Morocco: Marrakech, Fes, Chefchaouen & the Coast

Marrakech

Marrakech, the largest of Morocco's imperial cities, spreads beneath the snow-capped High Atlas at the edge of the plains. Its red-earth ramparts enclose a dense medina of souks, palaces and riads, while the open square of Jemaa el-Fnaa has been a center of trade and performance for nearly a thousand years.

The medina is a UNESCO World Heritage site, a maze of covered souks organized loosely by trade — leather, metalwork, dyed textiles and lanterns. At its heart, Jemaa el-Fnaa fills each evening with food stalls, musicians and crowds, framed by the minaret of the Koutoubia Mosque, the city's tallest structure at around 77 meters and the model for the Giralda in Seville.

Beyond the souks, Marrakech holds some of Morocco's most ornate architecture. The 19th-century Bahia Palace is a sprawl of painted ceilings and tiled courtyards, the ruined Badi Palace frames the sky with its bare walls and stork nests, and the Saadian Tombs preserve intricately carved cedar and stucco. The Jardin Majorelle, restored by Yves Saint Laurent, offers cobalt-blue walls and cactus gardens on the city's edge.

Where to take photos

• Jemaa el-Fnaa — the medina's great square, busiest and most alive at dusk when food smoke and lantern light rise against the Koutoubia minaret
• Bahia Palace — a 19th-century palace of painted cedar ceilings, zellige tilework and quiet courtyards
• Jardin Majorelle — cobalt-blue buildings and bamboo set among desert plants on the city's western edge
• Saadian Tombs — a 16th-century royal necropolis with finely carved marble, cedar and stucco

Fes

Fes is Morocco's oldest imperial city and the seat of its spiritual and intellectual heritage. Its walled medina, Fes el-Bali, is one of the largest car-free urban areas in the world, a dense warren of thousands of alleys, workshops and one of the planet's oldest universities.

Founded in the 8th century, Fes el-Bali is a UNESCO World Heritage site and home to the University of al-Qarawiyyin, established in 859 and often cited as the oldest continuously operating degree-granting institution. The medina's lanes are too narrow for cars, and goods still move by handcart and mule. The Bou Inania and Al-Attarine madrasas showcase the city's finest zellige tile, carved cedar and stucco craftsmanship.

The Chouara tannery, in operation since the medieval period, is the city's most recognizable sight — stone vats of natural dye arranged in a grid, worked by hand much as they have been for centuries, and best seen from the surrounding leather-shop terraces. The Blue Gate, Bab Bou Jeloud, marks one of the main entrances to the old city with its glazed blue-and-green tilework.

Where to take photos

• Chouara Tannery — medieval stone dye-pits seen from the leather shops above, most colorful in strong midday light
• Bou Inania Madrasa — a 14th-century Marinid school noted for its carved cedar, marble and zellige
• Bab Bou Jeloud — the ornate blue-tiled gate framing the minaret of the Bou Inania beyond
• Al-Qarawiyyin — the courtyard and fountains of the world's oldest university, founded in 859

Chefchaouen

Chefchaouen sits in the Rif Mountains of northern Morocco, a small town famous for the powder-blue wash that covers its medina walls, doors and stairways. The cool mountain setting and consistent blue color make it one of the country's most distinctive places to wander.

Founded in 1471, Chefchaouen was long closed to outsiders and absorbed waves of Andalusian and Jewish refugees from Spain. The tradition of painting the medina blue is variously attributed to Jewish residents, to cooling the buildings, or to repelling insects; whatever its origin, the result is a town of narrow stepped lanes in every shade from sky to indigo, set against the green slopes of the Rif.

The medina is compact and easily explored on foot, centered on the Plaza Uta el-Hammam and the red-walled kasbah. Above the town, a short climb leads to the Spanish Mosque, a viewpoint that looks out over the blue rooftops and the surrounding mountains, especially fine at sunset. Pots of geraniums and hanging textiles add bursts of color against the blue.

Where to take photos

• The blue medina lanes — stepped alleys washed in indigo, calmest in the soft morning light before crowds arrive
• Plaza Uta el-Hammam — the main square beside the red kasbah and the octagonal mosque minaret
• Spanish Mosque viewpoint — a hilltop overlook of the entire blue town, ideal at sunset
• Ras el-Maa waterfall — a small cascade at the edge of the medina where residents wash textiles

Essaouira

Essaouira is a fortified port on Morocco's Atlantic coast, with a whitewashed and blue-shuttered medina, a working fishing harbor, and steady trade winds that have made it a center for windsurfing. The sea light here is softer and cooler than the interior cities.

The medina, a UNESCO World Heritage site, was laid out in the 18th century by a French engineer on a regular grid unusual for Morocco, and its sea-facing ramparts, the Skala de la Ville, are lined with old bronze cannons facing the Atlantic. The town was historically known as Mogador and was an important trading port; its blue boats, gulls and weathered fishing harbor are among the best-known sights on the coast.

Wide sandy beaches stretch south of the medina, swept by wind that draws kitesurfers and windsurfers year-round. The town has a relaxed, artistic character, with argan-oil cooperatives in the surrounding countryside and a long association with Gnaoua music, celebrated each June at a major festival. The combination of fortifications, fishing fleet and Atlantic haze gives the light a distinct, muted quality.

Where to take photos

• Skala de la Ville — the ramparts lined with brass cannons facing the Atlantic, dramatic in the late-afternoon sea light
• The fishing harbor — rows of blue wooden boats, nets and circling gulls, busiest in the morning catch
• The medina ramparts — whitewashed walls and blue shutters against the ocean, a scene used in many films
• Essaouira beach — a broad windswept strand south of the walls, popular with kitesurfers

Tangier

Tangier stands at the northern tip of Morocco, overlooking the Strait of Gibraltar where the Mediterranean meets the Atlantic and the Spanish coast is visible across the water. Long a cosmopolitan port and former international zone, it blends Moroccan, Spanish and European influences.

The city's whitewashed medina climbs a hillside above the harbor, topped by the Kasbah and its 17th-century Sultanate palace, the Dar el-Makhzen, now a museum. Tangier's position at the meeting of two seas and two continents has long drawn writers and artists, and its faded grand cafés and Art Deco buildings in the Ville Nouvelle reflect its international-zone past in the mid-20th century.

West of the city, the coastline leads to Cap Spartel, where a 19th-century lighthouse marks the point at which the Atlantic and Mediterranean meet, and to the Caves of Hercules, a sea cave with an opening shaped, by legend, like the map of Africa. The Grand Socco and Petit Socco squares anchor the medina's social life, and the Strait opens long views toward Spain.

Where to take photos

• The Kasbah — the medina's fortified summit with sea views and the tiled Dar el-Makhzen palace museum
• Caves of Hercules — a coastal cave west of the city whose Africa-shaped sea opening frames the Atlantic
• Cap Spartel — the headland lighthouse marking the meeting of the Atlantic and Mediterranean
• Petit Socco — a small medina square ringed by old cafés, a window onto the city's cosmopolitan past

Rabat

Rabat, Morocco's capital, sits on the Atlantic coast where the Bou Regreg river meets the ocean. Calmer and greener than the larger imperial cities, it combines Almohad monuments, a walled medina, and the orderly avenues of the French-built administrative quarter.

The city's historic monuments are a UNESCO World Heritage site. The Hassan Tower, an unfinished 12th-century minaret, rises above rows of stone columns from a mosque that was never completed, facing the Mausoleum of Mohammed V with its white walls, green-tiled roof and ornate interior. Nearby, the Kasbah of the Udayas is a fortified quarter of blue-and-white lanes overlooking the river mouth, recalling the blue lanes of Chefchaouen on a smaller scale.

Across the river lies Salé, Rabat's older twin town, while the Chellah is a walled necropolis where Roman ruins and Marinid tombs stand among gardens frequented by nesting storks. As the seat of government, Rabat is comparatively relaxed and uncrowded, with wide beaches and a coastal promenade adding to its open, airy feel.

Where to take photos

• Hassan Tower — the incomplete 12th-century minaret above its forest of stone columns, facing the Mausoleum of Mohammed V
• Kasbah of the Udayas — a blue-and-white walled quarter on a bluff above the Bou Regreg river mouth
• Chellah — a walled Roman and Marinid necropolis set in gardens, with stork nests atop its ruins
• Mausoleum of Mohammed V — a white marble tomb with a green-tiled roof and richly decorated interior

Local flavors of Morocco

Vegetable tagine

Slow-cooked in its iconic cone-lidded clay pot, the tagine layers vegetables, preserved lemon and warm spices into a fragrant, tender stew. It is the dish every traveler should try, ideally scooped up with torn rounds of fresh khobz bread.

Lamb tagine with fries

Tender, slow-cooked lamb tagine in a spiced sauce, served with a side of crisp fries — the frites that turn up alongside so many Moroccan plates. Hearty and deeply savory.

More guides to explore

Tamgroute, Morocco

Tamgroute Travel Guide: Green Pottery on the Road to the Sahara

Chefchaouen, Morocco

2 Days in Chefchaouen: Morocco's Blue City

Marrakech & the Sahara, Morocco

Marrakech & the Sahara: red walls, kasbahs & the deep desert