Tetouan long had a highly deserved reputation of being the least tourist friendly of all Moroccan cities despite its architectural charm. But just like another important tourist destination, Marrakech , police has hit hard on "unfriendly guiding" — men who follow you around trying to get you into their cousin's art shop, and charging hefty tipping for simply following you around.

Walking around Tetouan now is as pleasant as walking around the always tranquil Essaouira . The very few guides that still persist the hard hand of control have had their former aggressiveness changed into polite attempts of getting your attention.

The setting of Tetouan is beautiful, with dramatic mountains in the south and west, right across the narrow valley from which Tetouan rises. But as soon as you have entered the medina this disappears from your view. The medina is certainly not colourful; its greyish white walls are only challenged by the sporadic green tile roofs. Tetouan is one of the whitest cities you will get across in Morocco , and even the new city follows this codex.

The medina is the main attraction in Tetouan, as it is quite large, in full use, and often in very good condition. There is really no need to watch out for typical sights — instead you should just walk slowly through its streets, and behold life around you, the change in architecture and the sharp colours of the houses.

Just some few years ago, walks in the medina could be a problematic affair, as Tetouan's unofficial guides had developed a culture of pestering tourist who just came to Morocco for the first time (coming from Spain with ferry). This is gone now, but still you might like to hire an official guide, as there is plenty of history collected

The food suuqs of Tetouan are in certain respects not real suuqs, as they don't occupy their own space: they follow the streets for hundreds of metres. All types of fruits and vegetables can be bought here, as well as fresh fish (if you get here in the morning).