Best Cities to Visit in Morocco

Marrakech is the most visited city in Morocco and the most practical starting point for most trips. The medina, Jemaa el-Fnaa square, the souks, Bahia Palace, the Saadian Tombs, and Majorelle Garden are all within walking distance or a short taxi ride. Two full days covers the essential attractions. Three days allows a day trip to Essaouira or the Ourika Valley.

Marrakech is also the best base for desert excursions and nearby natural landscapes. Ait Ben Haddou and the Erg Chebbi dunes are south via the High Atlas. The 3-day desert tour from Marrakech covers the full route — High Atlas, kasbah, Sahara, and back — without any wasted time. For travellers heading to Fes, the Marrakech to Fes desert tour runs the same south but ends in the north, with no backtracking.

For food, the evening stalls at Jemaa el-Fnaa are the most accessible introduction to Moroccan street food. Riad restaurants in the medina serve full Moroccan set menus for 150 to 250 MAD. The Gueliz neighbourhood has the best cafe culture and international dining.

Fes has the deepest cultural and historical layer of any Moroccan city. The medina has been continuously inhabited for over 1,200 years and contains Al-Qarawiyyin, founded in 859 AD and widely recognised as the oldest continuously operating university in the world. The city is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the most complex urban environments on the planet.

The tanneries are the centrepiece of a Fes visit — viewed from the leather shop terraces above, the circular dyeing pits have changed little since the 11th century. Bou Inania Medersa and the Medersa Attarine are the finest examples of Islamic architecture in Morocco. The souks in Fes run deeper and quieter than Marrakech — less tourist-facing, harder to navigate without a licensed local guide, and more rewarding for that reason.

For Moroccan cuisine, Fes is the most authentic destination. The medina restaurants serve the oldest recipes in the country. Pastilla — the sweet-savoury pigeon or chicken pie — originated here. Two nights in Fes with a full guided day on day two is the right allocation for a first visit.

Chefchaouen is the most visually distinctive city in Morocco. The medina is painted blue and white throughout — blue buildings, blue steps, blue pots on blue doorsteps — and sits in a valley in the Rif Mountains at around 600 metres altitude. The town was founded in 1471 and has been a textile and leather trading centre since the 15th century.

Most visitors come to Chefchaouen for the photography. The best light is before 9am when the alleyways are empty and the shadows are sharp. The Spanish mosque above the town gives a panoramic view over the entire medina and the Rif foothills behind it — about 20 minutes on foot from the main square. The town is small enough to walk completely in a couple of hours, and atmospheric enough to fill an entire evening.

Chefchaouen fits naturally between Fes and the Atlantic coast on a north Morocco circuit. It is also the city before Tangier on the Marrakech to Tangier desert tour route. One night is enough. Two nights is comfortable.

Casablanca is Morocco’s largest city and the country’s commercial and financial capital. Most visitors arrive and depart through Mohammed V Airport but spend little time in the city itself. That is a missed opportunity. What to visit in Casablanca Morocco centres on the Hassan II Mosque — one of the largest mosques in the world, built directly over the Atlantic with a retractable roof and a minaret visible across the city. Morning guided tours give access to the interior, the hammam, and the ablution halls.

Beyond the mosque, Casablanca has the best art deco architecture outside of Europe. The old Nouvelle Ville neighbourhood, the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart (now an exhibition space), and the central market building are all worth an hour of walking. The corniche along the Atlantic is where the city comes out in the evening. The medina is compact and less visited than Fes or Marrakech — useful as a contrast but not the main reason to come.

Casablanca works best as an entry or exit point on a longer Morocco itinerary — arriving here, heading south to Marrakech, and working back north through the desert to Fes covers the full country in one logical direction.

Rabat is the capital of Morocco and one of the four imperial cities. It is also the quietest and most undervisited of the four — which makes it one of the most pleasant. The Hassan Tower and Mausoleum of Mohammed V are the main historical attractions, both accessible on foot from the medina. The kasbah des Oudaias sits on a promontory above the river with views over the Atlantic and the neighbouring city of Sale across the water.

The Rabat medina is compact and manageable in half a day without a guide. The souks are calmer than Marrakech, the streets are wider, and the pressure to buy is minimal. The Chellah — the ruins of a medieval necropolis built on a Roman site outside the city walls — is one of the most serene historical sites in Morocco.

Rabat fits naturally between Casablanca and Chefchaouen on a north Morocco circuit. Allow one afternoon and one night. The city does not need more than that on a first visit, but it earns its place on any itinerary that covers the Atlantic coast.

Meknes is the fourth imperial city and the one most travellers skip. That is their loss. The royal stables built by Sultan Moulay Ismail once held over 12,000 horses across 40 hectares. Bab Mansour gate is one of the most photographed doorways in Morocco. Moulay Ismail Mausoleum is one of the few Islamic sites in the country open to non-Muslim visitors.

Meknes is also the base for Volubilis — the best-preserved Roman ruins in North Africa, 33 km to the north. The intact floor mosaics, triumphal arch, and basilica sit on an open hillside with the Rif Mountains as a backdrop. Volubilis takes about 90 minutes to walk properly and earns its own half-day from Meknes or Fes.

Meknes sits between Fes and Rabat on the main northern route. Most tours visit it as a day stop rather than an overnight. If your itinerary passes through, budget a half-day and include Volubilis. If you are coming from Fes specifically for Meknes and Volubilis, one night is the right call.

Essaouira is the best coastal city in Morocco. The walled medina sits directly above the Atlantic, the ramparts face the ocean, and the fishing port at the southern end supplies the restaurants that line the port square. The city has a distinct character — more relaxed than Marrakech, more creative, and genuinely multilingual from years as an artists’ colony.

The Essaouira medina is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the most complete examples of a Portuguese-influenced fortified town in North Africa. The blue boats in the harbour, the seagulls on the ramparts, and the wind that comes off the Atlantic most afternoons are the defining images of the city. For Moroccan cuisine on the coast, the grilled fish and seafood tagines at the port market are the best-value meal in Morocco.

Essaouira is 2.5 hours from Marrakech by road and works well as a day trip or a one-night extension to a Marrakech stay. The full experience — sunset on the ramparts, the port in the morning, the souk at midday — needs at least one night. Two nights is ideal.