Medinas, blue streets and the dunes of the Sahara

Morocco sits at the north-west tip of Africa, where the Mediterranean meets the Atlantic. The spice-scented souks of the medinas, the snowy Atlas Mountains and the dunes of the Sahara are linked in a trip of just a few days. The official languages are Arabic and Amazigh; French is also widely spoken.

Marrakech: Jemaa el-Fnaa and the medina

The medina of Marrakech has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1985. At its heart, Jemaa el-Fnaa square is a market by day and by evening becomes a vast open-air stage of food stalls, musicians and storytellers; the cultural space of the square is on UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage list.

In the souks along the medina's narrow lanes, leather, copper, carpet and spice shops follow one another. Riads, traditional houses built around an inner courtyard, are quiet oases away from the city's noise.

Fez and Chefchaouen

Fez el-Bali is one of the largest car-free historic urban areas in the world and has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1981. The Chouara tannery, with its colourful dye pits, is the city's most photographed sight.

Chefchaouen, in the Rif Mountains, is famous for its streets with walls, doors and steps painted in shades of blue. Walking through this calm mountain town feels like getting lost in colour.

The Atlas Mountains and the Sahara

Toubkal, the highest peak of the Atlas at 4,167 metres, is also the highest point in North Africa. Aït Ben Haddou, a mud-brick village on the southern slopes of the mountains, became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987.

Further south, the Erg Chebbi dunes near Merzouga offer one of the most striking landscapes of the Sahara. Riding a camel into the dunes to watch the sunset and a starry night in the desert is the high point of any trip to Morocco.

The table: tagine, couscous and mint tea

Tagine, slow-cooked in a conical clay pot, is the symbol of Moroccan cuisine. The knowledge, know-how and practices of couscous were added to UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage list in 2020 in a joint nomination by Maghreb countries including Morocco; in many homes couscous is cooked on Fridays.

Green tea brewed with fresh mint and sugar is poured into glasses from a height and is a symbol of hospitality. Argan oil, from the argan tree that grows only in Morocco, and the practices around it have been on the UNESCO list since 2014.

Good to know

• In the souks, bargaining is a natural part of shopping.
• It's easy to get lost in the narrow lanes of the medinas; explore with a guide or an offline map.
• Spring and autumn are the most comfortable seasons; desert nights can be cold.