Recommended itineraries in Morocco

 A week in Morocco: the imperial cities

• Fez: the souks and monuments of the medina (Dar Batha, the Bou-Inania medersa, Nejjarine, the Attarine medersa); climb to the northern borj for a strategic view of the city (3 days).

• If you have time, Sefrou deserves a half-day excursion to discover its friendly, untouristy medina; visit the passage of Bhalil, a village with troglodyte houses.

• Meknes: its very calm medina and the imperial city (2 days).

• The holy city of Moulay-Idriss and the remarkable Roman ruins of Volubilis (1 day).

For a week, think of the course of Marrakech and Essaouira, especially if it is your first stay in Morocco.

10 days in northern Morocco

• Tangier: the medina, the kasbah, and its museum (2 days).

• Tetouan and its medina are listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site (1 day).

• Chefchaouen, “the blue city” clinging to the mountain (1 day).

• Rabat: the Kasbah of Oudaïa, the medina, and the necropolis of Chellah (2 days).

• Casablanca: the Hassan II mosque, the Habous district (2 days).

• El-Jadida: the Portuguese city listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and its cistern (1 day).

• Return to Casablanca via the medina of Azemmour.

12 days between the sea and Atlas mountains

• Marrakech: Jemaa-el-Fna square (dinner on the square); the souks, the monuments of the medina (the Maison de la photography and the Mouassine museum, the Bahia Palace, the Saadian tombs, the Secret Garden, the Dar el-Bacha – Musée des Confluences, the Ben Youssef medersa when it will have reopened); the Majorelle garden and the Yves-Saint-Laurent museum (3 days).

• The Tizi-n-Tichka: this very beautiful mountainous road passes through the Tizi-n-Tichka, the highest pass in Morocco (1 day).

• Aït-Benhaddou: visit the ksar, a fortified village listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site (1 day).

• The Safran route: allow 1 day to cover this superb route between the Haut and Anti-Atlas, with a visit to the cooperatives of Taliouine.

• Taroudant: the souks, the tour of the ramparts, and the Berber market (1 day).

• Agadir: idleness on the beach, swimming in the ocean, and some shopping in the big souk (1 day).

• The Route du Miel and the Valley of Paradise: between bare hills and verdant oases, a small incursion inland before returning to the coast (1 day).

• Essaouira: stroll through the city; the port; the market (2 days). Return flight from Essaouira or Marrakech.

15 days: the tour of the Atlas

• Marrakech: 3 days, see the 12-day itinerary above.

• The Ouzoud waterfalls: idleness by the river and swimming in the basins.

• The Aït-Bougmez valley: those who have the time can stop for 2 days to hike and enjoy this “happy valley” that lives up to its name.

• Beni-Mellal: spend a night in the sector of this stage town, which allows you to reach Imilchil via El-Ksiba quietly; crossing villages and breathtaking landscapes on the program (1 day).

• Imilchil: try to include a Friday in Imilchil for the vegetable market, the opportunity to meet the tribes of the region, and especially a Saturday morning to attend the cattle market. Many hikes are organized from this very beautiful corner of the mountain (1 day).

• The Ziz gorges: reach Riich then descend south via the Ziz gorges, carved into a limestone plateau. Beautiful panoramas all along (1 day).

• Merzouga: 2 days of excursion in this miniature Sahara, on foot or by camel (avoid the 4x4!), to listen to the silence and bivouac in the hollow of the dunes under the starry sky.

• The Todgha and Dadès gorges (1 day): you can cool off in the impressive Todgha gorges, where water flows, in principle, all year round. In the Dadès Valley, you can stroll through the gardens or venture out on longer hikes in the gorges, preferably accompanied by a guide.

• The Valley of Roses and the palm grove of Skoura (1 day): in the Valley of Roses, one of the most beautiful in Morocco, stop at the village of Tamalout Bou-Tahrar for its traditional architecture then lose yourself fearlessly in the Skoura palm grove which still houses remarkable kasbahs, dilapidated or not, but which all exude a crazy charm.

• Ouarzazate: visit the Kasbah of Taourirt and why not the film studios that have made the city famous. For an in situ filming location, go to Aït-Benhaddou, a beautifully preserved ksar (1 day).

• Aït-Benhaddou: the best is to sleep there, to enjoy the magic of the site at sunset and sunrise (1 day).

• The Tizi-n-Tichka road: a day to cover 200 km of this absolutely beautiful road with a passage through a pass at an altitude of 2,300 m before reaching Marrakech.

Three weeks in Morocco

Continuation of the 2-week itinerary from Aït-Benhaddou:

• The Draa Valley (3 days): a succession of ksour and adobe villages to Zagora and Mhamid, at the end of the tar. It is from there that one leaves for an excursion in the desert on the back of a camel or aboard a 4x4. Night at the foot of the dunes is recommended.

• Foum-Zguid: stopover town to connect to the Anti-Atlas (1 day).

• Tafraoute: very beautiful hikes to undertake in the region, in particular in the gorges of Aït-Mansour and the Ammeln valley. Tafraoute is also the capital of slippers: it's time to equip yourself! (2 days)

• Tiznit: the city where life is good and which has a charming medina (1 day).

• Those who still have time will turn south along a wild coast: Mirleft and Sidi Ifni – and, between the 2, the beach of El-Gzira – then push on to the oasis of Tighmert (1 day).

• Otherwise, from Tiznit, go up to Agadir for sessions of idleness on the beach and swimming in an ocean, however a little chilly.