Marrakech Mini Guide
Marrakech is a top European holiday destination despite being in fact located on the north coast of Africa. Known as the pink city, Marrakech has more than one million inhabitants and is a great place to soak up the culture of Morocco. Walking through Marrakech’s old city Medina you may see pet monkeys, snake charmers and souks selling all sorts of goods and spices.
The Kasbah neighbourhood is also a fascinating place to pursue the souks for bargains, as well as find good accommodation and restaurants. Marrakech Menara airport is the main airport and you can pick up your hire car there and make the short (six kilometres) journey into the city in about 15 minutes.
Having a car means that you don’t have to worry about lugging your possessions onto public transport or keeping an eye on the meter of your taxi driver. It also gives you the freedom to explore stunning nearby areas such as Essaouria on the west coast.
Airlines which use Marrakech Menara include the low cost carriers Easyjet and Ryanair as well as Atlas Blue, Thomsonfly, TUI and Royal Air Morocco. This means that you can get to Marrakech from
London Gatwick, Luton,
Manchester and Bristol in England, from German cities such as
Frankfurt and from Spanish cities such as
Girona and
Madrid Airport.
In Marrakech if you want to walk somewhere peaceful try the Majorelle Gardens in Gueliz which have an incredible array of flora, though this is relatively expensive to get into. If you still don’t feel relaxed go to one of the local hammams where you can have a soothing and cleansing bath. Tourists may want to go to Les Bains de Marrakech where couples can have a hammam together.
In terms of cultural attractions there are the Saadian tombs and the Koutoubia mosque with its minaret which rises above the city and is illuminated at night. There is also the Dar Si Said Museum which is full of Moroccan crafts and a couple of palaces which should be seen.
Marrakech has many exciting excursions on offer such as going hiking in the Atlas Mountains or taking a hot air balloon over the city. Taking treks into the Sahara desert is a very popular past time too. Though Rhino car can provide you with jeeps and off road vehicles for this, you are advised to go with a tour guide for safety’s sake.
Many people come to Marrakech for the shopping. Here, you’ll find the largest souk in Morocco and be drawn into buying lots of things you don’t really need because of the charm of the traders and because it’s fun to haggle. The souk sells everything from spices to clothing, kitchenware to souvenirs.
When you’ve tired of shopping, do a bit of sightseeing by taking a drive in your hire car to the Saadian Tombs. Over a thousand years old, they were only discovered a century ago and are beautifully decorated with mosaics.