Grand Tour of Morocco

Fly to Marrakech, its UNESCO World Heritage walled city listing twenty gates and 200 towers in its red ramparts. Transfer to the Angsana Riad, within the medina, for a three-night stay.

Experience this dizzying city, where souks are awash with spices, jewellery, and carpets; mystics and Berber dancers draw the crowds to Djemaa el-Fna square; and our full-day tour takes you to the beautiful, blue and white Bahia (‘Brilliance’) Palace and the ruins of 16th-century Badia Palace; the restored Saadian Tombs of seven sultans and their 62 relatives; and the Dar Si Said Museum of Moroccan Arts, housed in a 19th-century medina mansion. Enjoy a Riad dinner this evening.
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See the more serene side of the city with a visit to the two-acre botanical garden, Jardin Majorelle; visit the YSL Museum, dedicated to designer Yves Saint Laurent and exhibiting thousands of garments from his collection; and enjoy lunch at the unashamedly opulent former royal palace, now hotel, La Mamounia.
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Travel to Casablanca (3hrs), Morocco’s largest and most liberal metropolis, if not as romantic as the Bogart/Bergman classic film suggests. A tour of the city includes a visit to the Hassan II Mosque, the second largest in Africa and the 7th largest in the world. Continue to the capital, Rabat, spreading from the banks of the Bou Regreg River to the Atlantic shore, for two nights at the Sofitel Rabat.
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A tour of Imperial Rabat includes the Mausoleum of King Mohammed V and his two sons, just opposite the iconic, unmissable 12th-century Hassan Tower; the Roman Sala Colonia, a medieval Muslim necropolis on the site of Roman ruins; and the Oudaya Kasbah, a ‘must do’ haven of tranquillity, with an Andalucian garden, flower-filled alleys, and ocean views.
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Travel to Tangier (3hrs), its strategic setting on the Strait of Gibraltar marking it as an important gateway throughout its centuries of history. Today’s resurgent Tangier has Portuguese, Spanish and French influences but retains an air of exotica. A tour of the city visits the hillside medina, huge harbour, Dar el Makhzen sultan’s palace Museum of Arts & Antiquities, and the atmospheric Kasbah, in the oldest part of the medina. Overnight at the Hotel Farah.
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Drive through the Rif Mountains to the picturesque port town of Tetouan, and the old-world streets of painted buildings in the ‘blue town’, Chefchaouen. Continue to Fez (4hrs), its thousand years of history and enthralling architecture cementing the city’s reputation as Morocco’s cultural capital. Three nights at the Palais Ommeyad.
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Visit the ruins of the Roman city of Volubilis; the peaceful town of Moulay Idriss, a Muslim place of pilgrimage, cloaking two hills with whitewashed houses and a step-back-in-time tempo; and scenic Meknes, with its secret courtyards and ornate riads. After lunch in this least known of the four imperial cities, tour the ruins of the huge Heri es Souani, the historic stables and granaries.
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A full day in Fez for a tour of the ramparts and the UNESCO listed Fes el-Bali medina, its maze of souks the largest in the world, bombarding the senses with the scents and colours of spicy food and local craft works; and the magnificently mosaicked ‘Attarine Medersa’ medieval Koranic school. Enjoy a Riad lunch.
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Travel across the Middle Atlas (6hrs) to Erfoud, an old Bedouin settlement with a formidable French fort, and an ever-growing fan-club of foreign visitors, due entirely to the Mars-like landscape of its Sahara setting. Overnight at the Palais du Desert Hotel.
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Join us on an optional early morning excursion to the wind-whipped sand waves of the Merzouga Dunes. Travel to the oasis town of Tinerhir (3hrs) to visit the deep and tight ravine of the Todra Gorge, its russet rock walls soaring 300m high. Continue to the Berber town of Boumalne Dades, its buildings in the same ochre and rose as the rock of its desert plateau, rising above a stunningly scenic valley oasis. Overnight at the Hotel Xaluca.
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Travel along the ‘Valley of a Thousand Kasbahs’, the gorgeous Dadès Gorge, its little river hemmed in a ribbon of greenery, to the former French Foreign Legion outpost of Ouarzazate, to see its trio of kasbahs, the Taourirt a huge palace, the red clay Tifoultoute blending into the landscape, and the UNESCO listed Ait Ben Haddou, where houses crowd within defensive walls. Continue to the walled town of Taroudant (4hrs), nestled in southern Morocco’s Souss Valley, where the Place Assarag is often an evening venue for musicians. Overnight at the historic Riad Dar Zitoune.
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Taroudant is a rather majestic fortified market town, hidden in a shell of honey-toned ramparts, with superb souks and two main squares at its core. Explore the town this morning and perhaps take an optional carriage ride (bookable locally). Travel to Essaouira (4hrs) on the country’s Atlantic coast, at once a busy port and laid-back resort. Two nights at Le Medina Essaourita.
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Enjoy a morning tour of this former Portuguese port, visiting the 18th-century oceanfront ramparts, lined with a long row of old brass cannons, and the original medina which they were built to protect. Afternoon at leisure, perhaps to stroll on the crescent bay’s deep sweep of sands, or explore the souk stalls of spices, fabrics, and ceramics.
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Transfer to Marrakech airport for the return flight.
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