Stay inside the walls. A riad — a traditional courtyard house with an interior garden and a rooftop terrace — is the only correct choice in Marrakech. The ones we love are small, family run, and cost less than a hotel chain outside the medina. They are also the only way to understand why Moroccan architecture turns inward.
The souks
The covered markets behind Jemaa el-Fnaa are the oldest commercial street plan in Africa and remain, remarkably, a functioning working market rather than a tourist attraction. Lamps are in one section. Spices in another. Leather in a third. A good guide for two hours costs less than lunch and is worth ten times that.
When to slow down
Marrakech in afternoon heat is unbearable, and it was never meant to be navigated then. Do as the city does: retreat to a riad rooftop between 1 and 5 p.m. with mint tea and a book. Step back into the medina at 5:30, when the light turns gold and the call to prayer layers over itself across the city.
Going further
From Marrakech you can reach the Sahara in a long day's drive. We prefer a three-day loop through the Atlas Mountains and the Agafay desert — shorter than the Merzouga route, less touristed, and close enough that you sleep in the dunes and are back in a riad by lunchtime the next day.
