Visit Jemaa el-Fnaa at dusk to feel Marrakesh gather in its legendary open-air stage. Drummers quicken the pulse, storytellers hold court, and smoke from grill stalls curls into the lantern-lit sky.

Circle the square to sample fresh orange juice, watch acrobats and Gnaoua musicians, or take in the view from a café terrace. This UNESCO-listed cultural space offers a theatre of encounters that has animated the city’s heart for centuries.

Savour a traditional Moroccan meal in an opulent riad, where carved cedar ceilings, zellij tilework and lantern glow set an intimate scene. Courses might include zaalouk salads, slow-cooked tagines and honeyed pastries.

Between courses, sip fresh mint tea and note how hospitality intertwines with design in these former merchant homes. Dining in such surroundings connects cuisine with architecture and the convivial rituals of Moroccan life.

Join a hands-on Moroccan cooking workshop at La Maison Arabe, guided by a professional chef to prepare a classic tagine and seasonal salads. Learn spice balancing, bread-baking traditions and the graceful pour of mint tea.

This experience is at additional cost (from £49pp) and bookable on tour. After the class, sit with fellow cooks to enjoy your creations and take home recipe notes to recreate Moroccan flavours with confidence.

Enjoy dinner at Rick’s Café, a stylish homage to the silver-screen classic, housed in a restored riad near the old medina. Candlelit tables, a sculpted bar and arabesque arches set the scene as the pianist plays “As Time Goes By”.

Savour Moroccan-inspired dishes alongside timeless standards in an elegant 1930s ambience. Balustraded balconies, brass lanterns and period details conjure the romantic aura of 1940s Casablanca, blending film nostalgia with authentic local hospitality.

Stroll with a local expert on a guided walking tour through Rabat’s Kasbah of the Udayas, where sapphire-blue lanes open to breezy viewpoints and whitewashed walls bloom with potted geraniums.

Contrast this intimate quarter with the capital’s French-planned boulevards and palm-lined avenues, glimpsing a city that bridges tradition and modern statehood. Pause by the Bou Regreg estuary or along Rue des Consuls to appreciate Rabat’s layered Andalusian and Maghrebi heritage.

Enter through Bab Bou Jeloud (Blue Gate) to explore the Fez medina with a local guide in the world’s largest car-free urban labyrinth. Hear the call to prayer drift over rooftops as artisans hammer copper, weave silk and stitch leather in time-honoured workshops.

Ascend to a terrace to view the Chouara tanneries, their honeycomb dye pits awash with saffron, indigo and poppy red. Learn how centuries-old techniques still shape supple skins, revealing the living craft traditions that define the city.

Admire the 14th-century Al-Attarine Madrasa, a Marinid masterpiece where a serene courtyard shimmers with zellij mosaics, carved cedar and filigreed stucco. The harmony of light, water and geometry reflects the scholarship of medieval Fez.

Continue to the Royal Palace esplanade to appreciate its ornate main entrance and sweeping parade ground used during royal visits. Gilded doors and geometric bronzework offer a stately counterpoint to the medina’s intimate lanes.

Explore UNESCO-listed Volubilis with a knowledgeable guide, walking decumanus streets past bathhouses and basilicas to mosaic-floored villas. Set amid rolling olive groves, the site evokes Rome’s reach at the empire’s far western frontier.

Examine remnants of sophisticated engineering and civic life before visiting the site museum to place statues, inscriptions and everyday objects in context. Landscape and craftsmanship combine to reveal a prosperous provincial capital anchored to North African trade routes.

Discover imperial Meknes, where Bab el-Mansour proclaims the ambition of Sultan Moulay Ismail. Nearby, the vast Heri es-Souani granaries and stables illustrate the engineering that provisioned his court and cavalry.

Pay respects at the Moulay Ismail Mausoleum and hear how the 17th-century ruler shaped Meknes into a showcase of Moroccan power. The rhythmic tap of metalworkers in the medina underscores a living tradition of fine ironwork.

Experience a guided city tour of Marrakesh, stepping into the Saadian Tombs to admire marble-inlaid cenotaphs and delicate stucco. Wander the perfumed courtyards of the Bahia Palace, a late-19th-century residence famed for painted cedar ceilings.

Venture into the souks where skilled artisans craft brass lamps, embroidered slippers and carved wood, while spice merchants stack cumin, saffron and ras el hanout in vivid pyramids. This curated circuit reveals the city’s rhythm and royal legacy.

Step inside the Hassan II Mosque on a guided visit to Morocco’s most monumental contemporary sanctuary. Its minaret soars 690 feet, and part of the complex extends over the Atlantic Ocean, where waves crash beneath arcades and marble courtyards.

Admire master craftsmanship in carved cedar, hand-cut zellij and stucco, and look up to the ingenious retractable roof that opens the prayer hall to sun or stars. Hear how community donations shaped this landmark and the symbolism woven into its decoration.

Explore Jardin Majorelle, Marrakesh’s iconic artist’s garden, where bamboo groves and cactus alleys shade burbling streams and lily ponds. Moorish pavilions in cobalt Majorelle Blue glow against palm fronds and bougainvillea, offering tranquil corners for photos and reflection.

Created by painter Jacques Majorelle and later restored by Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Bergé, the garden layers Berber motifs and North African flora to evoke Morocco’s desert oases. The interplay of cool shade and saturated colour provides a serene counterpoint to the city’s lively souks.