Yikes! I just decided kind of last minute to take advantage of my mandatory work furlough to join my friend on her work trip to Marrakech. We're going a few days before her conference starts and then I'm going to Paris for a couple days.
I've picked out a riad finally, and now need to plan out what we'll do during our five days. Explore the city? Day trip out to mountains, desert, sea? Hammams? Get a henna tattoo? Shop the souks! (bad idea since I'm flying EasyJet)

I don't know where to even start ... I wish I could clone myself so I'd have time to plan this properly!

It's just over 3 years since we were in Marrakech - wish I could join you!

Make sure you spend at least one evening in Djemaa el Fna (the main square) where you'll find great fresh juice, food stalls & entertainment - THE place to be! Other highlights were: Bakia Palace, El Badi Oalace & Saadian Tombs. Make sure you leave plenty of time to explore the Souks - even if you don't buy much, they are an experience in sight, smell & sounds!

For something different, perhaps a Souk Cuisine course? We spent the afternoon preparing tradional food & then enjoyed eating it on the rooftop - great fun! (Let me know if you'd like details)


Enjoy!

How exciting. What a great opportunity and positive way to handle your furlough. I know a few Slow Travelers have been to Morocco and I hope they will be able to help. Meanwhile, here is a good previous thread discussing visiting Morocco. And here is DavidX's trip report.

Take lots of pictures. It sounds like an extremely colorful and photogenic country.

Thanks! And I'd love the details of the cooking course -- I've emailed one place but haven't heard back yet.

Last October my husband and I spent a week in Morocco. We only had two days in Marrakech in which we explored the souks and spent our evenings in the fascinating main square, Djemaa el Fna. I blogged post-trip about our time in Fès and Marrakech -- you can find the blog entries here. I think you'll enjoy watching the video my husband filmed in the main square.
 
The first day we arrived at the main square at sunset, when it was already in full swing, and I felt a bit overwhelmed with the sounds and smells. We went up to a cafe with a terrace overlooking the square and spent a couple of hours drinking mint tea and looking at all the activity. Once we got a good view of the square, we then proceeded to join the crowd and to enjoy it all.
 
You may want to take a look at the blog of Maryam, an American living in Marrakech. Here are her posts on Marrakech.

Thanks Maria! The video was fantastic and I *love* the music. I saw in the comments you said it was from a CD your husband bought. Is it available online, or through iTunes, do you know?

I have to admit I'm a little freaked out about being there without my husband. Paris with my friend was one thing, but this is a whole new world! And I'm there for a day on my own before she gets there.

However the riad owner is sending someone to the airport to get me and I will have dinner there at the riad the first night. He also said he will walk us wherever we want to go and come meet us when we are ready to come back.

So I've read the past threads and trip report and checked out the blog, thanks all!

Trying to decide now which day trips to look into. It seems we can choose from sea, mountains and valley/waterfalls. It sounds like each is a full day, so I'd only want to do one or two of them. Advice as to which is the most interesting/scenic/fun?

18 days ...!

The cooking course we did was with Souk Cuisine.

Enjoy!

Thanks Chris. They were already booked though.

t-mac---I will be following your adventure closely as we are going to Morocco in July (I know--it's hot, hot then ) Maria has already provided lots of info and I'm certain you will add to it. Be sure to have a fun time.

Hi t-mac,

I saw your post a few days ago, and was a little hesitant to reply as I can never be sure as to whether the things I enjoy will suit another (it's like my husband says, "One man's junk is another man's treasure."). However, I will throw in my two cents of recs for Marrakech. We were just there in January to celebrate my birthday having never been there before (we spent 5 nights in Marrakech, 2 nights in Essaouira), and had a wonderful (though at times, frustrating, which I can laugh about now) experience.

Some of the places that we enjoyed and would recommend were:
Jardin Majorelle
Medersa Ben Youssef
Palais de Bahia
Saadian Tombs
D'Jemaa El Fna (at night and in the day)
the Souk Market (but visit in the beginning of the trip and then towards the end, I'll explain why later)

As we were already going to Essaouira, we didn't consider doing this as a day trip. It's often recommended as a day trip and though it's a cool sea town to visit, I wouldn't do it in a day, though it is a small town compared to Marrakech, so I could see how it can be done. We did do a day trip to the Atlas Mountains to the region below Le Toubkal, and it was very memorable and a welcome respite from Marrakech, though bear in mind, when we were there, it had just snowed a few days before so part of the beauty and experience was because we trekked up the mountainside on mules (due to ice), and viewed the Berber villages nestled on the sides of a snow-capped mountainside (to imagine it, Martin Scorcese used the area for his film "Kundun" to represent Tibet -- I could definitely see that). This day trip was arranged through our riad, so I'm sure your riad could do the same. For next time (note how I said "next time" which means it is a country well worth visiting again), I would spend a night doing a camel trek in the Sahara. We didn't do it only because I knew January would be cold and possibly rainy (it was). I would also experience a hammam somewhere (ideally through your riad), especially as you are doing this trip with your girlfriend (my husband's just not into that, which is why we didn't).

For the souks, the reason why I say that you should visit the market in the beginning and then towards the end is because I like to get the lay of the land before I buy things. The novelty of goods are so appealing at the beginning of the trip, simply because of their novelty and "foreignness" to me, so I end up buying...errr, for lack of a better word -- crap (and like anywhere in the world, Marrakech has its share). However, with my travels I've learned to cast a more discerning eye, but in the case of Morocco, I waited too long to visit the souks (we waited 'til our last day in Marrakech), and by then, I lacked the energy/gusto to haggle (because, unfortunately, after a while Marrakech will zap some of your energies with 1) getting lost CONSTANTLY, and 2) fending off everyone who so enthusiastically wants to be your personal guide), so I ended up buying less than I had wanted (and there is nothing more sad and frustrating than to look at other people's blogs and see the things they ended up buying at a place you just visited, and then searching various sites to order it and seeing that it costs 3-5X more than what you could have got it for!). When you plan your visit for the souk markets (and you should most definitely do this, despite what I might have said), try to time it for the morning when you're more energized and prepared to haggle.

Okay, so I'll leave you with that for now. If you have any questions, just let me know. We've visited a number of places in the world, and something about Morocco always has me using the expression, "words escape me," when talking about it but I'll try for you.

Genie

Thanks Geniek! Your advice is sound, and I totally know what you mean about the novelty wearing off. Your input is very helpful and I appreciate it.

I've arranged a cooking class at another riad, but that's as far as I've gotten in any plans. We may end up deciding some of the things when we get there.

And Jane, it is 95 there this week, I can't image being there in the middle of summer!

quote:

And Jane, it is 95 there this week, I can't image being there in the middle of summer!

I know--it will be miserable. But, friends of ours who live in Nice want to take us there as that is where he is from. We will spend time in his sisters' homes--eating, meeting, etc. and seeing the country from a little different perspective. So,I am thinking that misery might be worth it.