🇲🇦Morocco

Jemaa el-Fnaa, Marrakech

Marrakech's main square shifts character completely between day and night, filled with orange-juice stalls and snake charmers by afternoon before transforming into a dense open-air food market after dark. Storytellers, musicians, and henna artists compete for space among the smoke of dozens of grills. It's been a gathering place for locals and travelers for nearly a thousand years.

Chefchaouen

A hill town in the Rif Mountains painted almost entirely in shades of blue, a tradition with disputed origins ranging from Jewish refugee communities to simple insect-repelling practicality. Its steep, narrow lanes make for aimless, photogenic wandering rather than a checklist of sights. The surrounding mountains offer day hikes for those staying more than a night.

Erg Chebbi dunes, Merzouga

Towering Sahara dunes reached by camel trek, with desert camps offering a night under some of the clearest skies in the country. Sunrise and sunset both transform the dune colors dramatically, from soft pink to deep orange. Sandboarding down the steepest faces is a popular addition for those staying overnight.

Fes el-Bali

The old medina's leather tanneries and souks form one of the world's largest car-free urban areas, its narrow lanes barely wide enough for the donkeys still used to move goods. The Chouara Tannery, with its ancient stone vats of dye, remains one of the most striking and pungent sights in the city. Getting lost here is less a risk than an expectation.

Aït Benhaddou

A fortified ksar of earthen clay buildings rising from the desert on the old caravan route between the Sahara and Marrakech, its dramatic silhouette used as a filming location for Gladiator and Game of Thrones. A handful of families still live within its walls, though most residents have moved to the newer village across the river. Climbing to the top offers wide views over the valley.

Majorelle Garden, Marrakech

A small but densely planted botanical garden built by French painter Jacques Majorelle, later restored by fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent, its cobalt blue buildings offset by cacti and bamboo. It offers a cool, quiet retreat from Marrakech's busier streets. A small museum on-site covers Saint Laurent's connection to Morocco.