20 great things to do in Marrakech

The ultimate checklist for things to do in Marrakech – follow our insider tips for stunning mosques, fascinating crafts and luxury living:

1. Circle the Koutoubia Mosque

The minaret of the Koutoubia Mosque, Marrakech’s most famous symbol – built in a traditional Almohad style and topped with four copper globes – is visible from near and far. It’s not really that high (77 metres), but thanks to local topography and a local ordinance that forbids any other building in the Medina to be higher than a palm tree, it towers majestically over its surroundings. It’s still an active place of worship, and non-Muslims may not enter. But it’s possible to get a good view of the exterior by walking around either side.

2. Spend your dirhams at the souks

There are few more pleasurable ways to spend time in Marrakech than wandering around the seemingly endless maze of markets in the Medina. The area of the Medina, just north of the Jemaa El Fna, is commercial – at least in its more central areas – with a fibrous network of souks. Beginning on the north edge, the souks comprise alleyway upon alleyway of tiny retail cubicles. The further in you venture the more interesting they become.
The two main routes into their heart are rue Semarine (aka Souk Semarine) and rue Mouassine; the former offers the more full-on blast of bazaar, the latter is a more sedate path leading to choice boutiques. Every section has its own speciality: carpets and textiles; woollen hats and cooked snails; spices and magic supplies; cotton, clothing, kaftans and blankets – and most importantly raffia bags and baskets, which you’ll need to carry all your purchases in.

3. Learn about Islamic scripture and law

The Ben Youssef Medersa, a Quranic school, dedicated to the teaching of Islamic scripture and law, was founded in the 14th century, then enlarged in the 16th century. It was given a further polishing up in the 1990s courtesy of the Ministry of Culture. Entrance is via a long, cool passageway leading to the great courtyard, a serene place (before the tour parties arrive) centred on a shallow, water-filled basin. The surrounding façades are decorated with zelije tiling, stucco and carved cedar, all executed with restraint. At the far side is the domed prayer hall with the richest of decoration, notably around the mihrab, the arched niche that indicates the direction of Mecca.
Back in the entrance vestibule, passageways and two flights of stairs lead to more than 100 tiny windowless students’ chambers, clustered about small internal lightwells. Medieval as it seems, the medersa was still in use until as recently as 1962.
Ben Youssef Medersa, Place Ben Youssef (+212 524 44 18 93). Open 9am-6pm daily. Admission 50dh. Children under 12, 30dh.

4. Dig out some new threads

Algerian-French designer Norya ayroN’s Moroccan-inspired womenswear is becoming a hit with the stars. Trendy, yet comfortable, colourful kaftans and one-of-a-kind robes are what her Pop-up Shop is known for.
Norya ayroN 32 Souk El Jeld, Sidi Abdelaziz, near Souk Cherifia, +212 661 29 59 90.
Fashion creative Artsi Ifrach has a boutique store  – Art/C – in Souk Cherifia. His signature style sees him reinterpreting clothes that are one-offs: you’ll find a gorgeous deer tapestry in deep bordeaux refashioned as a dress, trousers embellished with handira blanket sequins, shoes made from carpets, a vintage linen piece crowned with a fur collar and the non-kosher pig print dress. Cartoon flamingo print kaftan, anyone? It cannot get more fabulous.

Akbar Delights (45 place Bab Fteuh, +212 671 66 13 07, www.akbar delightscollections.com) is an upmarket French-owned boutique specialising in luxury clothing and textiles from Kashmir, with some items made to their own designs. The tiny space is crammed with embroidered tops and dresses, cotton robes, silk shawls and scarves, plus shimmery, shoulder bags.
Akbar Delights 45 place Bab Fteuh, +212 671 66 13 07.

5. Get into garden living

With green space at a premium in Marrakech, it’s good to know where to seek respite from the African sun. Just outside the Medina is the glamourous, world-famous La Mamounia (Avenue Bab Jedid, +212 524 38 86 00) with its equally famous gardens.
The Arset El-Mamoun gardens were established in the 18th century by Crown Prince Moulay Mamoun on land gifted to him by his father, the sultan, on the occasion of his wedding. Designed in traditional style, on an axis, with walkways, flowerbeds, orange groves and olive trees, non-residents who want to enjoy their splendour can visit for a buffet lunch at the poolside restaurant, take afternoon tea at Le Menzeh tea and ice-cream pavilion in the gardens, or on the back terrace overlooking the gardens.
French painter Jacques Majorelle’s flourishing homage to the plant world is a much sought-after colourful and shady retreat from the bustle of Marrakech’s Medina. The lemon yellow and the striking cobalt blue (now named Majorelle blue), plus the palms, the soaring cacti and the multicoloured planters, seduce visitors in their thousands to this sanctuary in the Ville Nouvelle. Linger longer for the café, outstanding museum with Berber jewellery, Yves Saint Laurent’s Galerie Love, and the cluster of shops and cafés on the Jardin Majorelle’s doorstep (Majorelle Gardens, Rue Yves Saint Laurent, +212 524 31 30 47).
Majorelle Gardens Rue Yves Saint Laurent. +212 524 31 30 47. Open 8am-5.30pm daily. Admission 50dh; free under-9s. Berber Museum 25dh.

6. Get arts & crafty, Moroccan style

On display in Maison Tiskiwin, a private house owned by veteran Dutch anthropologist Bert Flint, is his fascinating collection of crafts and decorative arts from southern Morocco and the Sahara. The exhibition is designed to show Morocco’s connection to sub-Saharan Africa and is geographically laid out to take you on a virtual journey across the Sahara to Timbuktu. Exhibits include masks from as far afield as Mali and an entire Berber tent made of camel hair.
Maison Tiskiwin 8 Derb El-Bahia, off Riad Zitoun El-Jedid + 212 524 38 91 92. Open 9am-12.30pm, 2.30-6pm daily. Admission 20dh; 10dh children.

7. Be grave at the ancient Saadian Tombs

Flanking the south side of the Kasbah Mosque, the site of what is possibly Marrakech’s most visited monument is an ancient walled garden, the use of which far predates the Saadian era. Dotted around the shrubbery are early mosaic graves; the identity of those interred is long lost. Attention instead focuses on the three pavilions built during the reign of Saadian sultan Ahmed El-Mansour.
First on the left is the Prayer Hall, which holds numerous graves, mainly of Alaouite princes from the 18th century. Next to it is the Hall of Twelve Columns, a more ornate affair with three central tombs surrounded by a dozen marble pillars. The tomb in the middle is that of Ahmed El-Mansour, flanked by those of his son and grandson. A third, stand-alone pavilion has ornate Andalucian-style entrance portals.
Rue de Kasbah, Bab Agnaou (no phone). Open 9am-4.45pm daily. Admission 10dh. Children under 12, free.

8. Explore Morocco through its museums

The Dar Si Said Museum (Riad Zitoun El-Jedid, +212 524 38 95 64. Open 9am-6.45pm Wed-Mon. Admission 10dh. Children 3dh), former home of the brother of Ba Ahmed, builder of the Bahia Palace, now houses a ragtag collection of crafts and woodwork. Among all the ceramics, leather and weapons are beautiful examples of carved cedar, rescued from the city’s lost dwellings.
More engaging is the new Maison de la Photographie (46 Ahal Fés, +212 524 38 57 21. Open 9.30am-7pm daily, Admission 40dh. Children under 12, free) which displays exhibits from a collection of 8,000 photographs spanning the period from 1870-1950. The museum’s top terrace is perfect for a post-picture visit drink or light lunch.
The new Douiria Mouassine (5 Derb El Hammam, Mouassine, Medina, +212 524 38 57 21. Open 10am-6pm Sat-Thur, Admission 30dhs) showcases a restored, petite 17th-century reception apartment detailed with exquisite decorative plaster and wood work.
The Marrakech Museum of Photography and Visual Arts (MMPVA) has a temporary home inside the Badii Palace with a changing roster of exhibitions until the new Sir David Chipperfield-designed building is unveiled next to the Menara Gardens in 2016.

9. Breath in Marrakech’s pungent tanneries

To experience Marrakech at its most medieval – and most pungent – visit the tannery district. The tanners have been here since the city was founded and their work remains a pre-industrial process, using hundreds of vats full of foul liquids to cure animal hides. The eventual products can be seen and purchased at the leather shops near the gate – and all over the souks, but you may prefer to get the hell out of the quarter and purge yourself in the nearest hammam.

10. Step into a Sultan’s palace

Constructed by Sultan Ahmed El-Mansour (1578-1607), the Badii Palace is one of the two principal monuments of the Saadian era (the other is the Saadian Tombs). Today it survives only as a denuded ruin, but once it was a model of triumphal ostentation. Walls and ceilings were encrusted with gold from Timbuktu, while the inner court had a massive central pool with an island, flanked by four sunken gardens. At the centre of each of the four massive walls were four pavilions, also flanked by arrangements of pools and fountains.
It took some 25 years to complete the palace and barely were the inaugural celebrations over before the ageing ruler passed away. His palace remained intact for less than a century before the Merenid sultan, Moulay Ismail, had it stripped bare and the riches carted north for his new capital at Meknès.
Place des Ferblantiers (no phone). Open 9am-4.45pm daily.

 

11. Shop in a handicrafts department store

The Ensemble Artisanal is the closest thing to a department store in Marrakech, albeit a department store selling nothing but handicrafts. It’s the ultimate souvenir store, with everything from trad clothing (babouches, jellabas, kaftans) to jewellery, and home furnishings to carpets. Prices are fixed at slightly above what you would pay in the souk, but this at least does away with tiresome haggling.
Avenue Mohammed V (+212 5 24 38 66 74). Open 8.30am-7.30pm daily.

12. Enjoy Moroccan culinary highs

Hipsters and flaneurs make for the imperial green oasis of Le Jardin buried in the Medina for light lunches and drinks under the banana palms (32 Souk El-Jeld, Sidi Abdelaziz, near Souk Cherifia, +212 524 37 82 95. Open 10am-10pm daily).
New Nomad (Place Rahba Kedima, +212 524 38 16 09. Open 9am-10pm daily) rises out of the Rahba Kedima magic market with its outstanding views.
For a culinary journey par excellence clear your schedule for the tasting menu at Gastro MK (14 derb Sebaai, Bab Laksour. +212 524 37 61 73. Open 7.30-10.30pm Mon, Tue, Thu-Sun).
For date milkshakes and the legendary camel burger, head to the new Café Clock (Derb Chtouka, +212 535 63 78 55. Open 10am-10pm daily) in the Kasbah.
For classic traditional Moroccan menus of salads, tagines and pastilla, make room for the feasts at female-run Al Fassia (55 boulevard Zerktouni, +212 524 43 40 60. Open noon-2.30pm, 7.30-11pm Mon, Wed-Sun.) and at Tobsil (22 derb Abdellah Ben Hessaien, Bab Ksour. +212 524 44 40 52. Open 7.30-11pm Mon, Wed- Sun).
For low-key, unfussy and family run, there’s nothing better than the traditional rabbit tagine at Tiznit right on the northeast corner of Place Jemaa El Fna (Souk El-Kassabine no.28, +212 524 42 72 04, +212 668 10 04 92. Open 8am-midnight daily.)

13. Haggle-free zones

Can’t handle the haggling, then head to these barter-free shops that will lure you into shedding a few dirhams. The Souk Cherifia (Sidi Abdelaziz. Open 10am-7.30pm daily; some shops closed Tue) displays the beautiful wares of some of the city’s most exciting designers and artists: beautifully soft suede handbags are sold at Lalla (+212 524 38 36 85); French designer Sylvie Pissard has a range of funky, stylish cushions at Sissimorocco (+212 615 22 65 20); pop artist Hassan Hajjij has a small outlet here too, selling his wheat-sack babouches, couscous-sack totes and a reworked Barbie in a box, Moroccan style.
For men there’s Randall Bachner’s Marrakshi Life (+212 659 79 73 54) with its natty threads – smart shirts and stylish scarves set against a gorgeous backdrop of blue-hued tiles. At fashionable concept store 33 Rue Majorelle (33 rue Yves Saint Laurent, +212 524 31 41 95. Open 9.30am-7pm daily), more than 100 Moroccan and foreign designers are showcased in the emporium while alongside are the Kaowa Café and Chabi Chic, selling collectable kitchenware.

14. Appreciate modern art

The Marrakech Biennale has been the catalyst for the Red City’s growing art scene. Housed in an exquisite townhouse is the Medina’s premier exhibition space, Dar Cherifa (8 Derb Charfa Lakbir, Mouassine, +212 524 42 64 63). Open 10am-7pm daily). Parts of the building date back to the 16th century and it has been lovingly restored by owner Abdelatif ben Abdellah. Regular exhibitions lean towards resident foreign artists, but there have also been shows by Moroccan artists Hassan Hajjaj and Milaudi Nouiga. Hajjaj has his own space filled with his Moroccan pop art at Riad Yima (Riad Yima, 52 derb Aarjane, +212 667 23 09 95. Open 9am-6pm daily).
When Galerie 127 (127 avenue Mohammed V, Guéliz, +212 524 43 26 67. Open 3-7pm Tue-Sat or by appointment) opened in 2006 it became the first photo gallery in the Maghreb and only the third in Africa. It got off to a good start with an opening show by Tony Catany. The king bought 30 of the photographs.
David Bloch Gallery (8 bis rue des Vieux Marrakchis, Guéliz, +212 524 45 75 95. Open 3.30-7.30pm Mon; 10.30am-1.30pm, 3.30-7.30pm Tue-Sat) pushes the envelope the most. Set in a contemporary industrial-style space, the focus is on Morocco, North African and Middle Eastern street artists. Large picture windows, steel struts painted charcoal, and white-washed brick provide the frame for bold works that fuse neon, neo-calligraphy and geometrics by collectible artists like Larbi Cherkaoui, Mohamed Boustane and Yassine ‘Yaze’ Mekhnache.
Galerie Rê (Résidence Al Andalous III, corner rue de la Mosquée & rue Ibn Toumert 3, +212 524 43 22 58. Open 10am-1pm, 3-8pm Mon-Sat) is a serious and lavishly designed contemporary gallery for changing exhibitions by mostly ‘Moroccan and Mediterranean’ artists.

15. Have a belly (dance) full

Marrakchi socialites will tell you that Comptoir is sooo over, but on the right night it’s still the best party in town. From the outside it’s a well-behaved little villa on a quiet residential street, but inside the place buzzes with dressed-up diners on the ground floor, while upstairs is a sizeable lounge filled each weekend night to within a whisper of a health and safety crisis. The crowd is a mix of good-looking locals, sharper expats and wide-eyed tourists delighted to have stumbled on the Marrakech they’d always heard about. Drinks are pricey but the nightly belly-dancers are hilarious.
Avenue Echouhada, Hivernage +212 524 43 77 02. Open 4pm-1am Mon-Thur, Sun; noon-1am Fri, Sat.

16. Find some downtime

Souk weary? Head out of the Medina for some downtime to lie by a pool, eat a leisurely lunch, or take in a massage or two. Le Bled (Douar Coucou, Oasis Hassan II, Taseltanet, +212 524 38 59 39. Open 10am-10pm daily) amid the olive and citrus groves provides a farmhouse ambience. You can lunch anywhere in the quiet gardens and swim all day.
In La Palmeraie, the lush manicured gardens of Jnane Tamsna (Jnane Tamsna Douar Abiad, +212 661 24 27 17) are the perfect retreat from the mayhem of the Medina. Owners Meryanne Loum-Martin and her ethnobotanist husband, Gary are keen art lovers, and there are rotating art exhibitions and and an onsite shop; afternoon tea is also available if you can steal yourself away from the pool.
In indulgent mood? Treat yourself to a day or weekend Spa Pass at La Mamounia (Avenue Bab Jedid, +212 524 38 86 00), which gives access to the spa (not including treatments) and the alfresco garden swimming pool. It’s a great way to be pampered in luxurious surrounds without committing to the cost of an overnight stay.

17. Grab a cocktail on a roof terrace

A café by day and restaurant by night, Kechmara also functions well as a lively and convivial bar. There’s a long bar counter to the right as you enter with a tap for bière pression, back shelves lined with spirits and bar stools for perching. The menu lists long drinks and cocktails, which are also served on a spacious roof terrace.
Kechmara 3 rue de la Liberté, Guéliz. +212 524 42 25 32. Open 9am-1am Mon-Sat.
 

18. And relax… at a hammam

Seriously indulgent hammams and spas include those at La Mamounia and Selman Hotels. For those counting the coins, head to Les Bains de Marrakech (2 derb Sedra, Bab Agnaou, Kasbah, +212 524 38 14 28) where the luxurious ambience belies the price of the hammams and massages.
For total authenticity and a thorough scrubdown, head to Hammam El-Bacha (20 rue Fatima Zohra, Dar El-Bacha (no phone).
New spa on the block is Hammam de la Rose (130 rue Dar El-Bacha, +212 524 44 47 69) gaining kudos among customers with its friendly and professional outlook, affordable prices and effective spa products.

19. Join the party

Four key events for the diary: January sees the Marrakech Marathon; in alternate years in February and March, the Marrakech Biennale comes to town; July the National Festival of Popular Arts (www.marrakechfestival.com), a five-day celebration of Morocco’s arts; and December the Marrakech International Film Festival.

20. Sleep in Morrocan luxury

Riad El Fenn has received plenty of media attention, partly because it’s co-owned by Vanessa Branson (sister of Richard) and partly because it’s such a fine place to stay. Several historic houses have been joined together to create 24 spacious, luscious jewel- coloured bedrooms that are happily lost in a warren of staircases and courtyards.
The clutter-free rooms are dominated by an Egyptian cotton-swathed bed, standalone baths in some, camel leather-tiled floors and proper-sized desks. The midnight blue courtyard room displays an intriguing scattered collage of Christmas-tree roots that look like small mammal skulls. Despite the grandeur of the architecture and some serious modern art on the walls, the mood is relaxed, with plenty of private spaces, three pools and a glorious rooftop terrace. ‘Fenn’ is the local slang for ‘cool’, and staying here gives you a real sense of tapping into the hip heart of the Red City.
Riad El Fenn 2 derb Moulay Abdallah Ben Hezzian, Bab El-Ksour, Medina. +212 524 44 12 10.
The creation of designer Meryanne Loum-Martin and her ethnobotanist husband Dr Gary Martin, Jnane Tamsna (Palmeraie Douar Abiad, +212 524 32 94 823) is a ‘Moorish hacienda’ with opulent suites and 24 gorgeous rooms, set in five buildings scattered around some beautiful gardens, each with its own pool. The architecture is vernacular chic, coloured in the palest tones of primrose, peppermint and clay and enhanced by Loum-Martin’s own inspired furniture. Surrounding fruit orchards, herb and vegetable gardens provide organic produce for the kitchen.
Peacock Pavilions is a striking, stylish retreat, located just 20 minutes from downtown Marrakech, set in an olive grove, and scented by flourishing rose gardens. Maryam Montague, a writer and human rights specialist, and her husband Chris, an architect, host guests in two large pavilions (which Chris built) set either side of an inviting, sparkling turquoise pool.
Peacock Pavilions is decorated with Maryam’s eclectic global treasures: Moroccan carpets, skulls sporting goggles, wooden fertility sculptures, Swan chairs fashioned from petrol cans, Frank Gehry’s cardboard wiggle chairs, and primary-coloured vintage Malian bread baskets. The atmosphere is very relaxed: sip a cocktail (we love the gin, jasmine syrup and mint) by the pool before dining on doughy olive bread, tender lamb tagine and poached pear while listening to Maryam’s tales of Moroccan magic, legends and myths. The alfresco cinema with its deckchairs is an indulgent perk (and is accompanied by lashings of hot chocolate in winter).
Peacock Pavilions Route de Ourzazate, km18, +212 664 41 46 53.

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Sparkling kaftans hit the catwalk in Marrakech

Wearing dazzling traditional kaftans, models took to the Marrakech catwalk this week to showcase the latest local and international designs at the 18th edition of the most prestigious traditional fashion show in Morocco. The two-hour long event was held this year under the theme of 'Splendours of Empires.' Fourteen established fashion designers and two newcomers presented their creations at the show, taking their inspiration from the world's great empires.

The Roman, Babylonian, Macedonian, Russian, Chinese, Ottoman, Persian, British and Egyptian empires were all celebrated in a fashion show that aimed to set the trend for many other designers in the coming months. “We wanted to associate empires with splendor. With splendor, we are in some way paying tribute to the kaftan because it represents beauty, women, grace and glamour. It goes exactly with the event's concept.

We were looking for the contradiction between empires and splendor which stands for power and grace at the same time,” said the event's production director, Zineb Tainouri. Thought to have originated in Iran, the kaftan is now a trademark of Moroccan fashion, and is worn by Moroccan women seeking to combine tradition with modern style. Each kaftan is a unique work of art that needs hours of meticulous work by dozens of traditional artisans who work under the supervision of the designer. While some designers prefer to highlight Morocco's cultural heritage and refuse to make drastic changes to the garment, others choose to modernize it to reflect international trends. 

Fashion designer Khadija el-Houjouji, who presented her kaftan collection during the show, said her design embodied Morocco's culture and heritage, while at the same time reflecting modern fashion. “I am one of those who preserve the authenticity of the kaftan because it is our heritage and our children should know how to wear it. A dress is a dress, while a kaftan should remain as is. I took the original kaftan and introduced some new cuts and also some handwork by traditional artists and for these reasons, it was well received,” she said. But other designers at the event displayed more obvious changes to the traditional wear. Nabil Dahani, who studied fashion in both Rabat and Paris, said the French capital had had a significant impact on his style and inspired him to convey the cultural contrast between east and west in his work. He said he wanted to take Moroccan culture to the international stage.

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Happy cause we're from Marrakech

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The storyteller of Marrakech

Storytelling in Marrakech is a practice with ancient roots, thought to date back to the 11th Century. But has it been superseded by modern life? The Cafe de France in Marrakech is something of an institution. It is the oldest and most famous of the slightly louche establishments that surround the main square, the Jemaa el Fna. Dating back to the days of the French protectorate, it sometimes feels as if its decor and staff haven't changed since then either. 

Wobbly ceiling fans rotate languidly trying to dispel the stifling heat. Portraits of King Mohammed the VI hang at odd angles from its blue and white tiled walls. Inside customers sit on faded wicker chairs sipping mint tea and strong coffee. On the veranda tourists try to avoid eye contact with the encircling shoe shine boys and hawkers selling single cigarettes, while the locals sit and stare at the hot teeming square, making their drinks last for hours. It was here - back in 2006 - that I first met Abderrahim El Makkouri, a tall man, with a red Fez hat, dark beady eyes, goatee beard and a prominent nose. 

Abderrahim is a storyteller - one of the very last surviving "hlaykia" as they are called. Of an evening, when the sun went down and the muezzin called the faithful to the mosques, he would recite ancient myths, legends and folk tales to rapt crowds in the square, and if they enjoyed them, they would pay him a few coins. Square in Marrakech There is a saying in Marrakech that "when a storyteller dies, a library burns." For most of the stories exist only in the heads of their narrators, who take their repertoire to the grave. Abderrahim has seen many of his fellow hlaykia come and go. Most have died, some have retired and one even took up shoe shining. Very few can make a living any more. The crowds who used to gather would rather watch TV. In the 1970s there were 18 hlaykia recounting their narratives in the Jemaa el Fna. In 2006 there were only two: Abderrahim and Moulay Mohamed. Sadly the latter, a quiet, kindly old man, has passed away. So I spent many hours with Abderrahim in the Cafe de France recording his stories for posterity - and a book. 

He was hoping his son Zoheir would become a storyteller too. A German film-maker even made a documentary about them - the master storyteller and his apprentice - which was shown at the Marrakech International Film Festival. But Zoheir couldn't cope with this sudden exposure to fame and he suffered some sort of mental breakdown. His mother and father would wake up to hear him screaming in the night. They had to take him out of school, and they struggled to pay for his medication. If Zoheir recovered maybe he could tell stories in the square, I suggested one day last year, as we sat on the cafe's veranda again. "Look," said Abderrahim, "can't you see? There's no space anymore for storytellers," pointing at the crowded stalls of merchants selling everything from mystical aphrodisiacs to false teeth, "and besides it's too noisy". He was probably right. The storyteller's art - thought to be around 1,000 years old - was a nuanced one, that had not kept pace with the noise, new technology or the general madness of Marrakech which had engulfed them and drowned them out. What had happened to Zoheir seemed like a sad metaphor for the decline of the storyteller in general; he has seen modernity and it's killing him. 

When I returned home I wrote a letter to the royal palace, more in hope than expectation, explaining to the King's advisers that Abderrahim was struggling and that he needed somewhere he and his son might tell stories in the future to save this ancient tradition from oblivion. Cafe de France I went back to Marrakech a few weeks ago and found out that a British man had started up a new cafe that might one day be as famous as the Cafe de France. Here the art of storytelling is being revived, with young Moroccans learning ancient tales from the older generation. I arranged to meet Abderrahim in the Cafe de France to tell him the good news. "I have some good news too," he said beaming beneath his red Fez hat. "The King got your letter… and he has bought me a house!" I was staggered but then another Moroccan saying came into my head. "Nothing is certain," they will tell you here, "but everything is possible." Marrakech is the strangest place I know. Truth here really is stranger than fiction. Where else can you buy aphrodisiacs and false teeth? Where else can you hear stories that are older than the pink walls and ramparts of this medieval city? And where else does the king end up buying a storyteller a house?

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Where To Stay In Marrakech

Anyone who’s been back to Marrakech after a several year absence would have difficulty recognizing the place. The winding alleyways of the medina are still there, with atmospheric riads hidden behind nondescript doors and stall after stall of silks, slippers, brass on sale. And in the center of it all, Jemaa el Fna, the main square inhabited by snake charmers, acrobats, sizzling kebab grills, boulevarding locals and mobs of tourists. 

What’s changed, however, is the hotel scene; it’s a veritable explosion with more coming on line all the time: Rocco Forte’s Assoufid, a Baglioni, a Mandarin Oriental, a W, a Park Hyatt, the Jawhar from Monaco’s Societie des Bains de Mer are all set to open over the next year. 

Long gone are the days when La Mamounia, although still the most famous, was the only game in town. With all of this new construction, though, hoteliers fret about whether there will be enough visitors to fill all of these new rooms, plus the existing ones in longstanding hotels and ones that have opened over the last few years. For these visitors, it means that there is an embarrassment of riches and they need to decide which to pick. Here are a few choices: You can see the Atlas Mountains and the date palms of the Palmeraie from the top deck of the Royal Mansour riads. If you want to feel like a member of the royal family—and want privacy: Stay in the Royal Mansour, the hotel that the King of Morocco built. (Conversely, if you want a bustling bar scene and to be seen, stay at its neighbor and competitor, La Mamounia.) 

The King spent untold millions, and thousands of artisans spent years creating the ceramic tilework, sculpted plasterwork , geometrically carved wood, inlaid marble and intricate leatherwork for which the country is known. The 53 triplex riads with plunge pools on the top deck have correspondingly lush décor along with courtyards and fountains; you never have to leave your room. But to do that would miss the clubby bar with its intricate, hand-tooled leather walls, the spa with its open white spiderweb décor and prodigious range of treatments and the exceptional Moroccan restaurant La Grande Table Marocaine, one of several under the supervision of Michelin three star chef Yannick Alleno. 

Tagines are served all over Morocco but few as rich and delicious as the ones at Marrakech's Villa des Orangers. If you want the intimacy of a riad, a medina location but with more facilities: Villa des Orangers. You could easily pass the doorway of this Relais & Chateaux property on a busy street in the medina and have absolutely no clue about the grandeur inside: a large riad of Moorish architecture dating from the 1930’s housing 27 rooms and suites, three flowered patios, a large garden and a long pool,the latter not typical in medina riads. The décor is a mix of Moroccan, Colonial and African designs in the rooms and the lounges, creating a look that’s both stylish and cozy. The romantic, candlelit restaurant also turns out a superlative menu of mostly French specialities with some Moroccan dishes, a nice change if you’ve overloaded on tagines. But if you haven’t, their tagine was the best, most intensely flavored one that I had anywhere in Morocco. If you really like Arabian horses: The Selman which opened in 2012, has a location several miles outside of the city, a French interpretation of Moroccan décor by Jacques Garcia that looks just a little similar to his 2009 renovation of La Mamounia, and stables housing the owner’s Arabian horses that were also designed by Garcia. Lucky horses.

But apart from the ability to observe these fine creatures—guests are not allowed to ride them—there doesn’t seem to be a reason to stay here instead of the others. Palais Namaskar, in the Palmeraie outside of Marrakech, has been designed for pure knockout drama. If you like sleek, international décor, and your own pool. The Oetker Collection’s Palais Namaskar also opened in 2012 out in the date palm shaded Palmeraie, 15 minutes from the medina. The design is pure drama—long, narrow walkways linking villas with Moorish arches punctuated by gardens and pools—there are 28 water features on the grounds, 27 of which are private pools. (Beware how narrow those walkways are, though, when walking back from the bar or you could easily fall into one of them.) In the bar, a chandelier that looks like something out of “The Phantom of the Opera” hangs low overhead. 

You feel like you’re in a magazine layout, not necessarily in Morocco but it’s all so beautiful that ultimately you don’t care. And one advantage of staying here is the property’s jet, which can bring guests in from Casablanca, fly them to other Oetker properties (Nice for the Hotel du Cap, Paris for Le Bristol..) or in from other cities around the world. The design of the Taj in Marrakech's Palmeraie is India in Morocco but the bedrooms are beautiful. If you’re also fond of India: The Taj Palace Marrakech nearby in the Palmeraie which opened late in 2012, has another element of national confusion in that it stood in as a palace in Abu Dhabi in the movie “Sex and the City II.” Apparently, the Moroccan owner loves Indian design and both the imposing palace doors entry and the pool with cupola floating within it in the rear are reminiscent of a Rajasthan palace. The bedrooms are beautiful; the common rooms, kind of nuts and floridly shaded. If you don’t like color schemes of purple and jade green splashed on a huge scale, this probably isn’t the place for you.

If you want to meet interesting locals and artists: Staying at Jnane Tamsna in the Palmeraie is like being at an extended dinner/house party. Owner Meryanne Loum-Martin knows everyone in town—at a recent lunch, I met Vanessa Branson, sister of Virgin Atlantic’s Richard Branson, owner of the art filled Riad El-Fenn in the medina and the driving force behind the Marrakech Biennale—and international cultural types are always passing through. Loum-Martin is a designer and her style here is classic Moroccan shot through with contemporary touches and wit. The food is also top of the line, home cooked Moroccan. And the property has several pools surrounded by lush flower and vegetable gardens created by her botanist husband Gary Martin. It’s a very soothing place. Riad Fes in the heart of the Fes medina is a bastion of luxury in a UNESCO World Heritage site. The same can’t always be said for the main city, particularly as it goes through this development boom. But two other Moroccan cities that can be excursions from Marrakech remain peacefully unchanged. Fes is a UNESCO World Heritage site for its perfectly preserved walled medieval city and staying in the old city instantly transports you back. There are no tee shirt or souvenir shops, just bakers and food stalls supplying the locals who live in small stone houses tucked into the alleyways.

The subdivisions are by trade—the leather crafters, dyers, ceramicists settled in different sections and still work there; stalls sell their products. If you stay in the Relais & Chateaux Riad Fes, a former nobleman’s house in the center of the medina, you just walk out your door and into another age. Just remember to hug the walls if you hear someone scream “Balak! Balak!” meaning “Make Way!” It means a donkey cart, the still used means of transport, is heading down your way ferrying goods. Two hours west of Marrakech on the Atlantic coast is Essaouira, the haven of musicians such as Jimi Hendrix in the 60’s and it still retains its casual, drop out ease, a seaside town surrounded by fishing boats, encircled by seagulls. In its medina, stores sell artisan clothing designs and food stalls present just caught fish, mounds of spices, ripe olives. The best lunch plan is to go to the fish market in the medina (not the fish stalls on the waterfront) and have a simple place around the corner grill your fish. The best hotel in town is the 19th century mansion the Relais & Chateaux L’Heure Bleue Palais just inside the walls of the medina, with rooms decorated in Moorish, Portugese or British Empire styles. And the best view: from the roof, looking out at the old city with its crisp white buildings that through the years haven’t changed at all.

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