Have A Break In Marrakech

An insider's guide to Marrakech, featuring the city's best hotels, restaurants, bars, shops, attractions and things to do, including how to travel there and around. Why go? Red baked-mud medina palaces beneath the snow-capped High Atlas and a powder-pink ring of ramparts around 19 kilometres of seething souqs, Marrakech is Morocco’s most memorable experience.

A long weekend in... Marrakech

After its independence from France in 1956, Morocco, and specifically the fourth largest of the historical Berber Empire's Imperial Cities, Marrakech, took off as a hippie mecca for artists (Andy Warhol), Hollywood starlets (Rita Hayworth), film directors (Alfred Hitchcock shot scenes for The Man Who Knew Too Much here) and the musical jet-set with The Beatles and the Rolling Stones enjoying rest and hazy "relaxation" in the maze-like alleys of this medieval medina.

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.

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.

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.”

MARRAKECH’S BEST VIEWS

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

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.

Branson, Famous Resident of Marrakech Explains

WHERE ARE WE NOW?

As the fifth edition of the Marrakech Biennale comes to a close, MRRKCH ( MARRAKECH MAGAZINE)  had the opportunity to sit down with Vanessa Branson, founder and president of the Marrakech Biennale, and discuss the events of the past month. Mandy Sinclair reports.

20 great things to do in Marrakech

The ultimate checklist for things to do in Marrakech – follow our insider tips for stunning mosques, fascinating crafts and luxury living:

Insider’s Guide to Marrakech Morocco

For many travelers, the ancient, bustling city of Marrakech (Marrakesh) is the first stop on a journey through Morocco and a “must see” destination. Marrakesh is a metropolitan oasis pieced together with ancients souks combined with an endless array of shops, cafes, and museum. Even the scooters and motorcycles weaving past pedestrians and donkeys is a sight to behold. Unlike much of the rest of the country, tourism is nothing new in Morocco (or in Marrakech for that matter). For centuries, Moroccans, foreigners and traders from around the world have been coming here for business, pleasure and a taste of the exotic.

Like most cities in Morocco, Marrakech is divided into two parts: the ancient medina (“old city”) and the new city (“ville nouvelle” – often referred to as “Gueliz” after the name of one of the more popular neighborhoods). In the last few decades, the city has become a tourist hotspot and a top destination for many Europeans; many who have purchased vacation and retirement homes here. Even the famous designer Yves Saint-Laurent spent the latter half of his life in Marrakech. And, recently, former French President Nicolas Sarkozy purchased a home here. In Marrakech, expats wander alongside the locals through the medina streets of the famed “Red City.”

Happy cause we're from Marrakech

Where To Stay In Marrakech

Anyone who’s been back to Marrakech after a several year absence would have difficulty recognizing the place. The winding alleyways of the medina are still there, with atmospheric riads hidden behind nondescript doors and stall after stall of silks, slippers, brass on sale. And in the center of it all, Jemaa el Fna, the main square inhabited by snake charmers, acrobats, sizzling kebab grills, boulevarding locals and mobs of tourists. 

What’s changed, however, is the hotel scene; it’s a veritable explosion with more coming on line all the time: Rocco Forte’s Assoufid, a Baglioni, a Mandarin Oriental, a W, a Park Hyatt, the Jawhar from Monaco’s Societie des Bains de Mer are all set to open over the next year. 

Marrakech, the hard way

It’s easy to fly to Morocco. Alternatively, one can get there by car, rail and sea Children saluting beside flags Saluting Gibraltar from the Upper Rock There is an obvious way for those living in the UK to take a family holiday in Marrakech: drive to Gatwick, hop on an easyJet flight and a few hours later you will be drinking mint tea in the Red City. Alternatively, you could put your three children in the back of the car, catch an overnight ferry to Santander, drive across Spain, dump the car on a clifftop road overlooking the Mediterranean, transfer your stuff into rucksacks, catch a boat to Tangiers and then the night train to Marrakech. We did the latter.

Morocco's bright lights: Romance, riads and arresting exoticism in the Red City

The Red City yanks you from the 21st century immediately. So much so, it seems impossible that my day began in gloomy London. I stand paralysed, ink from the map clutched in my hand imprinted on my fingers and the bedlam of Marrakech ringing in my ears.

The Chic Of Marrakech

Its voluptuous exoticism and easy accessibility have always drawn a certain traveler to this Arab oasis. Now, thanks to an influx of new money and smart new places to stay, the rest of the world is checking in as well.

Frederick Vreeland, the former U.S. ambassador to Morocco and son of Diana, the legendaryVogue editor, has just flown in from Rome to host a lunch party at his Marrakech home, Orchard of the Shooting Star.

Marrakech or Marrakesh? Riad, Ryad, Riyad or Riyadh?

Marrakech or Marrakesh? Riad, Ryad, Riyad or Riyadh?The city is spelled “Marrakech” in French and commonly use by foreigners except English thats will say ‘Marrakesh’ and Germans say “Marrakesch”.