What's on in Chefchaouen (Blue City), Morocco through the year

Peak crowds — Ramadan, Mid-year holiday in Morocco

• Holiday

  Ramadan

  25 Jan – 25 Mar · usuallyClosures

  The medina cafés on Place Outa el Hammam serve nothing until sunset and the guesthouses are the only places eating. It is the quietest the blue streets get all year, and photographers rather like it. Source ↗

Still on: Olive harvest in the Rif (1 Nov – 15 Jan (usually)), The wet, cold months (1 Dec – 28 Feb (usually))

Busy — Ramadan, school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in February.

Still on: Ramadan (25 Jan – 25 Mar (usually)), The wet, cold months (1 Dec – 28 Feb (usually))

Peak crowds — Ramadan, The coach hours

• Season

  The coach hours

  15 Mar – 31 Oct · usuallyDay-tripper crushCrowded

  Coaches up from Tangier and Fez unload late morning and the photogenic lanes are shoulder to shoulder until about four. Stay the night and you get the same streets to yourself at either end of the day. Source ↗

Still on: Ramadan (25 Jan – 25 Mar (usually))

Busy — The coach hours, school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it

• Season

  Rif walking season

  1 Apr – 15 Jun · usuallyTrail season

  The paths up into Talassemtane and out to the Akchour waterfalls and God's Bridge are at their best before the summer dries them out. Guides are easy to find in town and the hills are still green. Source ↗

Still on: The coach hours (15 Mar – 31 Oct (usually))

Peak crowds — The coach hours, Fourth interim break (May) in Morocco

Nothing new starts in May.

Still on: The coach hours (15 Mar – 31 Oct (usually)), Rif walking season (1 Apr – 15 Jun (usually))

Peak crowds — The coach hours, Summer holidays in Morocco

Nothing new starts in June.

Still on: The coach hours (15 Mar – 31 Oct (usually)), Rif walking season (1 Apr – 15 Jun (usually))

Peak crowds — The coach hours, Moroccan summer

• Season

  Moroccan summer

  15 Jul – 31 AugSchool holidaysCrowdedBook early

  Moroccan families come up from the coast for the cool air and the town fills in a way the day-trip season never manages. Rooms need booking and the square stays busy until well after midnight. Source ↗

Still on: The coach hours (15 Mar – 31 Oct (usually))

Peak crowds — The coach hours, Moroccan summer

Nothing new starts in August.

Still on: The coach hours (15 Mar – 31 Oct (usually)), Moroccan summer (15 Jul – 31 Aug)

Peak crowds — The coach hours, Summer holidays in Morocco

Nothing new starts in September.

Still on: The coach hours (15 Mar – 31 Oct (usually))

Peak crowds — The coach hours, First interim break (October) in Morocco

Nothing new starts in October.

Still on: The coach hours (15 Mar – 31 Oct (usually))

Shoulder season — school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

• Nature

  Olive harvest in the Rif

  1 Nov – 15 Jan · usually

  The terraces below the town are picked by hand and the presses in the valley run day and night; the new oil turns up on breakfast tables within the week. Source ↗

Busy — Second interim break (December) in Morocco, school holidays in 5 of the markets that fill it

• Season

  The wet, cold months

  1 Dec – 28 Feb · usuallyOff-season shutdownClosures

  Half the terrace restaurants shut and the guesthouses that stay open are often unheated, which matters more here than the forecast suggests. The upside is a medina with nobody in it. Source ↗

Still on: Olive harvest in the Rif (1 Nov – 15 Jan (usually))