Marrakech

1. ~8:30a●Riad rooftop breakfast

   Msemen (flaky square pancakes) and beghrir (thousand-hole semolina crêpes) with amlou and honey, fresh orange juice, and mint tea poured high from the pot.

2. ~9:30a◆Koutoubia & Bahia Palace

   The 12th-century Koutoubia minaret that set the template for the city, then the Bahia Palace's painted cedar ceilings and tiled courtyards.

3. ~11:30a✦Into the souks

   The labyrinth by trade — the dyers' lane of hanging wool, the babouche slippers, the lanterns and leather. Haggle warmly, start near a third, and get gloriously lost.

4. ~1:30p●Lunch in the medina

   A rooftop terrace for a tagine — lamb with prunes and almonds, or chicken with preserved lemon and olives — with khobz bread to scoop and a tomato-and-cucumber salad.

5. ~4:00p◆Le Jardin Secret or Ben Youssef

   A restored medina riad-garden for a cool hour, or the Ben Youssef Madrasa's breathtaking zellij and carved stucco.

6. 8:00p✦Le Jardin / a palace-riad dinner tableAnchor table

   A candlelit courtyard dinner in a restored riad — modern Moroccan tasting with rose petals, briouats, and a pastilla. Marrakech has no Michelin stars, so the marquee table is a great riad; book a courtyard seating.

The square — Jemaa el-Fna — is the night's anchor: come back after dark for the smoke, the gnawa drummers, and the orange-juice carts (it's a UNESCO 'living heritage' spectacle). A petit-taxi or your riad's guide saves you from the souk maze after dark.

1. 9:00a◆Jardin Majorelle & the YSL Museum

   The cobalt-blue villa and bamboo garden Yves Saint Laurent saved, plus the museum of his work next door — book timed tickets and go at opening before the tour groups.

2. ~11:30a→Guéliz, the new town

   The Art Deco-meets-modern quarter — concept stores, galleries, and cafés, the contemporary counterweight to the medina.

3. ~1:00p●Lunch in Guéliz

   A modern Moroccan or French-Moroccan bistro — a zaalouk and bread to start, then grilled fish or a lighter tagine, away from the medina bustle.

4. ~3:30p✦A traditional hammam

   The Moroccan bath ritual — black soap, the kessa-glove scrub, rhassoul clay, and steam. Book a spa hammam at the riad or a restored public one for the full reset.

5. ~7:30p●Sunset rooftop & dinner

   A drink as the call to prayer rolls across the rooftops, then dinner — harira soup, grilled brochettes, and a seffa or orange-and-cinnamon to finish.

Majorelle sells out — book online and arrive at opening. The hammam is the afternoon's whole point; schedule nothing strenuous after, just the rooftop and dinner.

1. ~8:30a✦Drive into the High Atlas

   An hour and a half up into the mountains — terraced valleys, mud-brick villages, and snow on the peaks in winter. A driver-guide is the easy way.

2. ~10:30a→Imlil & a Berber village

   A walk through walnut groves to a Berber home for mint tea on the terrace — the warm, unhurried hospitality that defines the mountains.

3. ~1:00p●Valley-side lunch

   A tagine cooked over coals at a riverside terrace — the chicken-and-lemon or a vegetable tagine, with the peaks above and the water running below.

4. ~3:30p✦Optional: a camel or the Agafay

   On the way back, a short camel ride, or detour to the stony Agafay 'desert' for the dunes-and-Atlas view at golden hour.

5. ~8:00p●Last medina dinner

   Back in the city: a final courtyard dinner — pastilla (the sweet-savoury pigeon or chicken pie dusted with sugar and cinnamon) and a tagine to share.

The Atlas is the day that balances the medina's intensity with mountain air and quiet. Winter brings snow to the high passes — beautiful, but check road conditions with your driver.