The Red City: souks, riads and gateway to the Atlas
Marrakech packs a thousand years of trade, craft and cuisine inside its ochre walls. Most visitors base themselves in a riad inside the medina, spend mornings in the souks and palaces, and use the city as a launchpad for the High Atlas, Essaouira and the Sahara.
The main square shifts from orange-juice carts by day to grilled-food stalls and storytellers after dark. The souks fanning out north sell everything from babouches to lanterns — a guide keeps the maze manageable and the haggling fair.
Bahia Palace, the Saadian Tombs, the Ben Youssef Madrasa and the cobalt-blue Jardin Majorelle are the classic circuit. Tickets are cheap but queues peak mid-morning, so early slots are worth it.
Marrakech is under two hours from the Berber villages of the Ourika and Imlil valleys, and about three from Essaouira on the Atlantic. Multi-day Sahara trips to Merzouga also depart daily.
Skip the lineMarrakech
From €42 per person
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From €64 per person
Essaouira
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