Marrakesh is a city that effortlessly combines the ancient and the new. The city's name provided the root for the name of the country itself, spelling out this town's importance through the ages.
Within the high red walls of the medina, just soaking up the atmosphere is the main tourist attraction with snake charmers and smooth shop touts both competing for your attention amid a noisy, colorful bustle that encapsulates Morocco's vibrant soul.
For shoppers, Marrakesh's souqs are the best place to visit in Morocco, offering the full scope of the country's artisan work, while the medina's scatter of richly decorated heritage buildings are some of the country's most famous monuments.
Marrakesh is also the gateway into the High Atlas region, Morocco's major activity area, with hiking, mountain biking, climbing, and many other active things to do. Even on a short visit, you can experience a taste of Morocco's mountain life on one of the many Marrakesh day trips offered from the city.
Discover what the city has to offer with our list of the top attractions and things to do in Marrakesh.
The most European of all Morocco's cities, Tangier is a major port city with regular ferry connections with Spain. This means it is often a traveler's first taste of Morocco.
Tangier has a fascinating and slightly debauched role in mid-20th century literary history, and this past is what draws many tourists here. This is the city that inspired famous works such as Paul Bowles' The Sheltering Sky and William Burroughs' Naked Lunch.
Tangier may have been scrubbed up since their day, with the bohemian cafes and louche bars long gone, but you can still catch a whiff of the decadent days gone by.
Covering around 40 kilometers, the Erg Chigiga dune field is the largest in Morocco. Due to being farther southeast than the more famous Erg Chebbi, and hence less accessible on a short Morocco trip, this vast sand sea of mammoth Saharan dunes attracts less crowds.
The major base for Erg Chigiga excursions is the oasis town of M'Hamid from where you can head out into the desert on 4WD tours and multi-day camel treks to overnight amid the dunes. Be aware that M'Hamid is still around 55 kilometers away from the Erg Chigiga dune field, so to reach it in one day from town, you'll need to take a 4WD tour.
There are plenty of smaller dunes surrounding M'Hamid itself, which short sunrise or sunset camel treks head to.
Morocco's most charming seaside town is laid-back Essaouira, which became one of the country's major hippie hangouts during the 1970s. Today a hint of this bohemian past hangs on, and the town is one of Morocco's artistic centers, with a thriving local art scene.
For visitors, Essaouira's seafront medina, encased within fortified walls, is the main attraction. Its twisty lanes are home to tiny art galleries, boutiques, and a bustling contemporary café and restaurant scene, as well as traditional souq shopping.
For those seeking more active sightseeing, there are also great walks along the beach to outlying villages, and surfing along the beach.
Along with Marrakesh, Fes is Morocco's other big cultural destination.
Compared to its sister Imperial City to the south, Fes is much less gentrified. The medina here (called Fes el Bali) is a maze of skinny, back alleyways where it's near impossible to not get lost.
Amid the souqs area, you'll find the tanneries, where the huge vats of colored dyes are one of the city's iconic sights.
As well as the city's artisan heritage, with souq streets full to the brim with traditional handicrafts, and the scatter of palaces and monuments hidden amid the twisting streets, the main attraction of Fes el Bali is simply heading out on aimless wanders amid the lanes.
Sitting snug amid the lush Rif Mountains, Chefchaouen is a labyrinth hill town of blue-on-blue buildings that has an incredibly photogenic glow.
There isn't much actual sightseeing to be done, and that's one of the town's main attractions.
A visit here is simply about wandering the medina alleys and lapping up all that colorful architecture.
It's a peaceful, easygoing town and a great place to recharge for a while if you've been spending a lot of time amid the cities of Fes and Marrakesh beforehand.
This is also one of Morocco's main hiking and trekking destinations and a starting point and organization center for Rif Mountains walks.
