Ceuta is a Spanish exclave in North Africa, located on a northern tip of the Maghreb, on the Mediterranean coast near the Strait of Gibraltar. Ceuta's strategic location has made it the crucial waypoint of many cultures' trade and military ventures — beginning with the Carthaginians in the 5th century BC. It wasn't until the Romans took control in about AD 42, however, that the port city assumed an almost exclusive military purpose. Approximately 400 years later, the Vandals ousted the Romans for control. It has changed hands many times over the years until Don Alfonso VI of Portugal formally ceded the area of Ceuta to Carlos II of Spain in 1668. Ceuta is known officially in Spanish as Ciudad Autónoma de Ceuta, the Autonomous City of Ceuta, having a rank between a standard Spanish city and an autonomous community. Before the Statute of Autonomy, Ceuta was administratively part of the Cadiz province.

	Country:	Spain
	Location:	North Africa
	Country Code:	+34
	Population:	75,276
	Language:	Spanish
	Currency:	Euro (€)
	Time Zone:	GMT+1
	Train Station:	None
	Tourism:	Ceuta Tourism

By Car To reach Ceuta from Morocco, you need to travel north to the border with Ceuta. From Asilah it's 114 km, 1 1/2 hours by car. From Casa Blanca it's 405 km, 5 hours by motor vehicle. From Larache it's 156 km, 2 hours by car.

By Air There are 4 daily helicopter flights from Malaga International Airport to Ceuta Civil Heliport. They cross the Straits in only 35 minutes and offer spectacular views.

By Ferry Ceuta is connected to Algeciras (Spanish mainland) by sea by means of three high-speed vessel shipping companies, which make a total of between 15 and 20 crossings a day, each lasting about 45 minutes.

• Murallas Reales
• Batería de Valdeaguas
• Catedral de Ntra. Sra. de la Asunción
• Museo Militar "El Desnarigado"
• Fortines y torres neomedievales

The historic heritage of Ceuta includes magnificent monumental sites, such as the Murallas Reales (Royal Walls) and other examples of fortifications from the Middle Ages to the present day. In addition, Ceuta has numerous museums and archaeological sites that can be visited, as well as Baroque temples and beautiful examples of 20th century architecture. The Murallas Reales building is an example of 18th century poliorcetic or siege architecture and has a magnificent Baroque doorway. The inside is dedicated to large temporary exhibitions. Batería de Valdeaguas is a coastal battery built at the end of the 19th century, designed by Luis Sánchez de la Campa, for three large-calibre artillery guns. The guns were removed in 1941. Catedral de Ntra. Sra. de la Asunción was built on the site of the old mosque-cathedral at the end of the 17th century according to plans by the master-architect Juan de Ochoa, and was consecrated in the 18th century. Museo Militar "El Desnarigado" was opened in 1984, it takes its name from a Berber pirate nicknamed "el desnarigado" (the flat-nosed one), an escapee from an Algerian prison-mine, who settled in the cove of the same name in 1417. Fortines y torres neomedievales: The natural border of Ceuta and Morocco is delimited by seven hills, crowned by seven medieval style towers built in the 19th century for the surveillance and defence of the city: Torre de Pinies, Aranguren, Anyera, Mendizábal, Isabel II, San Francisco and the Príncipe Alfonso fort.