Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Outside in the church graveyard, there are some fascinating wartime headstones, in-
cluding the fighter pilot shot while escaping (which reads 'Good Hunting, Tim') and the
moving sight of entire downed aircrews, their headstones attached shoulder to shoulder.
Caretaker Yassine is always on site and will let you in.
Grand Hôtel Villa de France
LANDMARK
(Rue de la Liberté)
To the north of Pl de France in the ville nouvelle, down Rue de la Liberté,
stands the closed (though possibly to reopen) Grand Hôtel Villa de France. The French
painter Eugène Delacroix stayed here in 1832, when it really was a grand hotel. His fellow
artist and compatriot, Henri Matisse, followed in the early 1900s.
Town Beach
The wide town beach has been improved - it's actually cleanest in the bustling summer. In
any case, locals advise that it is still not clean enough for swimming, particularly the sec-
tion closest to the port. It works well for a seaside stroll, however, and the corniche
(beachfront road) makes walking easy. It's not a great place late in the day, when mug-
gings aren't unknown. There are plenty of attractive beaches down the nearby Atlantic
Coast.
BEACH
Librairie des Colonnes
( 5399 93 69 55; 54 Blvd Pasteur; 9.30am-1pm & 4-7pm Mon-Sat)
A famous landmark boast-
ing wonderful architecture, this is Tangier's best bookshop though it has hardly any
English-language books. There are frequent book readings and events, including author
appearances. It was once the haunt of Paul Bowles, Jean Genet, Samuel Beckett and Wil-
liam Burroughs, and is an absolute institution in Tangier. Today you might bump into Ta-
har Ben Jelloun, Tahir Shah or Bernard-Henri Lévy.
LANDMARK
Terrasse des Paresseux
(Idlers' Terrace)
The aptly named Terrasse des Paresseux provides sweeping views of the
port and, on a clear day, Gibraltar and Spain. A set of ancient cannons faces the bay, sym-
bolically warding off usurpers.
ARCHITECTURE
