The Kas­bah is a for­mer fortress on the hill over­look­ing Tangier’s Med­i­na, which it was built to pro­tect. Its hon­ey-col­ored walls can be entered through one of sev­er­al gates.

Inside is a place of cob­bled alleys, blue and white hous­es, cafés and craft shops. The high­est point is Place de la Kas­bah, from where you can see out over the Med­i­na and across to the Strait of Gibral­tar.

The 17th-cen­­tu­ry Dar el Makhzen (“Sultan’s Palace”) is now the Kas­bah Muse­um of Mediter­ranean Cul­tures. Part archae­o­log­i­cal col­lec­tion, part ethno­graph­ic dis­play, it’s as much worth a vis­it for the opu­lent build­ing itself.