Top 10 Places to Visit in Morocco

Morocco has become one of the hottest travel destinations in the world and it’s no wonder. Visitors from Europe are looking for exotic landscapes, beautiful beaches, and cheap prices – Morocco offers them all. In fact, visitors from North America can find the same values once they actually cross the oceans.

As an expat in Morocco, I am often asked where people should plan their vacations. This is my advice for the top ten places to visit on a two week holiday in Morocco.

1) Marrakech. This is a city that has been bought for the most part by foreigners who buy and sell the Moroccan culture as a commodity. Still, it is an amazing circus and the Jmma El Fna is worth a visit. The foreign owned riads are gorgeous too.

2) Essouaria. In terms of Atlantic seaside towns, this one is my very favorite. The hustlers can be a little intense, but the beaches are gorgeous and the Portuguese Cistern is magnificent.

3) Merzouga. The Sahara is worth the visit. Ride a camel to a desert Oasis. Watch the sun rise over the dunes. Enjoy the famed hospitality of Berber nomads and learn that the desert isn’t as devoid of life as you might think.

4) Fes. The largest car free urban area in the world. More than 13,000 streets crammed into the world’s oldest living medieval medina. Watch out of the donkeys. Fes is famed for being a great place to visit, but after having lived there for a while, I would say that the medina is really the only reason to visit. If you want to check in with the expat and backpacker crowd stop by Cafe Clock.

5) Chefchauen. The legendary blue village. Sure, it’s a backpacker mecca, but there is a reason for that. It’s amazing. Great hikes, beautiful scenery and some of the best goat cheese you will find anywhere.

6) Tetuan. The Spanish influenced medina and the beaches at Cabo Negro and Martil are all Mediterranean. Enjoy the turquoise sea and the perfect weather here.

7) Tangier. Enjoy walking the streets of drug smugglers, pedophiles, and beatniks in Tangiers. A visit to the American Legation’s Paul Bowles Room is a must. Tangier has cleaned itself up, but it still feels like a dirty place.

8) Meknes. The forgotten imperial capital has everything it’s more famous siblings offer without the crowds. Not to mention that the architecture and history of the place are both seeped in blood. Some small trips from Meknes to Moulay Idris and the Roman city of Volubulis are well worth the time they take.

9) Rabat. The modern capital city is beautiful. A visit to the Challah, a Roman necropolis offers peaceful solitude while the city of Rabat has plenty to offer anyone looking for great food, museums, or historic sites.

10) Casablanca. The Hassan II Mosque and the reproduction of Rick’s cafe are the primary two reason’s to visit this ugly industrial city. The famed art deco architecture is less well preserved than most of the country’s two thousand year old ruins and to my mind, less interesting too.

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