What to do in Melilla

Melilla is a 12 km² enclave on the northern coast of Morocco with seabeds combining clear Mediterranean waters and well-preserved posidonia meadows. Water temperature ranges from 16 °C in winter to 25 °C in August, and underwater visibility reaches 15–20 metres on the best autumn days. Wrecks off Cabo Tres Forcas —20 minutes by boat from the harbour— include vessels of 20–40 metres resting at 15–35 metres depth, forming artificial reefs colonised by moray eels, white seabream and octopuses. The 4-kilometre seafront promenade between Puerto Nuevo and Playa de los Cárabos forms the axis of urban coastal walking. From the walls of the Old City —built between the 15th and 18th centuries and listed as a Site of Cultural Interest— you look over the bay and Morocco's Monte Gurugú at 893 metres. The Modernista architecture of the centre, with over 70 listed buildings, matches the density of Barcelona's Eixample at neighbourhood scale. Melilla's eastern coastline, with gravel coves and rocky seabeds, allows sea kayaking and paddleboarding in sheltered water for most of the year. The coexistence of five cultural identities —Spanish, Berber, Jewish, Hindu and Romani— gives the central market and old town a human texture unmatched anywhere else on the Spanish coast.