RouteTangier

International Zone Legacy: Embassies, Villas and the Diplomatic Quarter

From 1923 to 1956 Tangier was governed by an international commission of multiple countries, creating a unique enclave of freedom, intrigue and architectural eclecticism. The villas, consulates and gardens of that era survive across the modern city.

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1
Villa Harris
The former estate of Walter Harris, The Times correspondent and intimate of both the Sultan and European royalty. The villa and its gardens survive on the Malabata road as a symbol of the International Zone social world.
2
Palais Mendoub
The palace of the Sultan's representative during the International Zone era, later owned by Malcolm Forbes. It now houses the Forbes Museum of Military Miniatures in its grand salons.
3
Former Spanish Consulate
One of the most architecturally ambitious buildings in Tangier, the Spanish consulate in the new city blends Moorish revival with Art Deco elements from the 1930s.
4
Diplomatic Quarter Walk
The hillside neighborhoods above the Grand Socco contain dozens of early 20th-century consular buildings, mansions and embassy compounds in various states of preservation and renovation.
5
Anglican St Andrews Church
An eccentric church built in 1894 in Moorish style with Arabic-script Lord's Prayer above the altar and a graveyard containing tombstones of writers, merchants and diplomats from the International Zone era.
6
Boulevard Pasteur
The main commercial boulevard of modern Tangier, laid out during the International Zone period, lined with banks, cafes and the elegant Cinema Rif, now a cultural center and arthouse cinema.