Morocco: Food, Riads, and the Magic of the Medinas

Morocco is three hours from Paris by plane and feels like another world. The medinas (medieval city centers) of Marrakech, Fez, and Chefchaouen are UNESCO-listed labyrinths where it is entirely possible to get lost for an entire afternoon and entirely possible that this is the point.

Marrakech: The Gateway

Marrakech divides visitors: some find it overwhelming and exhausting; some find it electric and addictive. The difference is usually whether you surrender to the chaos or fight it.

The Djemaa el-Fna: The main square, a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage site. By day: orange juice sellers, henna artists, snake charmers. By evening: the square transforms into the world's largest open-air food market. 100+ food stalls, smoky with grilling meat, crowded with locals, extraordinary. Eat dinner here at least once.

The souks: Behind the square, the medieval marketplace. Spices, leather goods, carpets, lamps, ceramics, argan oil. Negotiate everything — starting prices are 3-5x the final price. The tanneries in Fez (visible from the tannery rooftops) are the most famous artisan sight in Morocco.

The Medina restaurants: Hidden riads (traditional courtyard houses) converted to restaurants. Le Foundouk and Dar Yacout are among the finest. The setting — courtyard dining under the stars — is as important as the food.

Day trips: The Atlas Mountains are 30 minutes from Marrakech. Imlil village and the Toubkal National Park (Mount Toubkal, 4,167m, North Africa's highest peak) are accessible for day hikes or 2-day summit attempts. The Ourika Valley is closer and more accessible for a half-day.

Fez: The Medieval Capital

Fez el-Bali is the world's largest living medieval city — UNESCO-listed, car-free, unchanged in its basic structure for 1,000 years. Getting lost in Fez is inevitable and completely fine; every wrong turn reveals a mosque courtyard, a craftsman's workshop, or a neighborhood square.

Al-Qarawiyyin University: Founded in 859 AD, the oldest continuously operating university in the world. Not open to non-Muslim visitors, but the exterior of the building and the adjacent library (one of the world's oldest, recently restored by Aziza Chaouni) are viewable.

The Tanneries: The Chouara Tannery is Morocco's most photographed sight — concentric vats of dye (saffron, indigo, poppy, cedar) where leather workers dye and tan hides using techniques unchanged for 900 years. View from the leather goods shops surrounding the tannery (free entry with riad purchase of souvenirs).

Chefchaouen: The Blue City

Every building in Chefchaouen is painted in shades of blue — a tradition that began in the 15th century with the city's Jewish community and has been maintained by the whole town since. The medina is smaller than Marrakech or Fez and significantly more relaxed.

The hiking above the town (to the Spanish mosque for views, or into the Rif Mountains) is excellent. The town is the main cannabis-producing region of Morocco — the hashish trade is visible but unintrusive.

The Food

Moroccan cuisine is one of the world's great culinary traditions:

Tagine: Slow-cooked stew in the conical clay pot of the same name. Chicken with preserved lemon and olives, lamb with prunes and almonds, fish with chermoula (herb sauce) — each region has its signature. Eat it with flatbread, not cutlery.

Couscous: Properly made Moroccan couscous (hand-rolled, steamed three times) is a Friday ritual. Served with seven vegetables and a lamb or chicken broth poured over. The Friday couscous at any traditional Moroccan family restaurant is definitive.

Pastilla: A sweet-savory pie of pigeon (or chicken), almonds, eggs, and spices in a thin pastry shell dusted with powdered sugar and cinnamon. A Moroccan celebration dish.

Harira: The soup that breaks the Ramadan fast — tomato and lentil-based with chickpeas, lamb, herbs, and lemon. Available year-round.

🌍 Morocco is extraordinary. [Find cheap flights →](https://www.aviasales.com/?marker=4132) and [book a riad in Marrakech →](https://www.booking.com/searchresults.html?ss=Marrakech&aid=YOUR_BOOKING_AFFILIATE_ID).

Where to Stay

Stay in a riad (traditional courtyard house converted to a guesthouse). The exterior walls in the medina are blank; enter through an unmarked door and find a courtyard with a fountain, mosaic tile work, and a rooftop terrace. This is the definitive Moroccan accommodation experience. Budget riads from €60/night; luxury riads from €200.

[Book tours and experiences in Morocco](https://www.getyourguide.com/s/?q=Marrakech&partner_id=PARTNER_ID) — the desert camp experiences and medina walking tours are exceptional.

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