Morocco’s largest city and capital respectively – do not have the wow-factor of Marrakech. Nor do they have the hordes of tourists. Casablanca features interesting art deco architecture, an attractive corniche and a humming nightlife. Rabat is more sedate but has a star attraction – the old Kasbah des Oudaïas, perched high above the Atlantic rollers.
With its brilliant blue and white architecture, windswept beach and easy-going charm, Essaouira is a popular excursion for day-trippers from Marrakech. It’s also a great place to kick back and relax for a few days.
Probably the best-known coastal town of Morocco, Essaouira has been occupied over the centuries by the Carthaginians, Romans and Portuguese. Behind the 18th century sea walls are thuya wood workshops, artists’ enclaves and silent alleyways where cats sun themselves and veiled women emerge from studded doorways. The harbour is a photographer’s dream, with fishing nets laid out on the quayside, boats unloading their catches and the smell of freshly-grilled sardines and lobster in the air.
Nothing quite prepares you for Fes. The world’s only intact medieval city, Fes is a teeming warren of narrow lanes, blind alleys and fondouks where you’re too busy trying to keep up with what’s happening around you to reach for your camera and where getting lost is all part of the adventure. Nearby Meknes is another old imperial city, with grandiose architecture dating from the time of Sultan Moulay Ismaïl..
Most travellers come to Marrakech hoping to find exotic-looking people, ornate palaces and treasure-filled souks. They want to take a magic carpet ride into the world of the Arabian Nights - and to be able to buy the carpet afterwards. Amazingly, Marrakech manages to live up to this fantasy.
Once used as a base for desert safaris, Ouarzazate is now making a bid to be a destination in its own right. Strategically located within reach of some of the finest ksour (fortified towns) and oases of the south, Ouarzazate is also famous as the centre of the Moroccan film industry.
Ouirgane sits over 1000 metres above sea level in a very beautiful valley in the high Atlas mountains. Only 75 minutes drive from Marrakech, it is a great place to relax totally amongst kind Berber people, spectacular natural views and the pleasures of a 'simple life'.
The souk or market is on Thursday and people come from the surrounding villages and valleys to buy and sell goods. Walking and mule trekking are the most common daytime activities in the area and the hotels we work with can arrange mountain guides to accompany you for a half or full day. Ouirgane is a perfect combination with a few days in Taroudant, which is reached by crossing the spectacular Tiz n Test pass.
Despite a wave of development, Tangier still retains the raffish charm it enjoyed as an International Zone from 1912 to 1956. Its radiant light, picturesque medina and fine views over the straights of Gibraltar have attracted artists and writers from Matisse to Paul Bowles and the Beat poets.
