Legendary places
Whether following the footsteps of Paul Bowles, Mohammed Choukri or Hercules, there is no shortage of legendary spots in Tangier.
The artist tour
Paul Bowles, Paul Morand, Jean Genet, Mohammed Choukri, Samuel Beckett, Tennessee Williams, Henri Matisse...all without exception have sat in the Grand Café de Paris and the Café de France, just opposite. Most, including Rita Hayworth and Winston Churchill, have stayed at the hotel favoured by Paul Bowles even though Edgar Degas and Pierre Loti seem to have preferred another. All crossed the threshold of the Colonnes bookshop on boulevard Pasteur where you can still find all the works of international writers with a Tangier soul. Many ventured to the Tingis café or the Fuentès, meeting-place for intellectuals and journalists at that time, in the Petit Socco. None missed watching the sun set from the terrace of the Hafa café, a spot which continues to be visited by VIPs from the world over, from Sean Connery to the Rolling Stones.
Hercules' rest
Hercules Grotto is a series of excavations, near Cap Spartel, which fill up at high tide. The entrance of this mythical place has the shape of an upside map of Africa. According to legend, Hercules rested here after digging the Strait of Gibraltar.
Plaza Toro
The no longer used bullrings show the influence of nearby Andalusia.
To remember
Real or mythical, legends abound in every corner of Tangier.
