Royal Walls of Ceuta

Ceuta sits on a narrow isthmus on the African side of the Strait of Gibraltar, and the Murallas Reales cut across it: fortifications begun under Portuguese rule after 1415 and rebuilt in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries in the bastioned Renaissance manner, with a navigable moat, the Foso de San Felipe, cut right through the isthmus from one sea to the other, deep and wide enough for vessels, which is very unusual. Drawbridges cross it. The walls held out through a siege by Moulay Ismail that lasted, with interruptions, from 1694 to 1727, among the longest in European history. Parts of the interior now hold exhibition spaces. Ceuta is a Spanish city bordering Morocco and its history is layered accordingly.

What you actually see

• The navigable moat - a sea-to-sea channel cut through the isthmus.
• The bastioned walls - Renaissance fortifications with drawbridges.
• The siege history - defences that held through decades of blockade.
• The exhibition spaces - galleries inside the restored bastions.

When to go

April to June and September to November; Ceuta is hot in summer. Ferries from Algeciras run frequently and take about an hour, and a passport is needed since the city is outside the Schengen customs area in practice.

Honest expectations

Ceuta is a Spanish enclave on the African coast with a border situation that is politically sensitive and heavily policed. It is a working port city rather than a resort. Ferry crossings can be delayed in wind.

Nearby

Monte Hacho and its fort rise east; the Moroccan border is a few kilometres south.