Hotel Etoile Du Nord

Two blocks uphill from Tangier's Grand Socco, Hotel Etoile Du Nord occupies Avenue Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah at the edge of the Kasbah, a three-star base for travellers navigating the medina on foot rather than by taxi.

Rooms stay simple — tiled floors, shuttered windows against the afternoon sun — with the port and the Ville Nouvelle both under fifteen minutes' walk.

The terrace café opens early for mint tea before the souks fill; staff keep local ferry and rail timetables on hand at the desk.