Winter sun city just three hours from the UK set to be big this year – and flights are £16

IF you want 20C in winter, but short, cheap flights, then there is a city just a few hours from the UK you’ll want to visit.

Most people visiting Morocco will head to Marrakech.

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However, the city of Tangier, just a bit further down, is often overlooked – and set to be big this year.

It is thought that Tangier was created by the son of Hercules, with the god himself staying in one of the caves.

The city is often considered the gateway from Europe to Africa, with a strange blend of cultures after it was established as an International Zone in 1912, attracting both Americans and Europeans.

This means you can expect street signs not just in Arabic, but also French and Spanish.

One thing it’s known for is it’s tea terraces, producing the famous Moroccan mint tea.

It’s even been used to film Jason Bourne, Mission Impossible and James Bond.

But being less popular than Marrakech, you can expect fewer crowds too, especially when exploring the markets – just don’t forget to haggle when buying some of the local goods.

And despite it’s short flight time from the UK – it’s around three hours – you can expect temperatures to still be around 20C at it’s lowest during the winter season.

According to Vogue, 2024 is a big year for Tangier is because of a huge number of hotels opening this year.

They wrote: “Over the past year, however, Tangiers has finally opened a pair of luxury hotels.

“First, there’s the Fairmont Tazi Palace, which opened at the end of 2022 in a sprawling Andalusian-style palace that belonged to a former advisor of the king.

“Elsewhere, Villa Mabrouka – Jasper Conran’s second Moroccan hotel after his beloved Marrakech riad L’Hotel – opened just a few months ago.”

Of course, these hotels will set you back – Villa Mabrouka starts from around €450, although Fairmont Tazi Palace is around £200 a night.

Thankfully there are much more affordable hotels – the 5* Movenpick can be found for £82 a night, with Hilton’s also less than £100 a night.

Go for local riads and you’ll find prices from £20 a night.

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And Ryanair recently launched a new base in Tangier with two new aircraft.

Flights with budget airline start from just £15.99 when flying from London Stansted, or you can fly from Manchester for £26.

Flights take just under three hours.

You can even travel between many of the Moroccan holiday destinations following new transport improvements in recent years.

The first high speed train in Africa launched in 2018, connecting Tangier to Casablanca, with plans to extend it from Agadir and Marrakech.

It’s not just Tangier you should be adding to your Moroccan bucketlist.

If you fancy visiting the “Hollywood of Morocco” – with a two huge Hollywood film studio – you should head to Ouarzazate.

Or here is what you can expect from a trip to Rabat, the capital of Morocco.

And we’ve rounded up some of the cheapest Moroccan holidays along the coastal cities – for some winter sun and beach time,

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