--- title: "Top 10 Things To Do in Morocco (City Guides) | Wimup" description: "Browse Wimup's Top 10 guides across Morocco, Marrakech, Essaouira, Chefchaouen and more cities, mapped and ranked." url: https://wimup.com/country/morocco type: Country guide updated: 2026-10-31 publisher: Wimup (https://wimup.com) --- # Top 10s across Morocco Imperial cities, an **Atlantic coast** built on wind, and the **High Atlas** in between. Morocco changes character every two hours of driving, so one trip is never enough. ## Quick answer First trips base in **Marrakech**, add **Essaouira** for the Atlantic, and give the desert either the **High Atlas** or the dunes at **Merzouga**. Second trips run north instead: **Fès** for the oldest medina, **Chefchaouen** for the Rif, **Tangier** for the strait. The best windows are **March to May** and **late September to November**. ## Quick facts - **Best months:** Mar · Apr · Oct - **Ideal length:** 10–14 days - **Budget per day:** $40–90 - **Language:** Arabic and Amazigh, French widely spoken - **Getting around:** ONCF rail & grands taxis - **6** City guides - **36,828,330** People - **2** Video guides Most Morocco itineraries are built around the imperial cities (Marrakech, Fès, Meknès and Rabat) and then broken open by whatever sits beyond them. The Atlantic side runs cooler and windier, with Essaouira as its walled port. The High Atlas is a morning from Marrakech, and the Sahara is a long day further. The north reads as a different country again: Tangier on the strait, Tetouan’s Andalusian medina, and Chefchaouen painted blue in the Rif behind them. Distances look small and take longer than the map suggests, so pick two regions rather than five. ## 6 Morocco city guides 1. [Marrakech](https://wimup.com/city/marrakech.md): Africa · 10 picks 2. [Essaouira](https://wimup.com/city/essaouira.md): Africa · 10 picks 3. [Chefchaouen](https://wimup.com/city/chefchaouen.md): Africa · 10 picks 4. [Fes](https://wimup.com/city/fes.md): Africa · 10 picks 5. [Ouarzazate](https://wimup.com/city/ouarzazate.md): Africa · 10 picks 6. [Agadir](https://wimup.com/city/agadir.md): Africa · 10 picks ## Know before you go - **Population:** 36,828,330 - **Area:** 446,550 km² - **Density:** 82.5 / km² - **Capital:** Rabat - **Major cities:** Casablanca, Tangier, Fès, Marrakech, Salé - **Currency:** Dirham (MAD) A partly closed currency: you buy and sell it inside Morocco, and there are limits on carrying it across the border. Change what you have left before you fly home. - **Language:** Arabic & Amazigh Darija on the street, Tamazight official alongside Arabic, French through business and signage, Spanish common in the north. English is widespread in the tourist cities. - **Calling code:** +212 - **Power:** 220V · Type C/E - **Emergency:** 19 · 15 19 for police in cities, 177 for the Gendarmerie Royale on rural roads, 15 for ambulance and fire. 112 also connects from a mobile. - **Visa:** Visa-free · 90 days Most Western passports (EU, UK, US, Canada, Australia, Japan) enter for up to 90 days, with six months of passport validity. Confirm for your nationality on the official consular list before booking. - **Tourism board:** Official site - **Getting around:** ONCF rail Al Boraq runs Tangier to Casablanca in a little over two hours. South and east of the rail network, CTM and Supratours coaches and shared grands taxis take over. - **Tipping:** Round up Small change in cafés, a little more where service is not included, and a coin for the guardian who watches your car. ## When to visit - **Jan** (good): Cool and clear inland, snow on the Atlas passes. - **Feb** (good): Almond blossom in the south, Marrakech still cool. - **Mar** (best): Spring starts. Long days, gardens open, cold desert nights. - **Apr** (best): The sweet spot inland, before the heat arrives. - **May** (best): Warm and dry, the last easy month for the Sahara. - **Jun** (good): Hot inland, comfortable on the Atlantic coast. - **Jul** (peak): Severe heat in Marrakech and the south. Head for the coast. - **Aug** (peak): Hottest inland month and the busiest on the beaches. - **Sep** (best): Heat breaks late in the month and the desert reopens. - **Oct** (best): Warm days, cool nights, the best month for the south. - **Nov** (good): Mild and quiet, with rain arriving in the north. - **Dec** (good): Cool and bright, ski season starting in the High Atlas. ## Fun fact Al Boraq, the Tangier to Casablanca line that opened in 2018, is the first high-speed railway in Africa. It runs at up to 320 km/h. ## Stereotypes, sorted out - **Myth:** Everyone is trying to scam you **Reality:** The pressure is concentrated: the gates of the Marrakech medina, the main square, the odd bus station. Agree a taxi fare before you get in, decline once and clearly, and the rest of the country is quieter than its reputation. - **Myth:** Morocco is all desert **Reality:** The Sahara is one corner of it. Between the dunes and the ocean sit the Middle and High Atlas, cedar forest around Ifrane, and a long Atlantic coast. Snow closes Atlas passes most winters and there is a ski resort above Marrakech. - **Myth:** You have to haggle for everything **Reality:** In the souks, yes, and it is a conversation, not a contest. Fixed-price shops, cafés, pharmacies and supermarkets are not negotiable, and treating them as if they were lands badly. - **Myth:** Nobody speaks anything but Arabic **Reality:** Darija is the street language and Tamazight is official alongside Arabic, but French runs business and signage, Spanish is common in the north, and English is widespread wherever visitors go. - Greet before you ask. A salam alaikum, then the question, in a shop or a taxi alike. - Right hand for eating and for handing anything over. Bread does the work of a fork. - Friday is couscous day, and many families are home in the middle of it. Expect a slower afternoon. - Alcohol is served in licensed hotels, restaurants and bars, seldom in medina cafés, and drinking in the street is not done. - Ask before photographing people. In Jemaa el-Fna the performers charge for it, and a refusal elsewhere is not personal. - Dress is relaxed in the cities and more conservative in villages: covered shoulders and knees keep every door open. ## Famous Moroccan faces - **Ibn Battuta**: The Tangier-born traveler whose thirty years on the road became the Rihla - **Hicham El Guerrouj**: Still the world record holder at 1500m and the mile, and double gold at the 2004 Olympics - **Nawal El Moutawakel**: First Moroccan and first Muslim woman to win Olympic gold, in the 1984 400m hurdles - **Fatima Mernissi**: Sociologist whose Beyond the Veil reset the argument about women and Islam - **Tahar Ben Jelloun**: Novelist; The Sacred Night took the Prix Goncourt in 1987 - **Leïla Slimani**: Novelist; Chanson douce took the Prix Goncourt in 2016 - **Mohamed Choukri**: Wrote For Bread Alone and made Tangier's underside literature - **Maryam Touzani**: Director of Adam and The Blue Caftan, both Morocco's Oscar submissions - **Nabil Ayouch**: Director whose Casablanca Beats ran in competition at Cannes - **Hassan Hajjaj**: Photographer behind Kesh Angels, the Marrakech biker portraits - **RedOne**: Pop producer, born Nadir Khayat, behind a run of Lady Gaga hits - **Rachid Yazami**: Battery scientist whose graphite anode made the lithium-ion cell practical - **Merieme Chadid**: Astronomer who took a telescope to Antarctica to watch the southern sky - **Achraf Hakimi**: Full back for the side that reached the 2022 World Cup semi-final - **Walid Regragui**: Coached the first African and Arab team into a World Cup semi-final ## Must-try Moroccan food - **Couscous**: Friday's dish, steamed over the broth and served under seven vegetables. - **Pastilla**: Poultry and almonds layered in warqa pastry, dusted with cinnamon and sugar. - **Mechoui**: Whole lamb roasted in a pit oven, pulled apart and eaten with cumin and salt. - **Rfissa**: Shredded msemen under chicken, lentils and fenugreek broth, cooked for a new mother. - **Tagine**: Named for the cone-lidded pot. Start with lamb and prune, or chicken with preserved lemon. - **Tanjia**: Marrakech's own: lamb sealed in a clay urn and left for hours in the hammam furnace ashes. - **Harira**: Tomato, lentil and chickpea soup thickened with flour. It breaks the fast in Ramadan. - **B'ssara**: Fava bean soup under olive oil, cumin and paprika. A cold-morning breakfast in the north. - **Zaalouk**: Smoky aubergine and tomato cooked down with garlic and cumin. Eaten with bread. - **Taktouka**: Roasted pepper and tomato salad, served cool beside grilled fish. - **Msemen**: Square laminated flatbread, folded and griddled. Butter and honey at breakfast. - **Baghrir**: The thousand-hole semolina pancake. Honey soaks straight through it. - **Harcha**: Griddled semolina bread with a sandy crust, split and filled with jam or cheese. - **Amlou**: Argan oil, almond and honey ground to a spread. The south's answer to breakfast. - **Briouat**: Warqa triangles filled with spiced meat, cheese or almond, then fried. - **Maakouda**: Fried potato cakes handed out of medina windows, usually in bread. - **Grilled sardines**: Split, rubbed with chermoula and grilled on the quay. Best where the boats land. - **Chebakia**: Flower-shaped dough fried, soaked in honey and rolled in sesame. Ramadan's pastry. - **Kaab el ghzal**: Gazelle horns: almond paste in a thin crescent shell. - **Sellou**: Toasted flour, almond and sesame pressed into a dense sweet paste. - **Mint tea**: Green tea, spearmint and sugar, poured from height. Refusing is harder than accepting. - **Jus d'avocat**: Avocado blended with milk, almond and a little sugar. A meal in a glass. ## By theme - [Honeymoon escapes](https://wimup.com/honeymoon.md) - [Largest deserts](https://wimup.com/deserts.md) - [Surfing](https://wimup.com/surfing.md) - [Old towns](https://wimup.com/old-towns.md) - [Markets & bazaars](https://wimup.com/markets.md) - [Winter sun](https://wimup.com/winter-sun.md) ## Films - [Marrakech Travel Guide](https://wimup.com/watch/marrakech.md), 10:53 - [Chefchaouen Travel Guide](https://wimup.com/watch/chefchaouen.md), 7:12 ## FAQs ### How many days do you need in Morocco? Ten to fourteen days covers Marrakech, the desert and one northern city without a night drive. A week works if you commit to one half of the country and stop trying to see the other. ### When is the best time to visit Morocco? March to May and late September to November. Summer inland is severe, especially in Marrakech and the Sahara, and the Atlantic coast is the summer answer. Winter is fine for the cities and cold at night in the desert. ### Do you need a visa for Morocco? Most Western passports, including the EU, UK, US, Canada, Australia and Japan, enter visa-free for up to 90 days with six months of passport validity. The current list is published by the Moroccan consular service, so confirm for your nationality before you book. ### How do you get around Morocco? ONCF trains link the north and the Atlantic cities, and Al Boraq covers Tangier to Casablanca in a little over two hours. Beyond the rail line, CTM and Supratours coaches and shared grands taxis do the work, and a hired car makes sense only for the Atlas and the desert road. ### Is Morocco easy to travel as a first-timer? Yes, with two adjustments. Agree a taxi fare before you get in, and let your riad meet you at the medina gate on the first night, because the lanes are not addressable by car. Persistent offers of help are the common complaint, and seldom anything worse. ## Related countries - [Egypt](https://wimup.com/country/egypt.md) - [Ethiopia](https://wimup.com/country/ethiopia.md) - [All of Africa](https://wimup.com/africa) Part of [Africa](https://wimup.com/africa.md) ## Sources - [Tourism board](https://www.visitmorocco.com/en?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral) - Rankings are Wimup editorial picks. Prices, durations and budgets are editorial estimates, not live quotes; check the official site before you go.