Marrakech is a very interesting place to visit. It is a vibrant city of culture and it was definitely not as bad as I thought it might be.
I had always been a bit reluctant to visit this city as I have heard many stories from fellow travellers saying just how bad the hassle is. I heard stories of tourists being locked in shops until they bought something, but it was not like that when I was there. Of course, don’t get me wrong, you will still get hassled by shop keepers to buy things, but it is manageable. The buzz of the Djemaa El- Fna was exilarating and wonderful to observe from the balcony at Cafe de France on the square; especially the sunset.
One of the best parts of the city is the Souqs with all the hidden delights. Every corner reveals another shop or another cool restaurant. Zwin Zwin Cafe is a lovely french restaurant in the souqs with a rooftop restaurant and wonderful tarts on the menu. Another restaurant, which is a bit on the expensive side but worth it, is Pepe Nero. You might need to book as it is quite popular. They give you a complimentary drink as you arrive. The standard of food is top quality and the ambience is lovely. It was definitely worth the cost. If you are looking for a quick Falafel or Shawarmer that tastes amazing and costs very little then look no further than Roti D’or. The small fast food place is just off Djemaa El-Fna, but be prepared to wait or get there just as it opens as it’s very popular and they only open a few hours at lunchtime and dinner time. It closes at 8 p.m. If you want some really good local food at a decent price, then there is a restaurant on Djemaa El- Fna to the right of Cafe de France a little around the corner before you head into the souq. It’s called something “shank”. We got recommended this by my hostel and it was good.
My hostel was called Rainbow hostel and it definitely was a rainbow coloured building. The owners are amazing, willing to go the extra mile for you. This place offers mint tea whenever you want and free breakfast in the morning. There is a terrace which has three tortoise on it. One of them being rather aggressive towards the others.
Bahia Palace
One of the best places to visit in the centre of the souqs is Bahia Palace. This place has a beautiful garden in the centre and some amazing mosaics around the palace.
Jardin Majorelle Yves Saint Laurent Memoriam
This is a rather beautiful garden hidden in the middle of Marrekech. The garden was owned by Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Berge and on YSL’s death, Pierre Berge donated the garden. The place is really peaceful with the Islamic Art Museum in the centre. It is not cheap to get into the gardens, but the place is really beautiful!!
Essaouira
From Marrakesh you can take day trips to a lot of places close by. One of the trips we took was to Essaouira. On the way to Essaouira we stopped at the Argon trees to see the goats in the trees. They climb the trees to get to the Argon oil. It’s really strange but cool.
Essaouira is a seaport on the west of Morocco which has a really cool souq and some lovely seafood restaurants along the shore. These restaurants are just tents along the shore which have fresh fish on display to choose from and they will cook it for you. In the souq, there are lovely alleys of shops and stalls full of some very interesting things and there is a food section for the locals.
Atlas Mountains and Ait Bin Haddou
A day trip I took to Ait Bin Haddou took me across the beautiful Atlas Mountains. This trip was arranged for 250,000 ($25). It was very strange going from the desert to the snow covered mountains within a couple of hours. The temperature dropped drastically but it was worth it to see that beautiful view. The journey took about 4 hours in total to go from desert to snow covered mountains and down again to the desert where we found Ait Bin Haddou. Ait Bin Haddou is beautiful. One of the last ksars on the old trading routes through the desert. On the tour here, you get to visit some of the old Kasbahs ( four-towered houses) in the ksar and learn about how the locals live. This place is also very famous for being where a lot of the famous movies have been made, including: Laurence of Arabia, Game of Thrones and Gladiator.
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