Visit Morocco
Lose yourself in the lanes of a medina, bargain for spices or ceramics, eat a tagine straight from the pot, then watch the landscape change completely as you travel beyond the city. Morocco can take you from Marrakech’s courtyards and souks to the High Atlas, Atlantic towns such as Essaouira, the blue streets of Chefchaouen and the desert landscapes of the south. It is a country that rewards moving around rather than seeing one place and assuming you have seen the whole thing. Its cities carry layers of Amazigh, Arab, Islamic and European history, while architecture and craft traditions make those layers visible. Marrakech and Fes both have UNESCO-listed medinas, and farther south Aït Ben Haddou preserves a striking example of the fortified earthen settlements traditionally built along former caravan routes. Food gives you another route into the country: couscous, tagines, pastilla, breads, preserved lemons, mint tea and regional dishes make eating part of the travelling rather than something squeezed between sights. A week gives you enough time for one or two cities plus a contrasting landscape; ten days or more opens up a much better circuit. Spring and autumn are particularly useful for combining cities, mountains and desert without the strongest summer heat, although Morocco is genuinely visitable throughout the year depending on where you go. Choose a few places rather than racing between everything, build in time simply to explore on foot, and add Morocco to your list for a trip that can feel markedly different from one day to the next.