Cafe Hafa

Cafe Hafa is one of the most legendary cafes in all of Morocco, clinging to the cliff edge of Tangier's Marshan district with a series of terraced platforms that cascade down toward the Strait of Gibraltar. Since 1921, this unassuming clifftop cafe has been a gathering place for poets, artists, musicians, and dreamers drawn by its extraordinary location and timeless atmosphere.

The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, Paul Bowles, Tennessee Williams, and Jack Kerouac all sat on these very same terraces, sipping mint tea while gazing across the strait to Spain. The cafe has changed remarkably little since those days: simple blue tables and chairs, whitewashed walls, and no menu beyond mint tea and simple snacks. The simplicity is the point.

What makes Cafe Hafa truly special is the view and the feeling. Sitting on the lowest terrace with a glass of sweet mint tea, watching the cargo ships traverse the strait while the sun sets over the Atlantic and the Mediterranean, is one of Morocco's most transcendent travel moments. This is not a place to eat; it is a place to simply be.