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🇲🇦Things to Do in Morocco
From Marrakech's souks to the dunes of the Sahara Desert - the essential sights, and how to keep your own record of them.
Travel guide - last updated September 2026
Morocco packs desert, mountains, coast and some of the best-preserved medieval old towns in North Africa into a country small enough to cross by road in under a week. Most first trips loop between Marrakech, Fes and a Sahara excursion, with Chefchaouen's blue-washed streets as a common detour north. Here are 8 places worth building a trip around.
Top attractions
The sights most first-time visitors build an itinerary around.
Marrakech Medina & Jemaa el-Fnaa
Marrakech's walled old town, centered on Jemaa el-Fnaa square, which shifts from juice stalls and snake charmers by day to food stalls and storytellers by night. Getting lost in the surrounding souks is part of the experience.
📍 Marrakech
🚉 Nearest station: Marrakech, served by the Al Boraq high-speed line to Casablanca and Tangier, about 3km from the square - bus 1 and petits taxis run there, and cars cannot enter the medina lanes.
Sahara Desert
Merzouga (Erg Chebbi) and Zagora are the two main gateway towns for overnight camel trek and desert camp trips, usually booked as a multi-day excursion from Marrakech or Fes.
📍 Merzouga & Zagora
🚉 There is no railway south of Marrakech: supratours and CTM buses run to Zagora and M'Hamid, or Merzouga via Errachidia, and camel or 4x4 transfers to the dune camps start from those towns.
Chefchaouen
A mountain town in the Rif Mountains, almost entirely painted in shades of blue - no one fully agrees why, though a common explanation ties it to the town's Jewish refugee history in the 1930s.
📍 Chefchaouen, Rif Mountains
🚉 The blue town has no station - CTM buses run from Tangier in three hours and Fes in four, arriving at the terminal a 20-minute uphill walk or short taxi ride from the medina.
Fes Medina
The world's largest car-free urban area and a UNESCO World Heritage site, including the Chouara Tannery, where leather has been dyed in the same stone vats since the medieval period.
📍 Fes
🚉 Nearest station: Fes, on the main line from Tangier, Rabat and Marrakech, about 3km from Bab Boujloud, the blue gate where the medina walk begins - petits taxis cover the gap in 10 minutes.
Essaouira
A laid-back coastal town with a fortified medina opening onto the Atlantic, known for windsurfing, fresh seafood, and a noticeably more relaxed pace than Marrakech.
📍 Essaouira
🚉 No railway reaches the coast here: Supratours coaches connect with the trains at Marrakech and run to Essaouira in about two and a half hours, stopping beside the ramparts.
Atlas Mountains
A short drive from Marrakech, home to Berber villages and Toubkal, North Africa's highest peak - day hikes to villages like Imlil are accessible without needing a multi-day trek.
📍 Imlil, High Atlas Mountains
🚉 Grands taxis to Imlil, the trailhead for Toubkal, leave from Marrakech's Bab Rob rank and take about 90 minutes; the Ourika valley is served by the same rank and a shorter drive.
Majorelle Garden, Marrakech
A botanical garden in vivid cobalt blue, restored by Yves Saint Laurent, with a small museum of Amazigh (Berber) culture on the grounds.
📍 Marrakech
🚉 The garden is in Gueliz, the new town, about a 20-minute walk from Jemaa el-Fnaa or a short petit taxi ride; bus 12 stops on Avenue Yacoub El Mansour nearby.
Ait Benhaddou
A fortified clay-brick village (ksar) on the old caravan route between the Sahara and Marrakech, used as a filming location for Gladiator and Game of Thrones among others.
📍 Ait Benhaddou, near Ouarzazate
🚉 The kasbah is on the Ouarzazate road: CTM and Supratours buses from Marrakech cross the Tizi n'Tichka pass in about four hours to Ouarzazate, then a grand taxi covers the last 30km.
Mark Morocco, get the stamp
In MyPassportStory, every country you mark - visited, lived in, or still on the list - becomes a stamp like these in your own travel passport. Add the cities you stopped in, draw the route between them, and turn the whole trip into a shareable passport-style image.
Open MyPassportStoryPlanning questions
How many days do you need in Morocco?
A week covers Marrakech, a Sahara desert trip and one other stop like Essaouira or the Atlas Mountains. Ten days lets you add Fes and Chefchaouen for a fuller loop.
What's the best time to visit Morocco?
March-May and September-November have the most comfortable temperatures, especially for the desert, where summer heat is intense. Winter nights in the Sahara and Atlas Mountains get surprisingly cold.
Is Morocco good for a first-time visit?
Yes, with a bit of preparation for the souks' haggling culture and persistent vendors, which can feel intense on a first visit - many travelers find a guide for the first day or two in Marrakech and Fes genuinely useful.
Do I need a visa to visit Morocco?
Many nationalities, including the US, UK, Canada, Australia and most of the EU, can visit visa-free for short tourist stays (typically up to 90 days); other nationalities need a visa arranged in advance. Check the official visa information for your nationality: diplomatie.ma.
What are some things to do in Morocco on a tight budget?
Wandering the medinas and Jemaa el-Fnaa square costs nothing beyond what you choose to buy, street food stalls are far cheaper than sit-down restaurants for an equally good meal, and shared grand taxis between cities cost a fraction of private transport.
Can I rent a car in Morocco, and what licence do I need?
Yes, and it is the practical way to link Ait Benhaddou, the Dades gorges and the desert road, where buses run once or twice a day. A national licence from most countries is accepted for visits, and an International Driving Permit is recommended alongside it - required if yours is not in Arabic, French or English. Minimum age is usually 21 with a credit card for the deposit. Expect police checkpoints on rural roads, which are routine, and note that hire cars are not normally insured on unpaved desert pistes. Official government information for visitors is published at maroc.ma, with driving formalities handled through the national service portal service-public.ma; cars come from Europcar, Avis and Hertz.