This recently refurbished museum is housed in the former sultan's palace of Dar El Makhzen. The focus is on the history of the area from prehistoric times to the 19th century.

The medina, the top attraction of Tangier, is a labyrinth of alleyways both commercial and residential. It's contained by the walls of a 15th-century Portuguese fortress, although most buildings are actually relatively young for a Moroccan medina.

Officially named Place Souq Ad Dakhil, this was once the most notorious crossroads of Tangier, the site of drug deals and all forms of prostitution. Today the facades are freshly painted, tourists abound and it’s a wonderful square for people-watching over a mint tea.

The Grand Socco (official name Place du 9 Avril 1947) is the romantic entrance to the medina, a large, sloping, palm-ringed plaza with a central fountain that stands before the keyhole gate Bab Fass. Once a major market, its cobblestone circle is now the end of the line for taxis, the point at which the modern streets narrow into the past.

This museum, in an elegant five-storey mansion, is a must-see: Morocco was the first country to recognise the fledgling United States, in 1777, and this was the first piece of American real estate abroad, as well as the only US National Historic Landmark on foreign soil.

This modest tomb is purported to be the last resting place of Ibn Battuta, who was born in Tangier in 1304 and became the greatest traveller of the period – outpacing Marco Polo at an easy clip. A scholar and judge, Ibn Battuta travelled across North Africa through the Middle East and then onto Russia, Central Asia and China, returning via Sri Lanka and East Africa.

Cape Spartel is a promontory in Morocco about 1,000 feet above sea level at the entrance to the Strait of Gibraltar, 12 km West of Tangier. Below the cape are the Caves of Hercules.