Four and a half minutes from the Spanish city on the Rif coast
Totality begins at 10:48:15 and ends at 10:52:48 (Spanish mainland time, CEST). Maximum eclipse is at 10:50:31, with the sun 41° above the horizon. The partial phases run from 09:42 to 12:05.
Melilla, the second Spanish city in North Africa, gets 4 minutes 34 seconds of totality on 2 August 2027. That is second only to Ceuta among Spanish territories and it is nearly as much as Tarifa, without any of the crowds that the peninsula will see.
Melilla is about twelve square kilometres of Spain on the Mediterranean coast of Morocco, with around 85,000 inhabitants, sitting under the eastern end of the Rif. Like Ceuta, it uses the euro and Spanish mainland time.
Second longest in Spanish territory
Daily services from Málaga, Almería, Madrid and Seville
Second only to Barcelona for Catalan modernism
The old fortified town on its rocky promontory above the harbour, with walls, bastions and tunnels dating from the 16th century. The bastions look out over the Mediterranean to the east, which is exactly where the eclipsed sun will be.
The town beaches, running north from the old town. Flat, open and easy to reach on foot from anywhere in the city.
The central park and the main square give you shade for the long partial phases, surrounded by the modernist buildings that make the city unusual.
The cape north of the city is Moroccan territory, reached through the border. It has spectacular cliffs, but a border crossing on eclipse morning is not something to build a plan around.
Ceuta gets fourteen seconds more, but Ceuta is an hour from Algeciras by boat and will absorb a large share of Spanish eclipse traffic. Melilla is 150 kilometres of sea from the mainland and reached mainly by air, which makes it far less likely to be overwhelmed. If you can get a flight and a bed, it is arguably the better plan.
Partial phases run from about 09:43 to 12:03. Totality in Melilla runs from 10:48:15 to 10:52:49, with maximum at 10:50:31 and the sun 41 degrees above the horizon. Spanish mainland times, which is local time in Melilla.
Plane: Melilla airport has daily flights from Málaga, Almería, Madrid, Seville, Granada and Palma. The runway is short so the aircraft are small, which means limited seats. Book as early as you can.
Ferry: overnight sailings from Málaga, Motril and Almería, taking six to eight hours. A cabin on the night boat is a practical way to arrive rested on the morning before.
Accommodation: the city has a limited number of hotels. Book well ahead.
Documents: Spanish territory, but with identity checks on arrival and departure. Bring your passport or national ID card.