Day-by-day programme of this 11-day itinerary across The imperial cities, the Atlas and the Sahara.
Day 1 â Arrival in Marrakech
Landing in Marrakech, the 'red city': a whirl of colours, scents and sounds at the foot of the Atlas. A first, overwhelming impression in the Jemaa el-Fna square at sunset.
- âïļ Marrakech â Aeroporto di Marrakech-Menara (RAK)
- ð Jemaa el-Fna â Jemaa el-Fna, a UNESCO site, is the beating heart of Marrakech and one of the liveliest squares in the world: by day snake charmers and orange-juice sellers, at sunset it turns into an immense open-air theatre, among steaming street-food stalls, Gnawa musicians, storytellers and crowds. All around open the labyrinthine souks of the medina. You let yourself be swept up and dine among the stalls.
- ðĻ Riad Andalla â Medina (riad), Marrakech
Day 2 â Marrakech, the red city
A day among Marrakech's treasures: the Bahia Palace, the Koutoubia minaret, the Ben Youssef madrasa and the blue Majorelle garden.
- ð Bahia Palace â The Bahia Palace, built in the 19th century for a grand vizier, is a masterpiece of Moroccan craftsmanship: marble courtyards, painted cedar ceilings, carved stucco and zellige (the famous tile mosaics) in a succession of rooms and fragrant gardens. From here you stroll through the medina to the Ben Youssef madrasa.
- ð Ben Youssef Madrasa â The Ben Youssef Madrasa was the largest Quranic school in Morocco: its central courtyard, with the ablution pool and walls covered in zellige, stucco and carved wood, is of hypnotic beauty. Around it, the tiny cells of the students. It is one of the country's masterpieces of Islamic art. Nearby rises the Koutoubia minaret. In the afternoon, the Majorelle garden.
- ð Jardin Majorelle â The Majorelle Garden is an oasis of peace outside the medina: created by the painter Jacques Majorelle and later saved by Yves Saint Laurent, it is an exotic garden of bamboo, cacti and palms crossed by avenues and fountains painted an intense cobalt blue (the 'Majorelle blue'). It also houses the Berber Museum and one dedicated to the designer. An elegant, refreshing corner. You dine on a rooftop overlooking the Koutoubia.
Day 3 â The Atlas and Ait Ben Haddou
You cross the High Atlas over the Tizi n'Tichka pass, then the spectacular Ait Ben Haddou kasbah, the set of a thousand films, and Ouarzazate, the 'gate of the desert'.
- âïļ Marrakech â Atlas Mountains â Passo Tizi n'Tichka, Alto Atlante
- ð Ait Ben Haddou â Ait Ben Haddou is an earthen ksar (fortified village) and UNESCO site: a labyrinth of ochre tower-houses clinging to a hill above a river, the supreme example of pre-Saharan architecture. Climbing through the lanes to the granary at the top, the view over the valley is like a fairytale. Hollywood has made it famous as a film set (Gladiator, Game of Thrones). You continue to Ouarzazate.
- ð Ouarzazate â Ouarzazate, nicknamed the 'gate of the desert' and 'Morocco's Hollywood' for its large film studios, is a stop with a Saharan flavour: you visit the Taourirt Kasbah, a maze of mud towers that belonged to the powerful Glaoui clan. It is the base for the great descent towards the gorges and the desert. You dine and sleep here.
- ðĻ Hotel Riad Amlal â Ouarzazate
Day 4 â The Dades and Todra gorges
Along the 'road of a thousand kasbahs': the wavy rocks and hairpins of the Dades gorges and the vertical walls of the Todra gorge, among palm-grove oases.
- ð Dades Gorges â You drive the 'road of a thousand kasbahs', among mud villages and palm groves, to the Dades gorges: a canyon carved by the river among bizarrely shaped rocks, the famous 'monkey paws', and a road climbing in dizzying hairpins (one of the most photographed stretches in Morocco). You continue to the Todra gorge.
- ð Todra Gorge â The Todra gorge is a spectacular cleft in the rock: vertical walls up to 300 metres high narrowing to 10 metres wide, with a crystal stream running through. You walk along the bottom between the cliffs (loved by climbers), in a play of light and shadow. Nearby, the oasis and palm groves of Tinghir. You sleep in the area, at the foot of the gorges.
- ðĻ Auberge Le Festival Todra Gorge â Tinghir / Gole del Todra
Day 5 â The Sahara at Merzouga
You reach Merzouga and the great dunes of Erg Chebbi: a camel trek through the golden sand, sunset over the dunes and a night under the stars in a desert camp.
- âïļ Tinghir â Merzouga â Merzouga (Erg Chebbi)
- ðŊ Erg Chebbi â In the late afternoon you set off in a camel caravan among the great dunes of Erg Chebbi: you sway to the camels' gait as the sun sets and the sand turns pink, gold and red. You reach a Berber tented camp among the dunes, where dinner, music around the fire and an unforgettable starry sky await. Dawn over the dunes is the highlight. Night in the desert.
- ðĻ Desert Camp Erg Chebbi â Campo tendato nel deserto, Erg Chebbi
Day 6 â Towards Fes
From the desert you head north through the Ziz valley and the cedar forests of the Middle Atlas, to millennia-old Fes, the spiritual capital of Morocco.
- âïļ Merzouga â Fes â Fes (medina)
- ðĻ Riad Tizwa Fes â Medina (riad), Fes
Day 7 â Fes, the millennia-old medina
A full day in the Fes medina, a UNESCO site: the labyrinth of nine thousand lanes, the Chouara tanneries, the Al-Qarawiyyin mosque and the zellige-covered madrasas.
- ð Fes Medina â The medina of Fes el-Bali is a journey into the Middle Ages: nine thousand car-free lanes, where donkeys laden with goods push through artisans' workshops, tiled fountains, Quranic schools and scents of spices and leather. A guide is advisable so as not to get lost and to understand this living organism, unchanged for a thousand years. You visit the Bou Inania madrasa and reach the religious heart, the Al-Qarawiyyin.
- ð Chouara Tannery â The Chouara tanneries are the most iconic sight of Fes: from the terraces of the leather shops you look down on the dozens of stone vats brimming with coloured dyes, where workers process the hides with unchanged medieval methods (a sprig of mint under the nose helps with the pungent smell). A kaleidoscope of colour and ancient labour. You lunch in a medina restaurant and continue exploring souks and monumental gates. Dinner in a riad.
Day 8 â Meknes, Volubilis and Chefchaouen
Three stops in a day: the imperial city of Meknes, the Roman ruins of Volubilis and arrival in Chefchaouen, the magical blue city of the Rif.
- ð Meknes â Meknes, the smallest and quietest of the imperial cities, was the capital of Sultan Moulay Ismail: you admire the monumental Bab Mansour, one of Morocco's most beautiful gates, all zellige, and the immense royal stables. A short but intense stop. Nearby, the Roman ruins of Volubilis.
- ð Volubilis â Volubilis is the most important Roman site in Morocco, a UNESCO site: among wheat fields stand the Arch of Caracalla, the Capitol, the basilica columns and above all splendid floor mosaics left in the open, among the best preserved in North Africa. An unexpected Rome at the foot of the Atlas. You continue north, into the Rif mountains, to Chefchaouen.
- ð Chefchaouen â Chefchaouen, perched on the Rif mountains, is the 'blue city': its medina is a dream of lanes, houses, stairs and doors painted in a thousand shades of blue and indigo, among flower pots and lazy cats. You lose yourself among the most photogenic corners of Morocco, and climb to the Spanish mosque for sunset over the town. A relaxed, mountain atmosphere. You sleep here.
- ðĻ Riad Hicham â Medina, Chefchaouen
Day 9 â Rabat, the capital
Descending to the Atlantic coast, the capital Rabat: the Hassan Tower, the royal mausoleum and the Oudaya kasbah overlooking the ocean.
- âïļ Chefchaouen â Rabat â Rabat (centro)
- ð Hassan Tower â The Hassan Tower is the unfinished minaret of what was meant to be the largest mosque in the world in the 12th century: left half-built, it rises above an expanse of truncated columns. Opposite, the sumptuous Mausoleum of Mohammed V, a masterpiece of modern craftsmanship with mounted guards. You then visit the Oudaya kasbah, a maze of white-and-blue lanes above the ocean. You sleep in Rabat.
- ðĻ ONOMO Hotel Rabat Medina â Centro, Rabat
Day 10 â Casablanca
A last stop in modern Casablanca: the grand Hassan II Mosque, one of the largest in the world, jutting out over the Atlantic.
- âïļ Rabat â Casablanca â Casablanca (centro)
- ð Hassan II Mosque â The Hassan II Mosque is one of the largest in the world and the only one in Morocco open to non-Muslims: built partly over the sea, it has a 210-metre minaret (the tallest in the world) and a prayer hall for 25,000 worshippers, with an opening roof and a glass floor over the ocean. A triumph of Moroccan craftsmanship on a monumental scale. A stroll on the corniche closes the trip. You sleep in Casablanca.
- ðĻ Mid Town Hotel Casablanca â Centro, Casablanca
Day 11 â Departure from Casablanca
Return flight from Casablanca. End of the grand tour among medinas, desert and mountains.
- âïļ Casablanca â Aeroporto di Milano Malpensa (MXP)
