Moroccan Popular Cities
Discover the amazing things to do when you visite Morocco
Morocco's top tourist destinations vary from grand Roman ruins to orange-toned mud-brick kasbah architecture, which makes it among North Africa's most interesting historical destinations.
While the souqs of Marrakesh as well as Fes, crammed to the border with local artisan crafts, have actually made it one of the world's best places to see for shoppers, go out of the cities, and a Moroccan trip ends up being an adventure right into a few of the region's most dramatic surroundings.
The craggy heights of the Atlas Mountains puncture the center of Morocco and are a prime region for hiking and other outside activities, while for those willing to make the lengthy trip out east, sleeping in the middle of the imposing sand dunes of the Sahara remains among the country's top things to do.
Morocco is additionally a trip into an ageless, relaxing globe of charming seaside villages, colorful-painted communities that hold on to hillsides, as well as remote hill outposts defended by fortress wall surfaces.
This remarkable country is a fusion of the African and Arab worlds and is steeped in ancient customs. It's no surprise Morocco has actually been feted by musicians and writers for decades and still continues to charm all that check out.
Discover the very best locations to go to in this exciting country with our list of the top tourist attractions in Morocco.
1. The Medina in Marrakech
For many tourists, Morocco can be best summed up in the vibrant and energetic buzz of Marrakesh's medina, which is also a favorite destination.
The huge Djemma el-Fna Square serves as the entrance to the old city. It appears that half of the city congregates there throughout the day and into the evening to socialize with the market vendors, traditional musicians, serpent charmers, and haphazard acrobats.
You enter a world of winding, maze-like lanes and frantic shop owners as soon as you step foot inside the medina itself. On your tour of Morocco's tourist attractions, don't miss this experience, which is full of loud and vibrant local life.
2. Chefchaouen
Resting tight in the middle of the lush Rif Mountains, Chefchaouen is a maze-like hillside town of blue-on-blue structures that has an exceptionally photogenic glow.
There isn't much real sightseeing and touring to be done, which is one of the community's pieces de résistance. A visit here is just about wandering the medina streets and also lapping up all that vibrant architecture.
It's a serene, relaxed town and also an excellent location to recharge for a while if you've been spending a lot of time amid the cities of Fes and Marrakesh ahead of time.
This is also among Morocco's primary hiking and trekking locations, a starting point, and an organization facility for Rif Mountains walks.
3. Erg Chebbi's Dunes
To see Morocco's Sahara dune areas, you need to head east of the High Atlas back to the far eastern desert area that rests near the boundary with Algeria.
One of the most popular locations for grand and rippling dunes is Erg Chebbi.
This is a prime region for dune-surfing, four-wheel-drive dune-bashing, and daybreak and sunset camel travel, normally integrated with an overnight stay in a tented desert camp right amid the dune area.
Merely resting in the middle of the sand dune elegance, as well as experiencing the star-filled Sahara sky at night, is worthy enough of the lengthy journey it takes to get here.
Several travelers publish a desert experience bundle that includes return transportation (typically from Fes or Marrakesh) and also an overnight desert camp stay, but you can additionally take a trip to Merzouga (the town next to the Erg Chebbi dune field) as well as organize activities when there.
4. Fes el Bali
Along with Marrakesh, Fes is Morocco's other large social destination.
Contrasted with its sister city, Imperial City, to the south, Fes is much less gentrified. The medina below (called Fes el Bali) is a labyrinth of skinny, back alleys where it's near impossible to not get lost.
Amid the souqs, you'll locate the tanneries, where the significant barrels of colored dyes are one of the city's legendary sights.
As the city's artisan heritage, with souq streets complete to the border with conventional handicrafts and the scattering of royal residences as well as monoliths concealed in the middle of the twisting streets, the main destination of Fes el Bali is just heading out on pointless wanders amidst the lanes.
5. Ait Ben Haddou
This golden-stoned ksar (strengthened village) drives considerably out of the planet in the middle of landscapes that wow all that see it.
It's a fairy-tale place, and unsurprisingly, the orange-hued turrets and curvy lanes inside have come to be a favorite movie location for Hollywood because of the surreal elegance of the location.
You can even sleep within the ksar if you desire the full Ait Ben Haddou experience, though those who like their animal comforts should realize that there's no electrical power within the mudbrick-walled building itself.
If you're going out into Morocco's High Atlas region, it must definitely be on your must-visit checklist. Try ahead in the early morning or later in the midday, as the scenic tour bus crowds come down from around 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
6. Essaouira
Morocco's most charming seaside community is laid-back Essaouira, which turned into one of the country's major hippie hangouts throughout the 1970s. Today, a hint of this bohemian past hangs on, and the community is also one of Morocco's imaginative centers, with a prospering regional art scene.
For site visitors, Essaouira's seafront medina, enclosed within prepared wall surfaces, is the pièce de résistance. Its twisty lanes are home to little art galleries and stores, as well as a bustling contemporary café and dining establishment scene, in addition to standard souq shopping.
For those seeking much more energetic ways to take in the sights, there are additionally fantastic walks along the coastline to faraway villages and surfing along the beach.
7. Volubilis
Morocco's primary Roman-era ruin, and also its most popular historical site, is a banquet for background lovers.
This rambling site is filled with tumbled columns and temple remnants, standing as reminders that the best empires at some point collapsed. The major highlight right here, though, is the clutch of elaborate mosaic floors amidst the damages, which have been left in situ where they were discovered.
The hill location enables the damages to lord over the bordering countryside, adding to the charming atmosphere of shed glory.
Direct with the damages to the Capitol and also online forum for excellent breathtaking views over the website and also bordering countryside.
Volubilis can easily be reached as an outing from either Meknes or Fes.
8. Dades Valley
The small villages of the valley, sandwiched between high, orange-hued cliffs, are surrounded by orchards as well as farming fields. It's specifically photogenic during the spring, when the fruit trees are in bloom.
There are abounding day-walk alternatives in the area and fantastic bird-watching possibilities.
9. Erg Chegiga
Around 40 kilometers long, the Erg Chigaga dune field is the biggest in Morocco. The major base for Erg Chegaga excursions is the oasis community of M'Hamid, where you can go out into the desert on 4WD trips as well as on multi-day camel treks to overnight amidst the dunes. Realize that M'Hamid is still around 55 kilometers from the Erg Chgaga dune area, so to eventually reach it from town, you'll need to take a 4WD scenic tour.
There are a lot of smaller dunes bordering M'Hamid itself, which short dawn or sunset camel hikes head to.
10. Bab al-Mansour in Meknes
This mammoth gateway, which safeguards the entry to the Meknes Imperial City area leading from the Meknes medina, is noted for its complex decor.
Meant as a monumental suggestion of the sultan's might, the Bab al-Mansour is a splendid relic of Meknes wonderful period as funding for Morocco. It's extensively considered Morocco's grandest and best preserved portal.
Can be found in the late afternoon to photograph the gate in the soft light; after that, stray through Meknes small maze of a medina, which is a lot more easygoing than the medina of close-by Fes.
Meknes can easily be taken as an outing from Fes, yet it's also a destination in its own right and a great stop on any kind of north Moroccan schedule.
11. Rif Mountains
While much of Morocco's mountain views are craggy tops surrounded by palm groves and dry levels, the Rif Mountains offer some lavish, environmentally friendly relief.
For walkers, bicycle riders, and day walkers, this is a good possibility to head out right into nature, with lots of routes for both advanced travelers and those just desiring a brief, easy stroll.
Both Tetouan and Chefchaouen are the primary bases from which to set out on your own on a Rif Mountains adventure. Check out the trekking tracks of Talassemtane National Park for their cedar and fir forest-covered hill inclines and incredible chasms and valleys to make the most of this region's all-natural charm.
12. Draa Valley
This valley, which connects the southeastern end of the High Atlas with the desert past, is a prime area for design as well as background fans.
Right to the town of Zagora, the roadway is rimmed by hand-tree oases as well as spread with magnificently maintained kasbahs and ksours made from mudbrick, which are fascinating to discover.
It's a great area for a trip, stopping off at villages along the road to dive in and admire the sight of the shady, dimly lit flows of the kasbahs.
Particularly check out Kasbah des Caids in Tamnougalt, which has been used as a place in lots of Hollywood films, and also Timidarte village, where the village's ksar design has been finely brought back.
13. Casablanca's Hassan II Mosque
Casablanca's significant point of interest and landmark building, the Hassan II Mosque, is an extravagant sign not only of the city but also of Morocco itself.
This modern mosque (which ended up in 1993) doesn't do things by fifty percent. The design information covering every centimeter of the massive two-hectare site took 10,000 artisans to finish.
Elaborately sculpted marble pieces, dynamic mosaics, and delicate ceramic tile details all pay tribute to typical Islamic style ideals and the proficiency of Moroccan workmanship and yet, at the same time, still manage to really feel modern.
This is the only mosque that non-Muslims can enter in Morocco. Free, helpful scenic tours are run by the mosque on a regular basis.
14. Rabat's Oudaias
Kasbah Morocco has a lot of stunning old town areas, but Rabat's Oudaias Kasbah neighborhood has to be one of the nation's most attractive.
This is a peaceful as well as completely charming district that really feels miles away from the city, regardless of being right in the city's core. Inside the walls of this old citadel, the lanes of cool white-and-blue homes rimmed by colorful flowerpots and waving cleaning staff have a lost-in-time atmosphere that's hard to defeat.
Even better, unlike the old town areas of Fes and Marrakesh, there are few other travelers here, so discovering this beautiful edge of the funding really feels as if you've been let in on a clean secret.
15. Tangier
Tangier, the most European of all Morocco's cities, is a significant port city with normal ferry links with Spain. Tangier has a somewhat corrupt and fascinating role in mid-20th-century literary history, and this past is also what draws numerous travelers here. This is the city that motivated famous works such as Paul Bowles "The Shielding Skies as well as William Burroughs".