48 hours in Marrakech

Last Updated on November 18, 2024

Cultural and natural wonders in the winter sun.

Marrakech is coloured in reds and blues: terracotta walls and Majorelle pots; fiery saffron and cerulean sky. The city is surrounded by desert and mountains – an oasis of aromas, tastes, and sounds. While I only spent two full days in Marrakech, in the same way, that only a few strands of saffron are required to enrich a Moroccan tagine, 48 hours was enough to get a taste of a city bursting with life.

Towards the end of the year, as the days get shorter and colder, British tourists crowd around their globes looking for locations that will provide some much-needed sun. They need look no further than Marrakech – temperatures in the mid to high twenties, flavourful food, and plenty of cultural activities.

During my trip, I was hosted at Le Naoura, a five-star hotel equipped with a hammam spa, restaurant, and swimming pool, providing excellent hospitality. Located in the medina (the old city) and just a fifteen-minute walk from the world-famous Souk, Le Naoura is coloured in the same reds and blues of the city that surrounds it. One has the option of a room or one of 26 private villas, each comprising three bedrooms, a private pool and a terrace. Winding one’s way to the villas, it feels as if one is in a hidden section of the city – small, calm streets under a canopy of trees and cooled by tall terracotta walls.

My third-floor hotel room had a balcony overlooking the communal swimming pool, a queen-sized bed and a luxuriously deep bath. In the morning, a breakfast spread on the patio beside the pool included fresh fruit, pastries, eggs made to order, and – my favourite – msemmen, a traditional buttery and flaky Moroccan pancake. I treated myself to a massage in the spa – a warm and beautifully designed space scented with orange blossom – and soaked up some sun on the poolside deckchairs, storing up the rays before my return to the grey London autumn like a camel who does not know when he will find the next oasis.

Inside the walls of Le Naoura, life moves at a relaxed pace. Outside, mopeds hum and weave, tuk-tuks rattle, vendors offer their products to crowds of passersby, and everywhere the fruit, spices, pottery and fabrics create a rainbow illuminated by bright, metal lanterns.

Among one of the busy streets is Mazel, a Moroccan street food restaurant with a spacious rooftop terrace. Mazel is known for its sandwiches – pita filled with falafel, chicken, lamb or cheese – and one can also enjoy couscous, tagines, homemade chips and tasty desserts. I had the pitanjia, a pita filled with a delicious combination of slow-cooked lamb, aubergine, onions, and pea mint sauce. Mazel is a convenient and atmospheric spot to enjoy a relatively speedy lunch – filling, fuelling, and tasty.

One can spend days in Marrakech flitting between cultural landmarks – mosques, palaces, gardens, museums, and souks. But when on a short break, it is equally rewarding to take your time, winding through the city slowly and experiencing the unique richness one finds at the confluence of Europe, Africa, and the Arab world. To avoid aimless wandering, I suggest punctuating your day with food stops.

For a memorable dinner experience, Dardar is located in the heart of the souk. One can take a fun tuk-tuk ride from La Naoura that traverses the busy roads and beeps its way through the evening shoppers in the narrow market streets. One then disappears up the stairs of Dardar onto a roof terrace lit up by hanging lanterns. DJs play a combination of Moroccan and Western music for happy diners, live Gnawa (traditional Moroccan music) players get tables dancing, and a magician wows you while you sip your mint tea.

The menu is expansive, including a variety of traditional Moroccan dishes and Western options. I enjoyed a starter platter comprising crispy gambas, pastilla, tuna tartare, ceviche, eggplant churros, barbecue wings, octopus and mashed potatoes (on the menu as “Poulpe Fiction”), crab meat and carpaccio salmon. The starters are generally light and all delicious.

For the main course, I tried the “Pink” option – a fragrant and moreish dish of pink couscous with lamb – and the “Veggie” option – a curious cactus couscous with seven vegetables, a tasty and unique menu item. A selection of inventive cocktails, and deserts that are dramatically doused in blue flames beside your table, add to an all-round exciting dining experience.

I particularly enjoyed Dardar’s atmosphere. Staff are part-waiters and part-entertainers, getting the clientele clapping and dancing along to the live music. With a table on the terrace, looking at the trees in the foreground and the Kutubiyya Mosque tower in the background, one can easily spend several hours eating, drinking and enjoying the warm Marrakech night.

Tourists do not only flock to Marrakech for its bustling city life. Less than an hour away is the Agafay Desert, its undulating dunes framed by the Atlas Mountains. Inara Camp in the Agafay Desert is pleasant for a day trip or an overnight stay. It provides a luxurious glamping experience – 19 tents in six categories, some simple and tasteful and others with a private pool and multiple bedrooms.

Inara Camp is the sixth luxury camp in Morocco created by Vincent Jaquet. It has a restaurant that serves hearty homemade soups, dips, tagines, and bread baked on a wood fire. One can enjoy live Gnawa music, henna, and a camel ride in the desert. All with the added luxury of a swimming pool, hot water showers, evening activities and a community of fellow travellers on your doorstep. Inara Camp is fit for tourists looking for a touch of luxury amid the Moroccan desert; in the day, one can see sheep being herded across the arid landscape before a mountain backdrop, and at night one can look up and see the stars.

My 48 hours in Marrakech was a delightful warm city break with a touch of desert adventure. I was entertained by the vibrant streets and welcoming atmosphere of the city, and well fed at Mazel and Dardar. I was pampered and relaxed at Le Naoura in the heart of Marrakech and got a flavour of the surrounding area at Inara Camp. From the culture vultures, to the outdoor adventurers, to the foodies and luxury-seekers, Marrakech has something for everyone. It has the heat and the cool, the fire and the water, the terracotta red and the Majorelle blue.

Le Naoura
Rue DJebel Alakhdar – Bab Doukkala
40000 Marrakech