Marrakech and the Atlas
What the locals tell their friends.
by Gil Prosser
The riad faces inward by design, which is the architecture rather than a quirk. How to use the medina on foot, and why day-tripping the High Atlas wastes the best part of the trip.
Inside
The nine parts
- 01The case for Marrakech & the Atlas
- 02When to go, when not to
- 03Where to base yourself
- 04The table
- 05What the people here do
- 06Day plans
- 07Practicalities
- 08What to skip, and why
- 09Sources
How we source it
Venue names are built from mapped data and then verified one by one against each venue's own website, with the date recorded. We do not publish opening hours from third-party listings: during research for the Tuscany edition, a mapped listing showed a Chianti restaurant open through the winter when its own site says it shuts from December to February. A reader following the listing would have driven to a closed door.
Sources last checked 2026-08-22
Free background on the region: our Marrakech & the Atlas destination guide.
The series
Other destinations
Tuscany
Tuscany holds up for a long stay with a mixed group in a way most regions do not. This is the argument for it, the case for Chianti over Val d'Orcia, and the three situations where it is the wrong call.
Amalfi Coast
Vertical, hard to move around, and worth it if you plan for that rather than against it. Where to base yourself so the coast road does not eat the week, and why the ferry beats the car.
Sri Lanka
The hill country you came to see was created by a fungus: coffee leaf rust arrived in 1869 and took the island's economy down within 20 years. Ten nights, two bases, and the train between them.