morocco.
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- Service animals allowed
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Not recommended for travelers with poor cardiovascular health
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
Reviews(9)
We had a lovely tour of Tétouan with Mohamed. We learnt a lot about the history and culture of the area and the souk was lovely to explore. We specifically booked this tour to see the tanneries but as it was Ramadan they weren’t open, I wish this had been mentioned in the description as we may have done something different with our time.
Mohamed is an extremely cultivated, open-minded, caring and pedagogical guide. We had a great time with him. We recommend this visit especially in his company. We received a service in French, Mohamed masters several languages.
The experience was wonderful, the explanation was precise and clear, the very friendly guide resolved our doubts and showed us how beautiful Tetuan is.
¡Muchas gracias por compartir su experiencia con Chefchaouen Adventures! Nos alegra saber que disfrutó tanto de la visita guiada privada en Tetuán, una ciudad llena de historia, cultura y rincones únicos. Nuestro guía se esfuerza siempre en ofrecer explicaciones claras y adaptadas, para que cada viajero descubra lo hermoso que es Tetuán y se lleve recuerdos auténticos. En Chefchaouen Adventures nos enorgullece mostrar lo mejor del norte de Marruecos, desde las callejuelas de la Medina de Tetuán hasta los paisajes mágicos de Chefchaouen y la costa mediterránea. Será un placer volver a recibirle en otra de nuestras experiencias privadas en Tetuán, Chefchaouen o cualquier otra ciudad de la región.
We booked this tour on May 23rd more than one month in advance of our tour date of June 29th, this tour was booked with a hotel pick up and drop off. The money was taken and we were excited to do the tour. On the morning of the tour we were at the front of our hotel as specified 10 minutes prior to the time of pick up. As no one came for us by 10 minutes after the specified time I checked my phone, nothing so then I checked my email. They had sent an email the night before at 7:07pm 15 hours prior to the tour, changing the meeting point to a 30 minute drive away. I had not seen the email, so I texted the tour guide, he said we had missed the tour and could reschedule. We were leaving the next day so had no option to reschedule. Had I been advised with more time I would have cancelled I only booked this tour because it had a hotel pick up. The tour company did not allow sufficient time to cancel as you need 24 hours prior to the tour. I had all the evidence regarding the above and requested a refund but the company refused and had marked us on viator as a no show! The tour cost $88.30 which is expensive for a tour in Morocco. I also contacted Viator direct for a refund and they also refused due to the fact that we were a noshow! We were so disappointed to have wasted our time waiting for them and trying to obtain a refund, with both the tour company and Viator!!. I feel I should share my experience as the tour company were awful to deal with, extremely rude and unethical and I feel others should not be put in this situation.
Thank you for your review and details. With my respect you are totally wrong. Your hotel is 30 km from the city center and no pick up is provided from there. The details of the tour are very clear and specifies that we pick up customers from Tetouan city OR we can meet them up in the center. At the moment of booking you get a notification that you should confirm with the provider about the pick up. But you didn't contact us about it. Otherwise we tried to reach you out and you were unreachable by whatsapp and we did sent you an email the day before to meet you at the meeting point, but again we had no answer from you. Insstead, you answered 10 min after the starting time and the guide was already waiting for you at the starting point. The rescheduling offer was as a courtesy from us so you can enjoy the tour. But you preferred to treat me of writing a bad review and "take this very far" (with your own words). Thank you again for booking with us and please next time pay more attention to the details of any activity you are booking because these kind of errors cause inconveniences to many workers.
We visited 6 cities in Morocco and excursion in Tetouan was the best one! Highly recommended to everyone! This company definitely know what they do.
Our guide was a local and knew all the history. As a private tour, we also tweaked some things so we could spend more time on the things we were more interested to find out about. Well worth doing this tour.
All perfect!!! We will hire them again for sure! Your exceptional guide Monxi!!! Great job!
