Riad Azurite

An 18th-century Andalusian-quarter house on Rue Chabou, Riad Azurite keeps its original cedar-beamed ceilings and blue-washed courtyard walls behind an unmarked medina door. Rooms open onto the central patio rather than a corridor, so mornings start with sun on the tiled floor before the shutters are opened.

The medina's blue-lane heart is a five-minute walk downhill, past the tannery workshops that supply the riad's leather goods. Chefchaouen's main square, Plaza Uta el-Hammam, sits roughly ten minutes further, making this a quiet base for travellers who want the photogenic streets without sleeping above them.

A rooftop terrace faces the Rif mountains for breakfast.