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Throughout history, the city has passed through Phoenician, Roman, Portuguese, Spanish and later French rule. Home to one of Morocco's most well-preserved medinas, its port established it as a major commercial hub, and in the modern era it continues to serve as a bridge connecting European, African and Arab worlds.
Worth a couple of days on holiday, but not enough going on to make it a viable longer-term remote-work base.
Tangier was the third stop on this Moroccan itinerary, following a week spent in Casablanca and Rabat.
It promised a slightly more European-infused atmosphere, situated only 30km from the Andalusian shoreline.
Accommodation in Tangier via Airbnb veered towards the more expensive side for the country. If looking for a month-long stay, prices are hovering around the £1,000 mark for a decent quality apartment close to the marina or within the medina itself.
Better value can be found further in one of the many new builds eastwards, just south of Plage Municipale, but having stayed there and felt truly underwhelmed, I couldn't recommend it in good faith to anyone looking for a base in the city.
These prices make it highly competitive when compared to practically any city in Western Europe, but not sufficiently compelling to warrant making a case for visiting.
My recommendation would be to visit the city for a couple of nights on holiday and splash out on a premium option within the Kasbah or elsewhere in the medina, and not worry about the practicalities of optimising it for a longer-term stay.
Tangier would rank as the worst of the cities I visited for coworking, with no clear standout options. Unlike Rabat and Casablanca, there’s no branch of The Commons coworking space, which provided such solid bases in the other cities.
Regus has a site close to the beach, but they’re notoriously poor choices if you only need a space for a couple of days.
I opted for Nearby Hub, which I’ve covered in more detail below. It’s fine for a short stint but not somewhere you’d plan a trip around.
There do seem to be some better options a little further out, notably Cowork24 and Coworking Castilla, which are more likely to meet your standards if you’re used to higher-quality setups elsewhere.
This is the main reason why I'd suggest spending only a couple of days here rather than planning to work from the city for a prolonged period.
Like most places throughout the country, day-to-day living costs are unparalleled across Europe. Expect to pick up a hearty local meal like a tagine for well under £5, always served with plentiful bread as an accompaniment.
An espresso from a traditional café costs around £1, whilst a simple breakfast with eggs, bread, olives and an orange juice can be found in most places for around £3. Prices for more international items can begin to creep up, but if you are interested in primarily exploring traditional Moroccan cuisine, you can live very well on a modest budget.
Taxi rides via InDrive are inexpensive, with most journeys within the city costing no more than a couple of pounds at a time.
Local beers from bars start at around £1.70 for a small bottle, with prices scaling up considerably when looking for imported items from more sophisticated outlets.
With good availability of affordable apartments and low day-to-day costs, if you are looking to operate within European working hours and remain within an hour's flight of the continent, there are few better options for those seeking to minimise their monthly expenditure as dramatically as possible.
Tangier has more vibrancy than Rabat which preceded it. There's a better day-to-day rhythm, more concentrated footfall and a reasonable air of excitement around the medina.
In the commercial streets around Bd Pasteur and in the cafés and restaurants, there was a good energy that felt missing from the two preceding cities.
But ultimately it's still not somewhere to get excited about and somewhere that felt unsatisfying by international standards. Aside from the novelty of walking around and acquainting yourself with a new destination, there was little to sustain any interest over a month-long stay.
The nightlife options are minimal, the beachfront sparsely populated, and the further east you progress from Ave Mohammed V, the atmosphere felt like it deteriorated.
Perfect for a weekend to immerse yourself in it as a tourist, but nothing to keep you engaged for a longer stint.
Morocco operates on GMT+1 throughout most of the year, making it one hour ahead of the UK during winter months when the UK is on GMT, and perfectly aligned with UK working hours during summer when the UK observes daylight saving time (BST).
The exception is during Ramadan, when Morocco temporarily switches to GMT for approximately six weeks, though the dates vary each year as Ramadan follows the lunar calendar.
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I particularly disliked the area I opted for and it was likely a key contributing reason why I didn't fully embrace Tangier.
Tangier felt similar to the other cities I visited in Morocco in that whilst there's a good volume of options on paper, realistically there aren't many that are probably at the quality you may be hoping for.
I opted for the 'Nearby Hub' which was within a 10-minute walk of the apartment I was staying in and convenient if you are staying anywhere towards the train station.
At 40 dirhams (£3.20) for a day pass, it was exceptionally good value. The space is clean, you have a dedicated table with a proper office chair, and there is a phone booth and outdoor terrace for calls. The internet was some of the strongest I found throughout the trip, with speeds over 200mbps.
However, in reality this really is a place to get in, do your work and leave. There was a grand total of three people in there on the day I was in, potentially lower than usual due to some particularly aggressive drilling on an adjacent construction site. There is natural light, but no visibility of the sky and nowhere to sit outside of the chairs. The atmosphere could be comparable to a bureaucratic council office in a third-tier UK town. It's not a satisfying space to spend any more time in than you have to.
Booking can be made online via WhatsApp. You will receive a code which will give you 24-hour access to the doors and the friendly and accommodating owner will pass by at some point to collect the cash.
For what it is intended for, it's passable and serves a purpose. But I wouldn't suggest basing a longer trip around it. The part of the city that it's located in was easily my least favourite. There's rubbish continuously floating in the wind tunnels formed by the closely knit buildings, plenty of derelict properties awaiting some form of redevelopment and an unshakeable seedy feel lingering in the streets.
The weather was close to ideal during October. Not quite hot enough to carelessly enjoy the beach but perfect for exploring outdoors in shorts and a t-shirt late into the evening. The peak seasons for the country generally tend to be during spring, with autumn slightly quieter, both periods avoiding the intensity that comes with midsummer heat.
How long do you need in Tangier? I'd suggest you can get everything done here over the course of a weekend. With no real standout options for coworking, I would struggle to recommend a week-long visit and, being at the most northerly point of the country, it doesn't make for an ideal practical base if you're intending to explore further afield.
Tangier felt noticeably more popular with tourists than both Rabat and Casablanca. The close proximity to the southern Spanish coastline means that you may start getting greetings infused with 'Hola' and 'Amigo' if bearing any form of European complexion.
Again, this prevalence of tourists is found close to the medina, train station and nearby streets, but you don't have to walk more than a few feet away from these sites for there to be almost no presence of any foreigners.
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