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Visiting Tetouan in December

BySunMed Guide

Visiting Tetouan in December

# Tetouan in December: What to Actually Expect

Nobody really talks about Tetouan in December, which is either a sign that it’s overlooked or a sign that people don’t want to admit they went and froze. The truth sits somewhere in the middle.

December in Tetouan is genuinely unpredictable. The city sits close to the Rif Mountains and gets more rainfall than most of northern Morocco, and winter here means you could have three sparkling cool days followed by a week of grey drizzle and winds that cut through that medina in ways you didn’t pack for. It’s not dramatically cold — temperatures hover somewhere between 10 and 17 degrees typically — but the dampness makes it feel rawer than the numbers suggest. Don’t assume “Morocco” means warm.

What December does give you is the medina almost entirely to yourself. Tetouan already sees a fraction of the tourist traffic that Fes or Marrakech handle, and in December that drops further. The UNESCO-listed old city — genuinely one of the most intact Andalusian-influenced medinas in Morocco — belongs to you and the people who actually live there. That’s not nothing. You can walk streets that feel like real places rather than stage sets, and shopkeepers are relaxed rather than performatively persistent.

Everything essential stays open. Restaurants, the souks selling everyday goods, the tanneries, the main sights. You won’t find things shuttered the way you might in a European beach town off-season. Local life simply continues, which is honestly the whole point of visiting Tetouan anyway.

Is it worth going? For the right person, absolutely. If you care about authenticity over comfort, if you’re already combining it with Chefchaouen or Tangier, if crowds genuinely drain you — December works. If you need guaranteed sunshine and café terraces until 10pm, come in spring.

**Practical tip:** Bring proper waterproof layers, not just a light jacket. The medina’s narrow covered streets help, but getting caught in rain here without decent gear makes the whole thing miserable fast.

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