Things to Do in Morocco

Get a very visual understanding of Morocco by visiting this small, photo-dense museum tucked away on a tiny street in Marrakech’s medina, or old quarter. Housed in a former fondouk—a building to lodge merchants and travelers—the museum’s collection of images highlight life in Morocco over the course of roughly 100 years, from the 1870s to the 1950s.

Not just photos are on display either: you’ll also find glass photographic plates, postcards, and documentaries, including the first color film taken in the High Atlas Mountains. The collective images – of which the museum has thousands --provide a thought-provoking and visually intriguing overview of the country’s culture and history, especially as it relates to its Berber people. A relatively small venue, the Photography Museum spans several floors, on top of which sits a rooftop terrace. It is there that visitors are rewarded with sweeping views of Marrakech and even the Atlas Mountains beyond.

Marrakech’s foremost museum is housed in a 19th century palace which draws on earlier architectural glories for inspiration, all centered on an Andalusian-style courtyard. The current form of the museum is largely due to patron Omar Benjelloun, who did much to reanimate interest in Morocco’s cultural heritage.

Exhibits include ceramics, jewels, arms, costumes, calligraphy and a collection of Judaica, reflecting the diverse cultural history of the city. Also on display is a fascinating selection of etchings which show Morocco as it has been viewed by foreign artists over the centuries. Works by contemporary Moroccan artists round out the permanent collection, while a program of temporary exhibitions makes use of the old hammam and other spaces of the palace.

The historic core of Fez and the seat of the Moroccan government until 1912, Fez Medina (Fez el-Bali) remains the city’s biggest draw – a sprawling district of jumbled souks and snaking alleyways, dotted with grand mosques, palace and madrassas. The old medina is now a protected UNESCO World Heritage site, still surrounded by its 13th-century city walls and reached via a series of monumental gates, most notably the 20th-century Bab Boujeloud, celebrated for its striking blue tilework. With the medina largely pedestrianized, the best way to explore Fez Medina is on foot and there’s plenty to see, starting with the rambling souks, home to the famous Tanner’s Quarters, the soul of the city’s leather trade, where animal hides are soaked in gigantic pots of natural dye.

The star attraction of Morocco’s hippie haven has to be its eponymous beach, and the windswept coast and sandy shores certainly live up to the hype. Lined with bars, restaurants and surf shops, the beach is best known as a hotspot for surfers, windsurfers and kitesurfers, thanks to its steady, year-round winds. The shores near Diabat may be the quietest areas for a bit of relaxation.

With few wind-free days, Essaouira beach is better suited for water sports than swimming and sunbathing, but there are still sunbeds and umbrellas available for rental during the summer months. In addition to kitesurfing and windsurfing lessons, Berber horse and Arabian camel rides are possible and popular along the beach. You’ll likely also see travelers enjoying quad buggy rides along the coast and local children playing soccer in the sand.

As one of the world’s largest mosques, the magnificent Hassan II Mosque not only boasts a capacity for over 100,000 worshippers, but is also one of Casablanca’s top tourist attractions. Built to commemorate the 60th birthday of former Moroccan King Hassan II, the elaborate mosque was the brainchild of French architect Michel Pinseau and opened its doors in 1993.

From its regal cliff-top perch overlooking the ocean to its soaring 210-meter high minaret (the world’s highest) that shines a beam towards Mecca in the evening hours, everything about the Hassan II Mosque is grandiose. No expense was spared for the landmark building, with hand-carved ceilings, 10-meter-high zellijs, gleaming marble floors and Venetian stained glass windows, complemented by high-tech conveniences like heated flooring and a retractable roof. Inspired by the Koranic verse that tells of God's throne being built upon water.

These massive dunes formed by golden wind-blown sand offer visitors an iconic taste of the Sahara’s constantly changing landscape. Spanning more than 50 kilometers near the border of Algeria, these towering shape shifters prove a destination for locals and tourists alike. While nearby Merzouga is considered the tourist center of this area, it’s the overnight journeys—either by foot, camel or 4x4—into the desert that provide visitors to Erg Chebbi with the quintessential Moroccan escape.

Carved into the sea cliffs looking out over the Atlantic, the Hercules Cave is one of Tangier’s most distinctive landmarks, located just down the coast from the Cape Spartel. The vast cave takes its name from Greek hero Hercules who allegedly slept in the cave while undertaking one of his twelve labors, and has been inhabited since prehistoric times, as well as being used more recently by the Berber people to carve millstones.

Today, the cave’s most interesting feature is the man-made entrance that looks out towards the sea – nicknamed the ‘Map of Africa’ for its striking shape, which appears like the outline of the African continent. Whether intentional or not, it’s a fitting tribute, considering the cave’s location, at the northernmost tip of Africa and just minutes from the Strait of Gibraltar.

Jutting out into the Strait of Gibraltar, just west of Tangier, Cape Spartel lies on the northwestern-most tip of Africa, at the meeting point of the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. Famous for its jaw-dropping views and dramatic coastal roads, the scenic cape is also a popular spot for walking and wildlife spotting, with its pine-covered headlands fringed by sandy beaches and laced with hiking trails. Highlights include the Spartel Lighthouse, which makes a striking landmark perched on the sea cliffs at the end of the cape, and the Hercules Cave, renowned for its magnificent views and rock face that resembles a map of Africa.

Perched on the edge of the vast Sahara Desert and with access to 30,000 square meters of natural landscapes, the Atlas Film Studios have made a name for themselves not only as the center of Morocco’s film industry, but as the world’s largest film studio. With a history dating back to the early 1960s, the studios boast an impressive pedigree, having hosted iconic film sets like Lawrence of Arabia, Gladiator and ‘Star Wars’; popular movies like The Mummy, Jewel of the Nile, and Babel; and even scenes from recent TV hit Game of Thrones.

Today, the legendary film studios are open to visitors outside of filming hours and tours offer the chance to peek into the studios, see the remains of old sets, marvel over film memorabilia and get the inside scoop on the studio’s most famous projects.

Bab (meaning ‘gate’ in English) Boujloud was built by the French during their occupation of Morocco in 1913. It serves as the gateway into the heart of the bustling streets of the Fez medina. Right next to it stands the original 12th­-century gate, built with an indirect entrance on a slant to block battering rams from entering. Bab Boujloud is Mauresque­-Andalusian in style. Its grand horseshoe arches are decorated with Fassi mosaic blue tiles on the outside and green ones within. From the main archway, two minarets are revealed in the distance: one is part of the crumbling 20th-­century Sidi Lazzaz mosque, while the smaller one, topped by two golden orbs, belongs to the recently restored 14th­-century Bou Inania Medersa. Throughout the day, the area around Bab Boujloud bustles with local life, and as such this is one of the best spots in the city to observe everyday life in Morocco, with mules, and mopeds filling the streets as much as the locals.

Rising above the northeastern corner of Rabat, Hassan Tower stands as a visual promise of what the city’s historic residents hoped it to be: a grand city, even a capital city (which it now is). Also called Le Tour Hassan, its construction began in 1195 during the Almohad Dynasty, and it was built as part of a larger mosque, which was meant to be the largest in the world.

But alas, when the sultan passed away, work on the project came to an end, leaving the mosque unfinished, and its minaret – the tower – standing only 44 meters high (some say half as high as it would have been). Then, come an earthquake in 1755, the incomplete mosque was further destroyed. Today, though, you can still see the surviving, sandstone Hassan Tower, along with the mosque’s remains, such as the columns and walls. Other highlights while here include impressive city and sea views, as well as a visit to the nearby, free-to-enter Mausoleum of Mohammed V.

One of the great distinguishing landmarks of Marrakech, the Menara Gardens are grouped around a reservoir which once formed part of an irrigation system. They date back to the 12th century, with the green-roofed pavilion added four centuries later and occasionally used as a royal summer residence in the years since. This modest yet perfectly-proportioned structure is best viewed from the opposite end of the reservoir, reflected in the still waters with the majestic snow-capped Atlas Mountains as a backdrop.

Olive groves, citrus trees, palms and other plants offer shade from the burning sun. Here the frenetic souk seems a lifetime away, and the gardens attract as many locals as tourists, particularly at sunset.