Casablanca
Though not as atmospheric as other Moroccan cities, Casablanca is the best representation of the modern nation. This is where money is being made, where young Moroccans come to seek their fortunes and where business and the creative industries prosper. The city's handsome Mauresque buildings, which meld French-colonial design and traditional Moroccan style, are best admired in the downtown area.
The **Hassan II Mosque** is a flamboyant building was built at enormous expense to commemorate the former king's 60th birthday. Set on an outcrop jutting over the ocean and with a 210m-tall minaret that serves as the city's major landmark, it is a showcase of the very best Moroccan artisanship: hand-carved stone and wood, intricate marble flooring and inlay, gilded cedar ceilings and exquisite zellij (colourful ceramic tiling) abound. Multilanguage guided tours of the interior are conducted outside prayer times for modestly clad visitors.
maphub-meta:{"marker-color": "#e32c31"}

Rabat
Morocco’s political and administrative capital may be short on top-drawer tourist attractions, but it compensates with plenty of charm. The ville nouvelle's palm-lined boulevards are clean, well kept and relatively free of traffic – a blessed relief for those who have spent time in Casablanca. There's a clean central beach, an intact and evocative kasbah, and an attractive walled medina that is far less touristy than those in other large cities. All in all, the city is a good choice for a short sojourn.
When the French arrived in the early 20th century, the walled **Rabat Medina** by the sea was the full extent of the city. Built on an orderly grid in the 17th century, it is small enough to be easily explored in half a day, but large enough to make getting lost inevitable. The main market street is Rue Souika, with local shopping on its western stretch and shops geared largely to tourists in the covered Souq as-Sebbat to its east.
Rabat's historic citadel, **Kasbah les Oudaias**, occupies the site of the original ribat (fortress-monastery) that gave the city its name. Predominately residential, its narrow streets are lined with whitewashed houses – most of which were built by Muslim refugees from Spain. There are scenic views over the river and ocean from the highest point of the Plateforme du Sémaphore, and the attractive Andalusian Gardens at its southern edge are a popular relaxation and meeting point for locals.
The Phoenicians were the first to settle on the sloping site of **Chellah** above the Bou Regreg river, and the Romans took control in about AD 40, renaming the settlement Sala Colonia. Scattered stones from their city remain, but give little idea of its size or form. Abandoned in 1154, it lay deserted until the 14th century, when Merenid sultan Abou al-Hassan Ali built a necropolis on top of the Roman site and surrounded it with the defensive wall that stands today.
** Rabat-Salé Airport has seen increased traffic in recent years, with a number of international airlines arriving here. This makes it an option worth considering when flying into the country, especially as the immigration queues at Casablanca's Mohammed V International Airport are notoriously long and chaotic. Train services to and from the city are excellent, with frequent services to destinations including Casablanca, Tangier and Fez.
** The smart and efficient Rabat-Salé tramway (www.tram-way.ma) system is an excellent way to get around Rabat. Fares are Dh6, bought from ticket machines on the platforms (multiple journey tickets are also available). Services run every 20 minutes, from 6am to 10pm.
** Rabat’s blue petits taxis are plentiful, cheap and quick. A ride around the centre of town will cost between Dh15 and Dh30. There’s a petit-taxi rank near the entrance of the medina on Ave Hassan II and another at the train station
maphub-meta:{"marker-color": "#e32c31"}

Essaouira
It is the coastal wind – the beautifully named *alizee*, or *taros* in Berber – that has allowed Essaouira (essa-weera, or es-sweera in Arabic) to retain its traditional culture and character. Known as the ‘Wind City of Africa’, it attracts plenty of windsurfers between April and November, but the majority of visitors come here in spring and autumn to wander through the spice-scented lanes and palm-lined avenues of the fortified medina; browse the many art galleries and boutiques; relax in some of the country's best hotels; and watch fishing nets being mended and traditional boats being constructed in the hugely atmospheric port.
Essaouira’s walled **medina** dates from the late 18th century and was added to Unesco’s World Heritage list in 2001. It is an outstanding and well preserved example of European military architecture in North Africa. For the visitor, the narrow streets, souqs, street vendors, leafy plazas and whitewashed houses with ornate wooden doors make it a wonderful place to stroll. Dramatic, wave-lashed ramparts surround the medina and were famously used in the opening scene of Orson Welles’ 1951 film Othello.
maphub-meta:{"marker-color": "#e32c31"}

Agadir
With a busy port and beach resort sprawling beneath its kasbah, Agadir was completely rebuilt following a devastating earthquake in 1960. It is now the country’s premier destination for sun, sand, pubs and pizza. Arching south of the shiny white marina, the sandy beach offers clean water and 300 sunny days a year.

Agadir
Agadir is best-known for its beaches. The town is a nice example of modern Morocco, with less emphasis on history and culture.
** Take the local bus for MAD5/10 to the north town of Auorir and Tamri where there are great beaches

Chefchaouen
Beautifully perched beneath the raw peaks of the Rif, Chefchaouen is one of the prettiest towns in Morocco, an artsy, blue-washed mountain village that feels like its own world. While tourism has definitely taken hold, the balance between ease and authenticity is just right. The old medina is a delight of Moroccan and Andalucian influence with red-tiled roofs, bright-blue buildings and narrow lanes converging on a delightful square.
Chefchaouen’s **medina** is one of the loveliest in Morocco. Small and uncrowded, it’s easy to explore, with enough winding paths to keep you diverted, but compact enough that you’ll never get too lost. Most of the buildings are painted a blinding blue-white, giving them a clean, fresh look, while terracotta tiles add an Andalucian flavour.
The heart of the medina is the shady, cobbled **Plaza Uta el-Hammam**. The plaza is dominated by the red-hued walls of the kasbah and the adjacent **Grande Mosquée**. The **kasbah** contains a lovely garden, an **ethnographic museum**, and an art gallery.
Looking east, you’ll easily spot the so-called **Spanish mosque** on a hilltop not far from the medina. It’s a pleasant walk along clear paths and well worth the effort. Start at the waterfall **Ras el-Maa** , just beyond the far north-eastern gate of the medina. Continuing over the bridge, you can walk to the Spanish mosque following the hillside path. The mosque was built by the Spanish in the 1920s, but never used.

Tangier
Guarding the Strait of Gibraltar, Tangier has for centuries been Europes's gateway to Africa. Its blend of cultures and influences is unique in Morocco – for much of its history it wasn't even governed by Morocco. Tangier has always carried a slightly seedy allure, in part due to its time as a semi-independent international zone that attracted eccentric foreigners, artists and spies. Contemporary Tangier could hardly be more different. Tangier's cultural life is buzzing in a way it hasn't done since the 1950s.
- The medina, Tangier's top attraction, is a labyrinth of alleyways both commercial and residential. It's contained by the walls of a 15th-century Portuguese fortress, although most buildings are actually relatively young for a Moroccan medina. Clean and well lit as medinas go, the place is full of travellers' treasures, from glimpses of traditional living, to the more material rewards of the souqs.
- Officially named Pl Souq ad-Dakhil, Petot Socco was once the most notorious crossroads of Tangier, the site of drug deals and all forms of prostitution. Today the facades are freshly painted, tourists abound and it’s a wonderful square for people-watching over a mint tea.

Dakhla
Established by the Spanish in 1844 and formerly called Villa Cisneros, Dakhla lies just north of the Tropic of Cancer on a sandy peninsula stretching 40km from the main coastline. It’s a very lonely 500km drive from Laâyoune (more than 1000km from Agadir) through endless hammada, and Dakhla is actually closer to Nouâdhibou (Mauritania) than any Moroccan city.

Fez
An ancient breeding ground for scholars and artisans, imams and gourmands – Fez is a supremely self-confident city with a historical and cultural lineage that beguiles visitors. And there is something intangibly raw about a place where 70,000 people still choose to live in the maelstrom of a medina so dark, dense and dilapidated that it remains the world's largest car-free urban area. In the Medina (Fès el-Bali) donkeys cart goods down the warren of alleyways as they have done since medieval times, and ruinous pockets loom around every corner, though a government drive to restore the medina to its former glory is spurring changes.
The major sights are really only a small part of the charm of the **medina (Fès el-Bali)**. It pays to do a little random exploration, and simply follow your nose or ears to discover the most unexpected charms of Fez’ nature. Everywhere, listen out for the call to prayer or the mule driver’s cry 'balak!' ('look out!') to warn of the approach of a heavily laden pack animal.
Navigation can be confusing and getting lost at some stage is a certainty, but look at this as part of the adventure. A handy tip is to note the ‘main’ streets that eventually lead to a gate or landmark – just follow the general flow of people. *Word of caution: The Fez Medina can be a bit sketchy and unsafe, so it's best to not go too far off the beaten path. Stick to streets with lots of people.*
The **Chaouwara tanneries** are one of the city’s most iconic sights (and smells), offering a unique window into the pungent, natural process of producing world-class leather using methods that have changed little since medieval times. In 2015–16 it underwent a year-long restoration to spruce up the crumbling environs surrounding the pits, including the viewing terraces, but fear not – the tanneries' atmosphere remains intact. Try to get here in the morning when the pits are awash with coloured dye. Beware the persistent touts, who will pounce on you as soon as you get within sniffing distance of the streets surrounding the tanneries: it is completely unnecessary to hire one and if you let a tout lead you into a shop, you'll pay more for anything you happen to buy there, to pay for his commission.
Compared to the sensory overload provided by the medina, the **Ville Nouvelle** can seem as if there's less going on. But for most Fassis, this is where it’s at and, far more interesting and progressive than crumbling Fès el-Bali. In the past few years, huge amounts of money have been poured into the area, the benefits of which can best be seen along the long boulevard of Ave Hassan II, with its manicured lawns, palm trees, flower beds and fountains. This is the 'real' Morocco as much as any donkey-packed lane in the old city.
maphub-meta:{"marker-color": "#3cc954"}

Meknès
Quieter and smaller than its grand neighbour Fez, Meknès feels rather overshadowed and receives fewer visitors than it should. It’s more laid-back with less hassle, yet still has all the winding narrow medina streets and grand buildings that it warrants as an imperial city and one-time home of the Moroccan sultanate.
Nearly 2km southeast of Moulay Ismail's mausoleum, the king's immense granaries and stables, **Heri es-Souani**, were ingeniously designed. Tiny ceiling windows, massive walls and a system of underfloor water channels kept the temperatures cool and air circulating. Incredibly the building provided stabling and food for 12,000 horses, and Moulay Ismail regarded it as one of his finest architectural projects. The giant vaults are impressive and atmospheric – particularly in the darkest corners – with original cedar wood doors leaning against the walls.
The heart of the Meknès medina is **Place el-Hedim**, the large square facing Bab el-Mansour. Before Moulay Ismail swept through town, a kasbah stood on this spot, but once the bab (gate) was erected the king ordered for it to be demolished in favour of a broad plaza from which the gate could be better admired. Originally used for royal announcements and public executions, it's a good place to sit and watch the world go by. The focus of Pl el-Hedim is the huge gate of **Bab el-Mansour**, the grandest of all imperial Moroccan gateways. The gate is well preserved with lavish (if faded) zellij and inscriptions across the top. It was completed by Moulay Ismail’s son, Moulay Abdallah, in 1732. You can’t walk through the bab itself (although it’s sometimes open to host exhibitions), but instead have to make do with a side gate to the left.
The best-preserved archaeological site in Morocco is the Roman ruins of **Volubilis**, which sit in the middle of a fertile plain about 33km north of Meknès. Volubilis can easily be combined with the nearby hill town of Moulay Idriss to make a fantastic day trip from Meknès. A half-day outing by grand taxi from Meknès will cost around Dh350, with a couple of hours at the site and a stop at Moulay Idriss. A cheaper alternative is to take a shared grand taxi from near Meknès's Institut Français to Moulay Idriss (Dh10) then hire a grand taxi to take you to Volubils (Dh30, one way).
maphub-meta:{"marker-color": "#3cc954"}

Marrakesh
Marrakesh grew rich on the camel caravans threading their way across the desert, although these days it’s cheap flights from Europe bringing tourists to spend their money in the souks that fatten the city’s coffers. But Marrakesh’s old heart still beats strongly enough, from the time-worn ramparts that ring the city to the nightly spectacle of the Djemaa el-Fna that leaps from the pages of the 1001 Nights on the edge of the labyrinthine medina.
Everywhere you look in the **Djemaa el-Fna** (Marrakesh’s main square), you’ll discover drama in progress. The hoopla and halqa (street theatre) has been nonstop here ever since this plaza was the site of public executions around AD 1050 – hence its name, which means ‘assembly of the dead’. By midmorning the soundtrack of snake-charmer flutes has already begun, but the show doesn't kick off until sunset when restaurants fire up their grills, cueing musicians to tune up their instruments.
Five times a day, one voice rises above the Djemaa din as the muezzin calls the faithful to prayer from the **Koutoubia Mosque** minaret. Excavations confirm a Marrakshi legend: the original mosque, built by Almoravid architects, wasn’t properly aligned with Mecca, so the pious Almohads levelled it to build a realigned one. When the present mosque was finished by Sultan Yacoub el-Mansour in the 12th century, 100 booksellers were clustered around its base – hence the name, from kutubiyyin (booksellers).
Anyone who says you can’t take it with you hasn’t seen the **Saadian Tombs**, near the Kasbah Mosque. Saadian Sultan Ahmed al-Mansour ed-Dahbi spared no expense on his tomb, importing Italian Carrara marble and gilding honeycomb muqarnas (decorative plasterwork) with pure gold to make the Chamber of the 12 Pillars a suitably glorious mausoleum.

Amizmiz
With one of the largest Berber souks in the High Atlas Mountains every Tuesday, Amizmiz is a popular destination for travelers looking for a day trip that is easily accessible (about an hour) from Marrakech

M’hamid
Once it was a lonesome oasis, but these days M’Hamid is a wallflower no more. Border tensions between Algeria (which lies just 40km south), Morocco and the Polisario had isolated this caravan stop until the 1990s, when accords allowed M’Hamid to start hosting visitors again. From here, it doesn’t take long to reach the dunes – some nuzzle right up against guesthouses on the western side of town – but to be enveloped by large dunes, you’ll have to head out across the reg (hard-packed rocky desert) by dromedary or 4WD.
The star attraction is the misnamed **Erg Chigaga**, not a single dune (erg) but an awesome stretch of golden sand sea some 56km southwest of M'Hamid. It is the largest sand sea in Morocco, snaking along the horizon for 40km and bordered to the north and south by mountain ridges. The best way to reach them is in classic movie style: by camel, which takes five days or a week (from Dh500 to Dh600 per day) round-trip.
maphub-meta:{"marker-color": "#3cc954"}

Zagora
The original, iconic ‘Tombouctou, 52 jours’ (Timbuktu, 52 days) sign, featuring a nomad with a smirking camel, may have been swept away in an inexplicable government beautification scheme, but Zagora’s fame as a desert outpost remains indelible. The Saadians launched their expedition to conquer Timbuktu here in 1591, and desert caravans passing through Zagora gave this isolated spot cosmopolitan character. These days Zagora remains a trading post and meeting place, hosting a regional souq on Wednesday and Sunday and putting on a variety of lively festivals.

Aït Benhaddou
Ksar Aït Benhaddou is a UNESCO-protected red mudbrick ksar (fort) 32km from Ouarzazate. With the help of some Hollywood touch-ups, it seems frozen in time, still resembling its days in the 11th century as an Almoravid caravanserai. Movie buffs may recognise it from Lawrence of Arabia, Jesus of Nazareth (for which much of Aït Benhaddou was rebuilt), Jewel of the Nile (note the Egyptian towers) and Gladiator. A less retouched kasbah can be found 6km north along the tarmac from Aït Benhaddou: the Tamdaght kasbah, a crumbling Glaoui fortification topped by storks’ nests.

Merzouga
When a wealthy family refused hospitality to a poor woman and her son, God was offended, and buried them under the mounds of sand called Erg Chebbi. So goes the legend of the dunes rising majestically above the twin villages of Merzouga and Hassi Labied, which for many travellers fulfill Morocco's promise as a dream desert destination. But Erg Chebbi's beauty coupled with Merzouga's accessibility has its price. Paved roads across the Middle Atlas from Midelt and east from Ouarzazate mean that desert tourism is booming. In high season, coaches and convoys of 4WDs churn up huge dust clouds as they race across the hammada in time for sunset camel rides, and purists lament the encroachment of hotels flanking the western fringes of the dunes – although there’s no denying the spectacular dune views from rooms and terraces.
Shape-shifting over 28km from north to south and reaching heights of 160m, **Erg Chebbi** may be modest compared with the great sand seas of Algeria, Libya and Namibia, but it is extraordinarily scenic. The rose gold dunes rise dramatically above a pancake-flat, black hammada and glow stunning shades of orange, pink and purple as the afternoon sun descends.