Gran Café de Paris

It's a good and busy place to have a coffee or watch football Worldcup (or probably other games they show)

A good old cafe that lies in the intersection of streets. It has a good view on the night vibes of Tangier. The staff is kind and funny especially the bald server 😄😄 …

The Gran Café de Paris is arguably the most famous of Tangier's estimated one thousand cafés. The other one is the outdoor Café Hafa, that overlooks the Strait of Gibraltar from its terraced cliff-side location on the Marshan. The Gran Café de Paris has been in this central location on the Place de France in downtown Tangier since it opened in 1927, when the city had very few cars and its population was only 60,000. This café is popular with locals and tourists alike, with a loyal following of Moroccan retirees who frequent the Café de Paris during the day. Many expatriate residents rendezvous here, but do not like the two new televisions and excessive noise. Some tourists now walk out. Before "Morocanization" was enacted in 1974, Gran Café de Paris was also a bar and restaurant, and it served food and also beers, wines and cocktails. The café still has its prominent location on Boulevard Pasteur and facing the Place de France and the French Consulate. It's just up the Rue de la Liberté from El Minzah Hôtel. Café de Paris has been used as locations for scenes in the 2007 action-packed spy-thriller film "The Bourne Ultimatum" with Matt Damon, and also in the 1987 James Bond film "The Living Daylights" starring Timothy Dalton. The Moroccan owners have avoided upgrading the interior toilets, and the tablecloths are in need of replacement. The chocolate colored chairs are not leather but imitation vinyl, and they are not very comfortable. The ambiance is from the 1950s or earlier. If you need ice cubes to make your drink cold, they usually don't have any. The Gran Café de Paris is an institution and landmark in Tangier. I hope it survives for decades to come. Nearly everyone who lives in the city has been here at least once, and many tourists make it a point to visit the Gran Café de Paris as well. Most of the waiters and the cashier are friendly, and the service at this café is usually prompt. The waiters and the employees all call me by my first name, and they know what coffee I prefer. One waiter I know has worked at the café for over 40 years. Wi-Fi for portable telephones and small tablets such as an iPad or Samsung device may be used if you are able to get the pass code from your waiter or the cashier. But the signal is often unreliable and weak. You can sit either inside or outside at the Gran Café de Paris. There are three distinct inside areas, but most tourists avoid the lower level down a few steps from the circular area near the men's toilet, since it is always crowded with local Moroccans who sit for hours chatting with each other while often watching two large flat-screen televisions. Inside the Gran Café de Paris there is a circular seating area with non-working marble fountain shaped like a palm tree. In this round room is a large flatscreen television to watch sports, news and other programs. The stairway in this round room takes you upstairs to the women’s toilet and powder room. The circular room has a prayer room off to one side behind a door. The men's toilet is nearby, down three steps. The main room has dark green marble trim where it leads into the circular room and toilets. There are large glass exterior windows and double doors. The floors are not marble. The curved-back vinyl chairs around the tables are not comfortable. From the main large room you have panoramic views of the flow of passers-by on the Place de France with a round fountain, and the French Consulate is across the street. In late-December 2025, the menu prices were increased. A coffee now costs 12 DH and a glass of orange juice was raised to 20 DH. Similar increases were made on omlettes and other food items. In June 2026, all the tables got new light brown table cloths. The WiFi is occasionally weak and does not always work well, particularly when the televisions are on. The owners of the cafe should get fiber optic. The two televisions should be removed from the main front room. The original sedate ambiance is now ruined by these televisions. Has it now become the Cinema de Paris?

My friend and I went there to get breakfast, but when we asked about what "options" we had to choose from, the waiter refused to understand us (I speak darija) and when he did, he refused to answer us... When we chose what we wanted on our own, he told us that they didn't have any of that (it wasn't something crazy, just normal breakfast options). The café itself is nice, different vibe from the rest of tangier in terms of decoration. But the service was not good AT ALL, we ended up leaving.

Best Place in Tanger. There is a good guy named Hmed. He is always smiling and helping.

Very friendly waiter, I had some lovely scrambled eggs and huge fresh orange for a really good price. Merci !

Famous café for famous writers in history. I came here because Korean TV program introduced here. It says that many famous wtiters write their book in this café. Usually other famous places waiters are tired of customers but here all workers are very friendly and kind 😃.

For tourists, one image of Tangier is the white-walled Medina (old town) with its winding, hilly alleys, but another is surely this place, the “Gran Café de Paris,” which is said to still retain the atmosphere of 1950s Tangier—a city known as a cultural escaped haven and hub of espionage for Europeans. A café latte, enjoyed while sinking deeply into a sturdy chair, costs 15 MAD—considerably cheaper than prices in the Medina district. Some patrons, who seem like regulars, linger comfortably, while others are groups of tourists who come and go quickly. Next door is the pleasant peti park "Sour Meêgazine Tanger", which overlooks Tangier Bay.