B2
B2
A2
A1
B1
B3
C1
B2
B2
C2
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B3
D2
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D1A2
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C2B3A3
C25 Casa Hassan
6 Dar Baibou
7 Dar Baraka
8 Dar Meziana
9 Dar Terrae
10 Dar Zman
11 Hostal Guernika
12 Hostal Yasmina
13 Hotel Barcelona
14 Hotel Koutoubia
15 Hotel Madrid
16 Hotel Marrakesh
17 Hotel Molino
18 Hotel Mouritania
19 Hotel Rif
20 Hotel Salam
21 John's House Eating
22 Assaada
23 Bab el-Ansar Café
24 Chez Aziz
25 La Lampe Magique Drinking
26 Bar Oum-Rabiá
27 Hotel Parador BarInformation
28 Preference Voyages AgencyTransport
29 Grands Taxis to Bab Taza
30 Petits TaxisHistory
Chefchaouen was originally known as Chaouen, meaning ‘peaks’. Under Spanish occupation the
spelling changed to Xaouen, and in 1975 the town was renamed Chefchaouen (Look at the
Peaks). These days, the names are used interchangeably.
Moulay Ali ben Rachid founded Chaouen in 1471 as a base for Riffian Berber tribes to launch
attacks on the Portuguese in Ceuta. The town expanded with the arrival of Muslim and Jewish
refugees from Granada in 1494, who built the whitewashed houses, with tiny balconies, tiled
roofs and patios (often with a citrus tree in the centre), that give the town its distinctive Spanish
flavour. The pale-blue wash prevalent today was introduced in the 1930s – previously windows
and doors had been painted a traditional Muslim green.
The town remained isolated and xeno-phobic – Christians were forbidden to enter on pain of
death – until occupied by Spanish troops in 1920. When the Spanish arrived they were
surprised to hear the Jewish inhabitants still speaking a variant of medieval Castilian. The