Marrakech

Marrakech is the city most travelers meet first, and it is still the best base for the south. The medina is a working market as much as a monument: tanneries of a smaller scale than Fes, spice squares, and riads whose courtyards cancel the noise the moment the door shuts.

Outside the walls, the Palmeraie, Jardin Majorelle and the Agafay stone desert are easy half days. The High Atlas is closer than it looks on a map. And the road over Tizi n’Tichka remains the classic start of a Sahara journey.

Stay in a riad if you want Morocco; stay in Gueliz if you want a grid of cafés and a calmer night. We pick you up from either.

When to visit Marrakech

Spring and autumn are the most comfortable months, with warm days and cool evenings on the riad roof. Summer afternoons are hot, so we plan medina walks early and leave the heat of the day for gardens, pools and a hammam. Winter is sunny and mild by day, with snow often visible on the Atlas from the city.

Getting to and around Marrakech

Marrakech Menara airport is fifteen minutes from the medina, with direct flights from much of Europe. Inside the old city most lanes are too narrow for cars, so riad staff meet you with a handcart for luggage at the nearest gate. Our drivers wait just outside the walls for day trips to the Atlas, Ourika, Essaouira and Agafay, and for the start of desert tours over Tizi n’Tichka.

Authoritative background: UNESCO listing for the Medina of Marrakesh (UNESCO World Heritage Centre — Medina of Marrakesh).

Tours from Marrakech