The tangier medina has always fascinated artists. Eugène Delacroix, Henri Matisse, Paul Bowles, Tennessee Williams, Jean Genet… the list can be continued. All have fallen for the charm of Petit Socco Square and its cafés, especially the famous Tingis, despite the nefarious reputation acquired during the period when casinos and dance halls abounded. The old Mendoub Palace, built in 1929, situated to the North of the medina, is now a mansion for foreign VIPs. The museum of the old American Legation is in the Southern extremity. Paintings are on display and one room is dedicated to the American writer Paul Bowles. You should leave the medina by Grand Socco Square, a lively spot in the evening, and enter the new town.
You can enjoy a pleasant walk in the Mendoubia Parksituated north of Grand Socco Square. A giant banyan tree and a dragon tree, alleged to be 800 years old, highlight the visit. Take rue de la Liberté, a shopping thoroughfare, to the Place de France which is the heart of the modern town. There you will find the celebrated Grand Café de Paris and the El Minzah Hotel which both were haunts of the famous names of arts and literature of the 19th and early 20thcenturies. This spot is still very fashionable. You will have an amazing view of the medina and the port and bay of Tangier from Faro Square with its canons. The mythical Hafa café overlooks the Strait of Gibraltar from the top of the cliff.
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