On my most recent trip to Morocco, I visited the wonderful town of Chefchaouen. I had seen pictures of the fabled blue village in postcards and on-line, but seeing it up close is quite a different experience. The town is nestled in the side of the Rif mountains, just inland from Tangier in northern Morocco. Founded in 1471, Chefchaouen is now home to 35,000 Moroccans.

And if it isn’t obvious from the pictures above, the entire town is painted blue. Like, absolutely everything. The houses, the doorways, the sidewalks…and each a subtle variation on the hue. And though visually stunning as this was, what I didn’t expect was the hypnotically calming effect that walking around a blue city actually has on one’s mind. Besides feeling like you are actually inside an animated cartoon, I also found it strangely impossible to have any sort of negative thought while exploring the peaceful azure alleyways.

In the upcoming Issue 3 of WMB 3D: World’s Most Beautiful, you can see the colorful Chefchaouen as if you were really there, getting lost in the labyrinths and doorways. My thanks to my guides, Karim Tibari, Tarek & Yousef Turner, and Moustafa el Habti for the personalized tour of this magical town. Pick up your copy of WMB 3D in the Saglimbeni Store here!