Marrakech travel info

Stand in Jemaa el-Fnaa around five in the afternoon and you can watch the city change sets. All day the square holds little more than orange-juice carts and a few snake charmers; then handcarts roll in one after another, steel frames go up under canvas, and smoke starts rising from charcoal grills. By the time the sun drops behind the Koutoubia minaret, the whole square is grilled meat, drums and people calling you over to their stall. Most first-timers lose an hour here without noticing.

The city comes in two halves. The medina, the old town inside red earthen walls, is a maze of souk lanes, and behind a plain door off one of those lanes you'll find a riad, a courtyard house with a fountain and orange trees; that's where most visitors sleep. West of the walls is Gueliz, the new town laid out under the French, with wide streets, cafés, supermarkets and the Majorelle Garden. Cars can't get down many medina lanes, so the last few hundred metres to your riad are often walked behind a porter pushing your bags on a handcart.

Marrakech Menara airport has nonstop flights from many European cities; from farther away you usually change in Istanbul, Doha, Paris or similar. Visa rules depend on your passport, and many nationalities get 90 days visa-free. The dirham is hard to buy outside Morocco, so plan on withdrawing it from ATMs once you land. July and August average highs above 37°C; spring (March–May) and autumn (October–November) are the walking seasons.

Marrakech Menara Airport (RAK)