The best things to do in Morocco.

Marrakech rewards travellers who slow down: a walled medina of souks and palaces opens onto serene gardens, rooftop cafes and the snow-capped Atlas beyond. From sunrise calls to prayer to the nightly theatre of Jemaa el-Fna, here are the experiences worth your time.

Morocco's spiritual and craft capital rewards slow exploration. From the maze of Fes el-Bali to working tanneries, Merinid medersas and ancient Roman ruins nearby, here are twelve experiences worth your time.

Tucked into Morocco's Rif Mountains, Chefchaouen is the famous blue-washed town where lime-painted lanes, mountain waterfalls and Andalusian culture meet. Here are the best things to do in the Blue City.

Essaouira pairs a UNESCO-listed walled medina with windswept Atlantic beaches, a working fishing port and a deep Gnaoua music heritage. Here are twelve experiences that capture the salt-air spirit of Morocco's coolest coastal town.

Rebuilt after the 1960 earthquake, Agadir pairs a six-kilometre Atlantic beach with world-class surf, a hilltop kasbah, busy souks and easy access to Souss-Massa's wild coast and Paradise Valley.

Where the Mediterranean meets the Atlantic, Tangier blends Moroccan, Andalusian and international history. From its hilltop kasbah and tangled medina to dramatic Atlantic capes, here are twelve experiences worth your time.

Merzouga is a small Saharan village beside Erg Chebbi, a sea of wind-sculpted dunes rising up to around 150 metres. It is Morocco's classic desert base, and here are twelve experiences worth your time.

Nicknamed the 'Door of the Desert' and Morocco's Hollywood, Ouarzazate guards mud-brick kasbahs, vast film studios and palm-fringed oases at the edge of the Sahara. Here are twelve experiences worth your time.

Meknes, the imperial city of Sultan Moulay Ismail, blends monumental gates, vast granaries and a relaxed medina with easy day trips to Volubilis. Here are twelve experiences worth your time.

Morocco's capital pairs Atlantic light with monumental history, from a riverside kasbah to Roman-and-Merinid ruins. Here are twelve experiences worth your time in calm, walkable Rabat.

Morocco's largest city and economic heart pairs Art Deco boulevards with a vast oceanfront mosque. From the Atlantic Corniche to the old medina, here are twelve experiences worth your time.

Asilah is a whitewashed Atlantic town on Morocco's north coast, famous for its mural-covered medina, Portuguese ramparts and breezy beaches. Here are twelve experiences that capture its artistic, seafaring spirit.

At 1,740 metres in the High Atlas, Imlil is Morocco's gateway to Mount Toubkal. This Berber village trades souk crowds for walnut groves, mule paths and snow-tipped peaks. Here are the experiences worth lacing your boots for.

Once a sleepy fishing village north of Agadir, Taghazout has become Morocco's surf capital. Reliable Atlantic point breaks, laid-back yoga retreats, argan groves and golden beaches make it a relaxed base on the Souss-Massa coast.

Set high in Morocco's Middle Atlas, Ifrane is an alpine town of red-roofed chalets, cedar forests and clear mountain lakes. Built in the 1930s, it offers cool air, winter snow and easy access to a national park rich in wildlife.

Tucked into the Middle Atlas near Azilal, the Cascades d'Ouzoud are Morocco's tallest waterfalls, tumbling some 110 metres in red-rock terraces. Here are the experiences worth your time around the falls.

Dakhla sits on a slender peninsula where the Sahara meets the Atlantic, framing a vast flat-water lagoon. Steady trade winds, year-round sun and turquoise shallows have made it one of the world's premier kitesurfing destinations.

Cut into the eastern High Atlas near Tinghir, the Todra Gorge funnels travellers between sheer limestone walls rising up to roughly 300 metres. River, palm groves and Berber villages reward those who linger here.

Often called 'little Marrakech', Taroudant is a walled market town in the fertile Souss Valley. Its earthen ramparts encircle bustling souks, palm-shaded squares and artisan workshops, with the High Atlas and Anti-Atlas rising on either side.

Tucked into the High Atlas about an hour south of Marrakech, the Ourika Valley pairs a rushing river with Berber villages, terraced gardens and waterfall hikes. Here are the experiences worth your day.

Around 45 minutes from Marrakech, the Agafay is a rocky stone desert of arid hills, not dunes. Its lunar hammada frames sweeping Atlas Mountain views, luxury camps and quiet adventure within easy reach of the city.

Marrakech sits within easy reach of the High Atlas, the Atlantic coast and the edge of the Sahara, making it Morocco's best base for day trips. From Berber valleys and roaring waterfalls to film-set kasbahs and a fortified port, here are twelve excursions you can comfortably do and return from in a single day.

Fes makes a rich base for exploring northern Morocco, ringed by Roman ruins, holy towns, imperial cities, cedar forests and the cool Middle Atlas. From a half-day at Volubilis to a full run up to blue-washed Chefchaouen, here are twelve excursions worth the drive from the medina.

Casablanca is Morocco's business hub and a major transport gateway, which makes it a surprisingly good base for day trips along the Atlantic coast and into the interior. Fast trains link it to the capital and the wider rail network, while the highway opens up old Portuguese ports and quiet country towns. Here are ten excursions you can comfortably do and return from in a single day.

Agadir is the gateway to Morocco's sunny southwest, a modern beach resort within easy reach of palm-filled gorges, walled market towns, surf villages and protected coastal wildlife. From a swim beneath the Paradise Valley palms to a day in walled Taroudant, here are nine excursions you can comfortably do and return from in a single day.

Perched where the Mediterranean meets the Atlantic, Tangier is the natural base for exploring Morocco's far north. Within a short drive you reach the blue lanes of Chefchaouen, the whitewashed art town of Asilah, a UNESCO-listed medina at Tetouan and the cave where the Atlantic pours into a sea grotto. Here are nine excursions you can comfortably do and return from in a single day, with honest travel times.

The breezy Atlantic port of Essaouira is a relaxed base for exploring Morocco's windswept southern coast and the argan country behind it. Within easy reach lie empty surf beaches, a sleepy fishing bay, the cooperatives of the argan road and the inland city of Marrakech. Here are nine excursions with honest travel times, including a note on which are better enjoyed as overnights rather than rushed in a day.

Morocco's calm, green capital sits on the Atlantic where the Bou Regreg river meets the sea, with the Al Boraq high-speed line and the regular rail network putting much of the country's northwest within easy reach. Casablanca is barely an hour south by fast train, the imperial city of Meknes and the Roman ruins of Volubilis make a rewarding full day inland, and the river, the coast and a famous lagoon all lie close at hand. Here are nine excursions you can do and return from in a single day, with honest travel times and clear notes on which suit a half-day and which need an early start.

Ouarzazate is the classic southern hub of Morocco, the gateway between the High Atlas and the desert and the base for the great kasbah country of the south. Earthen ksour, palm oases, river gorges and the Glaoui strongholds all lie within reach of the town. From the UNESCO ksar of Aït Ben Haddou right next door to the switchbacks of the Dadès Gorge, here are nine excursions you can build a day around, with an honest note on which are half-days and which fill a full one.

The blue town of Chefchaouen is the natural base for the western Rif. From its medina you can reach waterfalls and a natural rock arch deep in Talassemtane National Park, the Andalusian medina of Tetouan, quiet Mediterranean beaches and the holy town of Ouazzane out among the olive groves. Some of these are easy half-days; others, like Akchour, mean a genuine mountain hike. Here are nine excursions with honest travel times and a frank note on what each one really involves.

Tetouan, the UNESCO-listed 'white dove' with its Andalusian medina, is the ideal base for the western Rif coast and mountains. The Mediterranean beaches are right on the doorstep — Martil, M'diq, Cabo Negro and Oued Laou are all easy half-days — while the blue town of Chefchaouen, the strait city of Tangier and the trails of Talassemtane National Park are comfortable full days. The Spanish enclave of Ceuta sits just up the coast for those who want to cross a European border. Here are ten excursions with honest travel times and a frank note on what each really involves.

One of Morocco's four imperial cities, Meknes makes a relaxed, uncrowded base for the country's Roman and imperial heartland. The UNESCO-listed ruins of Volubilis and the holy hilltop town of Moulay Idriss Zerhoun sit just half an hour north and pair into the region's classic half- or full-day outing, while the great medina of Fes is barely an hour east by train or road. Add the green Zerhoun hills, Morocco's Guerrouane and Meknes wine country, and the cedar forests of the Middle Atlas, and a single base opens up far more than its quiet streets suggest. Here are nine excursions you can do and return from in a day, with honest travel times and clear notes on which suit a half-day and which need an early start.

Wrapped in russet earthen ramparts and often called 'Little Marrakech', Taroudant is a relaxed, refreshingly untouristy base in the heart of the fertile Souss valley, about 80 km east of Agadir. From the palm grove and film-set kasbah at Tiout to the saffron fields of Taliouine, the pink granite of the Anti-Atlas and the rock pools of Paradise Valley, here are nine excursions with honest travel times, including a note on which are easy half-days and which make for a long day on the road.

Ifrane is an unexpected base in the heart of the Middle Atlas: an alpine-style town of tidy chalets, pine gardens and a famous stone lion, sitting at around 1,650 metres beside Al Akhawayn University. Green and cool in summer, snowy in winter, it puts cedar forests, mountain lakes, a small ski area and two imperial cities all within easy reach. Here are nine excursions worth the short drive from the chalets.

Merzouga is the small village at the western edge of Erg Chebbi, the towering dune sea of Morocco's south-east, and it makes a deep-desert base rather than a city of monuments. Most of what surrounds it is sand, palmeries and the historic Tafilalet, so the outings here split clearly between easy half-days on tarmac and remote piste trips that genuinely need a 4x4 and a guide. From the ksour and souk of Rissani to the Gnaoua village of Khamlia, the fossil workshops of Erfoud and the dune circuit on your doorstep, here are nine excursions to build a day around, with honest notes on access and travel time.

Zagora is the market town of the lower Draa Valley, famous for the old 'Tombouctou 52 jours' caravan sign and a base where the long palm oasis meets the near-desert. This is kasbah, palmeraie and dune country rather than a town of grand monuments, so the outings split clearly between easy half-days close to town and longer 4x4 or overnight trips deep into the remote sands. From the celebrated Quranic library and green-glazed pottery of Tamegroute to the road's-end village of M'hamid and the great dunes of Erg Chigaga, here are ten excursions to build a day around, with honest notes on access and travel time.

Two of the most popular short escapes from Marrakech could hardly be more different: the bare, lunar Agafay 'desert' just outside the city, and the green valleys and high peaks of the Atlas mountains beyond it. This honest comparison helps you pick the right half- or full-day.

The Ourika Valley is the closest slice of the High Atlas to Marrakech — a green river valley of Berber villages, terraced gardens and waterfalls, about an hour from the city. It is the easiest mountain day trip, cool in summer and rewarding year-round. Here is how to plan it.

The Ouzoud Falls are Morocco's most spectacular waterfalls — a set of cascades dropping around 110 metres through a green gorge, with wild Barbary macaques in the trees and rainbows in the spray. About 2.5 to 3 hours from Marrakech, they make a rewarding full-day trip. Here is what to expect.

Aït Benhaddou is Morocco's most famous ksar — a fortified village of red earthen kasbahs rising above the Ounila River, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a backdrop for films from Lawrence of Arabia to Gladiator. Reaching it from Marrakech means crossing the High Atlas over the dramatic Tizi n'Tichka pass, so it is a long but spectacular full-day trip. Here is what to expect.

Lalla Takerkoust is a man-made lake about 35–40 km (roughly 45 minutes) southwest of Marrakech, held back by a dam on the Oued Nfis river. Ringed by the foothills of the High Atlas and bordering the Agafay desert, it is a relaxed half-day escape for water activities, lakeside lunches and mountain views. Here is how to plan it.