Chefchaouen: Inside Morocco's Blue City

Some places are hyped beyond saving. Chefchaouen is not one of them — the blue really is that blue, and the mountain air really is that calm.

Why Blue?

Depends who you ask. Some say Jewish refugees painted it to mirror the sky and the divine; others swear it keeps mosquitoes away; the pragmatic note it keeps houses cool. Locals repaint every year before the religious festivals — the town is not blue by accident, but by devotion.

The Photo Spots

• Callejon El Asri — the flower-pot staircase from every postcard. Go before 9 a.m.
• Ras el-Maa — the spring at the medina's edge, where laundry, gossip and waterfalls share the same stream.
• The Spanish Mosque — a 25-minute walk for the sunset panorama over the whole blue bowl of the town.

Getting There

Chefchaouen has no train station — it is a 4-hour drive from Fes or Tangier. Our day trip from Fes gives you a full afternoon; better still, sleep one night and own the lanes at dawn.