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Private tour · Licensed guide

Anthony Bourdain Tangier Tour: In His Footsteps Through the Medina

Overview

About this tour

  • Duration About 4 hours
  • Group Private, yours only
  • Meeting point Bab Kasbah, your riad or the port
  • Difficulty Moderate
  • Start time You choose

In 2013 Anthony Bourdain came to Tangier for the fifth episode of Parts Unknown, looking for the city of William Burroughs and Paul Bowles. This private Anthony Bourdain tour of Tangier follows him through the medina: the café tables of the Petit Socco, fresh goat cheese at the Grand Socco, mint tea at Café Baba in the Kasbah and a long fish lunch at Saveur de Poisson.

Your licensed guide tells the stories in between: the International Zone, the writers and musicians who came for it, and what has changed since the cameras left.

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The walk takes about four hours at an easy pace, and lunch is included. The cafés and the restaurant are independent places with their own opening hours: your guide checks them on the day and swaps a stop when one is closed.

An independent tour inspired by the episode. It is not affiliated with Anthony Bourdain's estate, CNN or the show.

Clear terms, no surprises

What's Included in the Bourdain Tour

Included

  • Private licensed local guide for the whole walk
  • Meeting at Bab Kasbah, your riad or another place in the old town, or at the port if you arrive by ferry or cruise ship
  • Tea at Café Tingis on the Petit Socco
  • Goat cheese and bread at the Grand Socco
  • Mint tea at Café Baba in the Kasbah
  • Fish lunch at Saveur de Poisson
  • Bottled water

Not included

  • Travel to Tangier
  • Drinks and dishes beyond those listed
  • Personal shopping
  • Tips for your guide
  • Travel insurance

Where we'll meet you

Meeting Point in Tangier

On foot, so no car. Your guide meets you at Bab Kasbah, the main gate of the Kasbah (we send you the location), or at your riad, the Grand Socco or another place in the old town that suits you. Arriving by ferry or cruise ship? We meet you at the port. Staying further out? We can send a car for a small extra cost.

  • Bab Kasbah, the Kasbah's main gate
  • Your riad or a place in the medina
  • The port, for ferry and cruise guests
  • A car from further out, small extra cost
The tour's route. Your guide adapts it to you.

Your day, stop by stop

Anthony Bourdain Tangier Tour Itinerary

Seven stops. Your guide adapts the order and the pace to you.

  1. Café Baba in the Kasbah

    We start at the top, a few steps from Bab Kasbah: mint tea at the Kasbah café open since 1943, its walls hung with photographs of famous guests.

  2. The medina souks

    The lanes Bourdain wandered, with the spice, olive and produce stalls, and your guide pointing out what to taste.

  3. Petit Socco and Café Tingis

    The little square at the heart of the medina, where Bourdain drank tea at Café Tingis with Jonathan Dawson, a British writer long settled in Tangier. We take a table and hear the story of the International Zone.

  4. The Grand Socco market

    Jben, fresh goat cheese sold on palm leaves, with warm bread from a stall at the edge of the square, as in the episode.

  5. Hotel El Muniria

    The small hotel where William Burroughs wrote much of Naked Lunch, and where Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg came to see him in 1957. Seen from the street.

  6. Fish lunch at Saveur de Poisson

    The small restaurant by the Grand Socco where Bourdain ate fish tagine, grilled fish and fresh fruit juice. A set menu that follows the morning's catch.

  7. End in the medina or at the port

    The walk ends in the medina, where you can stay on with your guide's tips. If you came by ferry or cruise ship, it ends back at the port.

Good to know

Additional information

  • Difficulty

    Moderate

    About 3 km on foot over four hours, starting at the top, in the Kasbah, and going down, with some slopes and steps.

  • Lunch

    Included

    A fish lunch at Saveur de Poisson, plus the tastings on the way.

  • What to bring

    Shoes, sun cream, cash

    Comfortable walking shoes, sun protection, and some cash for drinks and souvenirs. Lunch is included.

  • Meeting point

    Bab Kasbah, your riad or the port

    On foot, so no car. Your guide meets you at Bab Kasbah, the main gate of the Kasbah (we send you the location), or at your riad, the Grand Socco or another place in the old town that suits you. Arriving by ferry or cruise ship? We meet you at the port. Staying further out? We can send a car for a small extra cost.

  • Start time

    You choose

    Any time that suits you. The best start is 9 or 10 am.

  • Children

    All ages welcome

    There is no minimum age, and child seats are included.

  • Limited mobility

    Tell us when you book

    The medina has cobbles, slopes and steps, so some tours suit better than others. Tell us about limited mobility or a wheelchair and we tell you honestly which tours work, then plan the route around you.

  • Languages

    English, French, Spanish or Arabic

    Your licensed guide leads the tour in the language you choose.

  • Payment

    No deposit for most groups

    Nothing to pay when you book; groups of 11 or more pay a deposit of 40% of the agreed price to hold the date. Pay in cash (dollars, euros, pounds or dirhams), by PayPal or by bank transfer; no card.

Cancellation policy

Free cancellation

Cancel or change your date at no cost, and tell us at least 48 hours before if you can, on WhatsApp or by email. Groups of 11 or more pay a 40% deposit, refunded in full up to 48 hours before.

Questions?

We reply within 12 hours

Ask about the route, the pick-up or anything else before you book. Use the form above or message us directly.

Ask on WhatsApp Contact@tourguidetanger.com

Cancellation policy

Free cancellation, no booking fees

This is how it works on every private tour.

  • Free cancellation

    Please tell us at least 48 hours before your tour if you need to cancel. Without a deposit, a later cancellation costs you nothing either. A deposit is refunded in full up to 48 hours before the tour.

  • No deposit for most groups

    Nothing to pay when you book. Groups of 11 or more pay a deposit of 40% of the agreed price to hold the date. You pay for the tour in cash, by PayPal or by bank transfer.

  • Change of date

    Need another day? Send us the new date and we move your tour, free of charge.

  • If plans change on the day

    There is no fee if you cannot make it. A short message helps your guide plan the day.

  • We never cancel

    If your guide cannot make it, another licensed guide from our team leads your tour.

To cancel or change a date, message us:

WhatsApp Email us

Guest reviews

What travellers say about our guides

4.9 Read all 86 reviews on Google
★★★★★
Thank you, Fadi, for sharing your culture and cuisine with us as we explored Tangier, and for your availability and attentiveness…
Celine Fleur Google review · Local Guide · Level 5 · translated from French
★★★★★
Fadi was very helpful with the tour and welcoming us to Morocco!!
Garry Laquinte Google review · Local Guide · Level 7
★★★★★
Fadi, our highly professional guide, delighted us during our visit to the medina with his historical knowledge and boundless charisma. Thank you, Fadi!
jean noel clement Google review · Local Guide · Level 6 · translated from French
★★★★★
Expert guides...awesome
Val Borrelli Google review · Local Guide · Level 6
★★★★★
Great experience, I highly recommend Fadi as a guide
Rafo Poulos Google review · Local Guide · Level 6 · translated from French
★★★★★
Fantastic tour: Fadi speaks excellent English and has a lot of interesting history lessons. Highly recommended.
Brad C. Google review · Local Guide · Level 6

Questions and answers

Questions about the Anthony Bourdain Tangier Tour

Where did Anthony Bourdain go in Tangier?

In the Tangier episode of Parts Unknown (2013) he drank tea at Café Tingis on the Petit Socco with the writer Jonathan Dawson, ate fresh goat cheese and bread at the Grand Socco, had mint tea at Café Baba in the Kasbah and a fish lunch at Saveur de Poisson. This tour visits all four, with the Hotel El Muniria where William Burroughs wrote much of Naked Lunch, from $65 per person.

Is this an official Anthony Bourdain tour?

No. It is an independent private tour inspired by the Tangier episode of Parts Unknown (2013), led by a licensed Tangier guide.

Is lunch included?

Yes: the fish lunch at Saveur de Poisson, the goat cheese and bread at the Grand Socco, and the tea at Café Tingis and Café Baba. Tell us about any allergies or diets when you book.

What if a café or the restaurant is closed?

They are independent places with their own hours. Your guide checks on the day and replaces a closed stop with another place from the episode or a local favourite.

How much walking is there?

About 3 km over four hours, with slopes and steps up to the Kasbah. Tell us about any mobility needs and the guide plans the route around them.

Can we do this tour on a day trip from Spain?

Yes. Take a morning ferry from Tarifa to Tangier Ville; your guide meets you at the port exit, and you are back in time for an afternoon or evening ferry.

Why Tangier

Tangier, the Interzone

From 1923 to 1956 Tangier was an international zone run by several countries at once, with its own rules and a reputation to match. William Burroughs called it the Interzone; Paul Bowles made it his home for fifty years, and the Beat writers followed.

That is the Tangier Bourdain came looking for. Much of it is still there if you know which door to open: the cafés, the bookshop, the hotel on the hill. The rest your guide tells.

Photo credits: Café Baba sign by Rachidourkia and Petit Socco sign by Kwikkode (both CC BY-SA 4.0); Café Baba inside and the Petit Socco at night by Nicolas Vigier (CC0); all via Wikimedia Commons, cropped.

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