Marrakech: The Desert's Edge

Once a haven for hippies, Marrakech has outgrown that phase along with its visitors. Today, it's a showcase of high design, mixing Euro cool with the medina's rich colors. The "new Marrakech" look is keeping local craftsmen busy: if you spy a piece of furniture you like during your stay, most places will sell it to you and ship it back home.

A Face-Lift for Marrakech's La Mamounia Hotel

La Mamounia, or at least its eight hectares of gardens, began life in the 18th century as a wedding gift to Morocco's Prince Moulay Mamoun from his father, King Mohammed Ben Abdellah (the hotel didn't follow until 1923). Today, those gardens, with their centuries-old olive trees, still retain their historic splendor. And the rest of La Mamounia has never felt fresher.

A Place In The Sun

Ean Vassort, dressed comfortably in jeans and blue cotton shirt, stands on the terrace of his whitewashed house, taking in the view of long golden beaches and a broad estuary snaking eastward into a hot, rocky valley. Retired since selling his restaurant near Avignon, France in 2002, Vassort, 74, now lives year-round in this sun-washed setting where he once took his holidays. But unlike earlier generations of French pensioners, Vassort's retirement idyll isn't tucked away along the villa-studded expanses of the Côte d'Azur, or in one of the popular resort towns of Spain's Costa Brava. Instead, Vassort is one of a growing number of European pensioners jumping the Mediterranean to Morocco — and getting much more bang for their euro.

He's over the hump! David Beckham enjoys a camel ride with his children during lavish 40th birthday celebrations in Marrakech

He celebrated his 40th birthday in style on Saturday night with a lavish bash attended by a host of A-list stars.

But David Beckham started his day making memories with his children as they were spotted enjoying a camel ride near the luxurious Amanjena resort.

Making the most of their time in Marrakech, Morocco, the retired footballer certainly didn’t have the hump about reaching his age milestone as he rode around with his kids ahead of the night’s festivities.

Scroll down for video

+23

Birthday boy: David Beckham started his day making memories with his children as they were spotted enjoying a camel ride near the luxurious Amanjena resort

Marrakech named world's best destination Summer 2015

Marrakech named world's best destination by TripAdvisor as London ranks sixth behind Prague and Hanoi... and New York fails to crack top ten

• Marrakech has been rated the world's best destination for the first time
• Results came from the website's annual Travellers' Choice awards
• Siem Reap, Istanbul and Hanoi also made the top ten world locations 

One of Britons' favourite places to visit in North Africa has been named the world's top destination by TripAdvisor users.

With its desert landscape and bustling souks, Marrakech came out on top in the website's annual Travellers' Choice Awards for the first time.

Daniel Boulud’s Marrakech Chicken Tagine

This recipe for an elegant North African stew comes out of the kitchen of Boulud Sud, Daniel Boulud’s sophisticated Mediterranean French restaurant in New York. It is a dish steeped in the flavors of North Africa, but also of France. Chicken serves as the protein, bathed in a blend of North African spices — cinnamon and coriander, turmeric, ginger powder and cardamom — combined with tomatoes, saffron and a little stock. Preserved lemons and olives added at the end provide bite. Tagines are often cooked with root vegetables and dried fruits. Boulud, who famously grew up on a farm, in Lyon, uses cauliflower.

Marrakech Express

The chef Daniel Boulud has a long history with tagine, the North African stew that takes its name from the elegant earthenware pot in which it is cooked. Thirty years ago, he said recently, he tasted a tagine cooked by a Moroccan magician and cook named Baby Dahane. The taste lingered with him. “I loved the soulful, Berber-style delicate preparation,” he said, “the crossroad of spice and flavor and the smell, the taste, the combination of spices and vegetables.”

10 Places For having Fun in Marrakech

TOP 10 Marrakech Attractions:

1. Maison de la Photographie, 46 Rue Ahel Fes Medina, 5 24 38 57 21

2. Jemaa el Fna (Place of the Dead)

3. Bahia Palace, Beyond Place des Ferblantiers

MARRAKECH’S BEST VIEWS

The top 3 Marrakech Best Views You shouldn't Miss:

A Rustic Hideaway In Marrakech

So the name of the Beldi Country Club is a giveaway: everything at the beguiling, 27-room hotel amidst fields of roses - from the earth-based pise walls to the sackcloth bags gardeners gather blooms in - is done as it was centuries ago.

Marrakech Jamaa el Fna, Second Best Night Market in the World

Ranked third most beautiful square worldwide in a rating made by travel website Lonely Planet last year, the square is featured by the travel-lovers app Adioso as the second best place for spending a wonderful night in “open-air food stalls, snake charmers and a healthy dose of chaos.” Djemaa el Fna is a high-touristic square in Marrakesh that draws more than a million visitors who come to attend the lively shows provided by the snake charmers, monkey trainers, storytellers, musicians and other popular artists from early evening until the call for dawn prayer.

An oasis of relaxation in the heart of Marrakech

Enjoy a game of golf on a nearby course at the foot of the Atlas Mountains or practice on the Resort’s pitch & putt course. The Children’s Clubs take your little ones on a journey to the land of the Arabian Nights. Experience Moroccan specialties and hospitality at the ‘El Kebir’ restaurant

Discover the souks of Marrakech with our regular shuttle service.