Morocco Things To Do

Even if you can’t afford to stay at his legendary Fez hotel, grab a mint tea on the terrace to soak up one of the most incredible views over the ancient medina. The concierge can arrange medina tours for non-guests to take in sights such as the tanneries and Kairaouine Mosque.

It’s entirely possible to do a self-guided walking tour of the medina thanks to informational signs hung in touristy areas (they’re color-coded, too, so you can opt to stick to monuments and souks or arts and crafts interests).

Morocco’s finest leather goods hail from Fez. Watch tannery workers in the medina soaking animal hides in cement pits brimming with colored die. The smells are as overwhelming as the sights, but shop owners are quick to offer mint sprigs to mask the odors.

Place Nejjarine is home to one of Fez’s most beautiful tiled fountains as well as a museum of woodworking tools and techniques; the building housing the museum was originally an inn for traveling merchants.

Only Muslims can enter this revered site, but tourists can glance through the bronze doors into one of North Africa’s largest mosques. More than 20,000 worshippers fit inside the Kairaouine, with its 16-aisle prayer hall, 270+ marble columns, and green pyramidal roof.

Just outside the medina gates, this Hispano-Moorish palace houses a fine collection of Moroccan tiling, woodcarving, and plasterwork salvaged from medina buildings. Concerts are sometimes held on the museum’s tranquil grounds.

Take a taxi from the medina’s main gate to the Merenid Tombs. The tombs themselves are little more than ruins and rubble – it’s the vistas of the medina and surrounding hills peppered with olive trees that are the main draw.

Try your hand at cooking Fassi specialties such as B’stilla (pigeon pie laced with cinnamon) or lamb and date tajine with lessons from the professional chef and owner of Dar Roumana, a restored riad in the medina.

Djemaa el-Fna is an absolute must. The heart of the medina, this central square becomes a carnival of snake charmers, acrobats and food stalls come nightfall, when locals and visitors gather for cheap alfresco meals.

A short stroll southwest of the Djemma el-Fna, the Koutoubia mosque is Marrakech’s most recognizable landmark and a classic example of Moorish architecture. The call to prayer echoes from a 12th century minaret that looms 230 feet overhead.