Morocco’s imperial cities

Today you’ll depart from your selected airport, with connecting flight(s) along the way.

Upon arrival in Morocco, you’ll be met at the airport by our local partner and transferred to your hotel.

Depending on your arrival time, you may wish to head out and start exploring Casablanca at your own pace. Alternatively, you can simply unwind at the hotel before we welcome you to Morocco this evening with a special welcome dinner.

After breakfast, you’ll bid farewell to Casablanca and set off towards Fes, Morocco’s first capital. As this tour takes you through the country’s ancient royal cities, you’ll make a stop en route in Meknes, which held the capital status from 1672 to 1727.

In many ways, Meknes is the somewhat overlooked royal city—rather curious, considering who chose to make it the capital: Sultan Moulay Ismaïl. He’s particularly remembered for his uncompromising and often ruthless rule, as well as his vast number of wives. According to some accounts, he is said to have had 500 wives and fathered over 800 children. The numbers may be open to debate, but there’s no doubting his reputation as a powerful and feared ruler.

Moulay Ismaïl envisioned transforming Meknes into Morocco’s answer to Versailles. During his reign, mosques, madrasas, palaces, and magnificent city walls sprang up around the city. Today, the best-known building is the Bab Mansour city gate, which still stands as a proud symbol of his era of grandeur.

Today’s lunch will be enjoyed at one of Morocco’s delightful vineyards, benefitting from the mild climate and fertile soil of this part of the country. While Morocco isn’t the first place that springs to mind when you think of winemaking, the country actually produces some excellent wines – red, white, and rosé alike.

From here, you’ll continue on to today’s main destination: Fes, where you’ll spend the next two nights. This evening, you can look forward to dinner in Fes.

Today promises an exciting day of discovery in Fes.

Fes is Morocco’s oldest royal city and boasts the country’s largest and most authentic medina. Founded in the year 789, the city has, over the centuries, flourished into a vibrant historical centre, criss-crossed by more than 9,000 narrow streets and alleys. Here, you’ll find everything from carpet workshops and forges to the iconic tanneries, where brightly coloured vats and the unmistakable scent of leather reflect the city’s proud craft traditions. With its densely packed buildings, bustling marketplaces, and historic madrasas and mosques, the medina is a captivating maze, where history, culture, and everyday life continue to blend seamlessly side by side.

While the atmosphere is best experienced in the narrow alleyways, for a true overview, you should head to one of the two ancient fortresses perched on each of the hills overlooking the city. From here, you’ll be treated to a stunning panorama as the medina unfolds beneath you like a labyrinthine tapestry – offering an entirely new perspective on the city’s vast scale.

Another highlight in Fes is the royal palace just outside the medina. Although you can’t go inside, every visitor is struck by the magnificent golden gates, framed by turquoise mosaics. The seven gates represent the seven heavens in Islam, a testament to the historic and continued significance of the monarchy. Just behind the palace lies the old Jewish quarter, the Mellah, where its distinctive architecture tells the story of Fes’ rich cultural diversity and centuries of peaceful coexistence.

Lunch is included today, but this evening you’re free to wander the winding streets and discover a charming restaurant for dinner at your own pace.

After breakfast, you’ll leave Fès and head west towards Rabat. Along the way, you’ll make a fascinating stop at the ruined city of Volubilis. Volubilis was once the Romans’ great city and the power centre of their North African empire, back when they were the ‘kings’ of Morocco. The ruins are beautifully set amid a lush and fertile landscape, surrounded by olive groves and fields. Standing by the impressive triumphal arch, gazing out over the plains, it’s easy to see why the Romans chose this very spot for their city.

Volubilis has been listed as a UNESCO world heritage site since 1997. Despite suffering both from plundering and the devastation caused by the great Lisbon earthquake in 1755, much of the city remains impressively well-preserved. During your guided tour, you’ll gain insight into the city’s fascinating history and admire the striking columns and mosaics, many of which have survived remarkably intact.

After your visit, you’ll continue on towards the coast, where Rabat, Morocco’s elegant capital, awaits. Here, you’ll check in for the night, and this evening, enjoy dinner in Morocco’s current capital city.

Your day will begin with a guided sightseeing tour of Rabat, which has been Morocco’s capital since 1912. The French originally designated Rabat as the capital when France established a protectorate over Morocco. Its wide boulevards, numerous administrative buildings, and strategic coastal location made the city so ideal as the nation’s centre that when the French departed in 1956, the king chose to keep Rabat as the capital. You’ll also visit the Hassan Tower, the minaret (the tower from which the call to prayer is made) of an unfinished mosque. This was intended to be the largest mosque in the world, but sadly the caliph, Yaqub al-Mansur, died in 1199 before it was completed, and construction was abandoned. Today, visitors can see the remaining columns and the foundations of the structure.

From Rabat, your tour will continue back to Casablanca, where lunch awaits. There’s also time for a visit to the Hassan II Mosque, inaugurated in 1993. It’s one of the largest mosques in the world, and while its sheer scale is certainly impressive, it’s really the architecture that leaves most people breathless. What’s more, it’s one of the few mosques in Morocco that you can visit as a non-Muslim.

Later this afternoon, you’ll travel on to Marrakech, the former royal city, which today is probably the most famous of Morocco’s imperial cities. This evening, dinner is served on one of Marrakech’s many rooftop terraces.

In the morning, you’ll be picked up from your hotel and taken to an experience that’s a little out of the ordinary. Food plays a huge part in any tour of Morocco. Fresh ingredients are prepared in a variety of aromatic ways, with plenty of spices that create rich, wonderful combinations of sweet and savoury. There’s a riot of colours, so all of your senses come alive.

Today, you’ll be hands-on in preparing your own lunch. This takes place at the Amal Women’s Training Centre, an NGO working to empower women and give them a career in the restaurant industry. Professional chefs guide both you and the women assisting you, so they are constantly learning as well, while you indulge your taste buds and support a great cause.

The afternoon is spent on a guided tour of Marrakech’s medina, the heart of this former royal city. This ancient quarter, founded over a thousand years ago, is now listed as a UNESCO world heritage site.

The medina is the historic heart of the city. Here you’ll find the old mosques and madrasas, the artisans’ workshops, and bustling marketplaces. The streets are narrow and labyrinthine—a design said to have allowed residents to hide from invaders, who would inevitably lose their way unless they were true locals. But you’re in safe hands: your guide knows the medina like the back of their hand and will expertly lead you through even its most winding alleys. Your guide will often ask if you have any special interests so they can tailor the route to suit you. We highly recommend a visit to the Ben Youssef Madrasa, whose harmonious, symmetrical design, and exquisite decoration make it a true architectural gem. Don’t miss the main square, Jemaa el-Fna, either. It may seem a little subdued by day, but it’s worth knowing its location, as by evening it transforms into a scene straight out of an Indiana Jones film—with real snake charmers, food stalls lined up alongside henna tattooists, and fresh juice bars. The city’s most iconic landmark is the Koutoubia Minaret—the tallest building in Marrakech.

This evening, you’re free to do as you please and have the chance to discover some of the many fantastic restaurants on offer here.

As is only fitting for a (former) capital city, Marrakech boasts an abundance of green sanctuaries, carefully designed for beauty and tranquillity. Today, you’ll have the opportunity to experience this tradition in a truly modern way at the famous Jardin Majorelle, created in the 1920s. The gardens are a wonderful oasis at the heart of this bustling city, although (admittedly) they are quite a favourite with travellers visiting Marrakech. The on-site Berber Museum is well worth a visit—it’s not large, but it offers great insight into Berber culture.

After lunch, the rest of the day is yours to explore Marrakech at your own pace. Perhaps it’s time for some last-minute shopping before your journey home tomorrow?

It’s time to say farewell to Morocco for now, and you’ll be driven to the airport with plenty of time before your flight home.

You’ll return home with memories from an enchanting tour through Morocco’s ancient imperial cities, rich in history, sensory impressions, and unique experiences.