The verdict
Choose Chefchaouen for an inland base and a distinctive stay, provided you scout outside the tight urban core. The city gives up some totality compared with Tangier or Tetouan, but weather and a clear view matter far more than that difference.
The eastern horizon
Maximum occurs with the Sun about 38.5 degrees high in the east. Mountain shoulders can hide the earlier partial phase and may affect some low courtyards or narrow streets. A high terrace is not automatically safe if a ridge occupies the same bearing. Use a compass, terrain view and an in-person morning check. Open ground outside the medina is usually easier to evaluate and manage than a photogenic but enclosed rooftop.
Weather and alternatives
Chefchaouen is inland from the Mediterranean coast, yet it remains embedded in the Rif and can experience local cloud around the mountains. Its value is as a different weather regime from the shoreline, not as a guaranteed clear zone. Watch whether cloud is capped on windward slopes or spreading across the interior before committing.
Getting there
Roads into Chefchaouen are more constrained than the main Tangier corridor, and large eclipse traffic could remove the freedom to improvise late. Fuel, food, parking and the final viewing field should be settled before the morning. Do not assume that a short map distance to Akchour or Bab Berred translates into a fast move on narrow mountain roads.
Build a fallback
If the city horizon is poor, scout an open site on the appropriate side of the basin rather than climbing at random. If mountain cloud develops, compare conditions toward Tetouan, Ouezzane and Bab Berred while there is still time to move. A safe site with four minutes of totality is better than a last-minute chase for a longer centerline duration.
35.1688° N, -5.2636° E. Research contact times are approximate, with around 10 seconds uncertainty reported in the original calculation.
Source and uncertainty notes