Our Visit To Chefchaouen, the Blue City
Chefchaouen has got to be one of our favorite family travel destinations so far. A few people had asked us how our experience has been traveling through Morocco as a family and with our little one. Let us tell you that it has been nothing but incredible. The Moroccan people are incredible friendly and helpful especially to families and children. Everyone has been over accommodating and going above and beyond to ensure our family is confortable and enjoying our visit. Everywhere we go locals are blessing Luca, joking with him and going out of their way to make him smile and make him feel invited. We cannot get over the warmth we have received in this beautiful country from the moment we stepped off the airplane.
Chefchaouen has always been a destination on our bucket list. It was surreal to finally be in the famous blue city that we have memorized over in countless pictures. This city is even more beautiful in person. There is something magical about this place, the feeling that overcomes you. There are many stories as to why the city is painted blue, but there is one story that seems to be the one most told by the locals. The story that the Jewish that fled from Andalucía, Spain brought the tradition of painting the buildings blue to remind them of the sea, as well as the blue reflecting the colors of the sky and that reminds them of God.
It is a small city with a quieter souk compared to the bigger cities of Morocco, with beautiful windy alleyways and delicious food. The blue city can be visited in a day, but we chose to stay for 2 nights to enjoy some downtime and fully soak in the magic of this dreamy place.
We have pulled together a few of our favorite things to do here along with our recommendations on accommodations and food.
Accommodations – Casa Perleta
We read a lot of reviews and did a lot of research and it was an obvious and no brainer to stay at Casa Perleta. This beautiful small contemporary hotel with quaint rooms is perfectly located in the center of the medina. No two rooms are the same. They have a beautiful rooftop terrace where you can enjoy your morning breakfast that is included with your stay. Warming, you will definitely over eat, their fresh Moroccan breakfast is enough to get you out of bed excited to start your day. The incredibly friendly staff made our stay even that much more memorable. Upon check-in you will have the option of booking one dinner during your stay, we highly recommend. No lie it was our best meal we had in Morocco. We dinned on the most scrumptious traditional chicken couscous home made by the owner’s wife herself. We enjoyed our dinner on the rooftop terrace all to ourselves. It was truly magical. The hotel is in high demand, so it is important to book your stay well in advance, trust us they book up fast.
Getting Around
If you are staying in the Medina, you simply get around by foot. Like most medinas in Morocco cars cannot pass through, it is simply impossible with the very narrow and windy alleyways. Allow yourself to get lost, every corner and every passageway is picture perfect.
Instagrammable Spots
Truth is any street or any door in the medina is Instagram worthy. We went camera crazy and it was almost impossible to edit down our photos to post because we loved them all. There are two incredibly famous locations you would recognize along with a few more we have discovered:
The Instafamous Staircase – Callejon El Asri
No doubt if you have seen a photo of Chefchaouen, you have most definitely seen a picture of this iconic staircase. The colorful potted plants add to this already beautiful landscape. This is a very busy and popular photo spot, so be prepared to bring a bag of patience. Because we were staying in the Medina, we quickly realized that an early start here was our best bet. An early wake up brought beautiful light and a few moments to enjoy this location just us. A lot of tourists come through Chefchaouen so don’t be surprised that crowds of people will be queuing to get a picture here.
A lot of people take their photo on the staircase and then move on, we chose to climb up the staircase. No one else was, not sure why, we continued climbing and found a hidden spot at the very end and top of the stairs. The best part is, no one else ventured this way and we did a mini photo shoot here and had this space all to ourselves. We were so happy to find then hidden gem.
Calle Sidi Buchuka
We loved this spot and we didn’t even realize it was instafamous until after we got our shot. We loved the pretty door with tile work that adds to the beautiful staircase alleyway in the background.
Paid Set
Located more in the East side of the medina and off of the main street, you wont miss this spot. This is actually someone’s private patio. The owner had a very smart idea to let tourists take photos for a small fee of 5 MAD. He has added extra decorations, and has cute little kittens roaming around.
Spanish Mosque
The view of the blue city from the Spanish Mosque is worth the hike. Going at sunrise or sunset will give you incredible lighting and the most breathtaking views of the city.
Tapestry Shop
Along one of the main street alleyways, we came across a beautiful shop a few steps down and you couldn’t help but notice all the beautiful tapestries that lined the pathway. We love how this photo turned out with all the colors.
Things to do:
Sunset or Sunrise from the Spanish Mosque
One of our most memorable things we did in Chefchaouen was taking a short hike up the mountain to the Spanish Mosque to catch the sunset. Wear comfortable shoes, and bring a little blanket. This was such a magical experience. The view of the city from here is stunning, and the view at sunset is magnificent. Seeing the city lit up with streetlights and hearing the call to prayer as the sunset gave us goose bumps. This is definitely one to not miss. We here the catching sunrise here is also beautiful.
Shopping
There are many shops that line this very busy plaza. There are some really really pretty ceramic shops where you can find beautiful tagines and ceramic plates. We had so much fun shopping and seeing all the beautifully crafted artisans. We didn’t leave empty handed, we bought a beautiful painting from an oil painting shop and some beautiful Mororran attire that we rocked out at dinner at Casa Perleta above.
Akchour Waterfalls
This is one of Morocco’s most beautiful waterfalls in the Rif Mountains. It is a bit of a hike about 2 hours to the wateralls, we opted out because of the heat and didn’t see our 4 year old hiking all that way. Instead we hung out at the foot of the waterfall stream, where there is a little restaurant where the fresh springs from the waterfall trickles and a little rocked pool area has been created for the little ones to splash around. The water was very cold but refreshing.
Where to Eat-LaLa Mesouda
Hands down our favorite meal here was at our hotel Casa Perleta, it was homemade and we just had an incredible and memorable dinner. But if you are not staying there our favorite and the most famous restaurant in Chefchaouen is LaLa Mesouda and has been rated 4.5 on 5 stars on trip advisor. We enjoyed delicious traditional Moroccan cuisine here.
