Where to Eat
La Table de La Sultana serves French food directly over the hotel’s lit swimming pool, with traditional Moroccan music playing as you work through a wine list pulling from both Morocco and further afield. The kitchen leans on local ingredients dressed in classic technique – homemade foie gras from the Gharb, pan-fried sweetbreads with spinach, and a crème brûlée finished with Taliouine saffron. Reflections from the pool move across the table as you eat. Bring someone you’re trying to impress.
lasultanahotels.com | @lasultanamarrakech | 403 Rue de la Kasbah, 40 000 Marrakech
Up on the roof of the IZZA hotel, Noujoum does its own version of a view, framed by vines and surrounded by curated artwork from regional artists. Cocktails arrive alongside a sea bass ceviche with cactus chutney, a monkfish tagine with charred peppers and fennel, and a poached pear dessert paired with Moroccan herb sorbet and a cassis coulis. The terrace fills slowly as the sun drops, and the art continues throughout the rest of the hotel, worth a wander before or after dinner.
izza.com | @izzamarrakech | 46, Driba Laarida, Sidi Ahmed, Soussi, 40000 Marrakesh
Getting Out and About
Argan Sports runs mountain biking through the Atlas foothills and road cycling routes out of the city, both useful for clearing a head full of tagine and mint tea.
argansports.com | @axs.bike.marrakech
Atlas Montgolfiere offers sunrise hot air balloon flights over the desert, Berber breakfast included once you land. Plenty of operators run similar trips, but the views here – dozens of balloons drifting over the horizon as the light comes up – make this the one worth booking. Book a private flight to make sure you get a basket for yourselves.
atlasmontgolfiere.com | @atlasmontgolfieremarrakech
White Camel‘s luxury lodges sit in the Agafay desert, working as a base for camel rides, horseback riding and quad biking, with private lunches hosted by locals breaking up the day. Or for real Sahara dunes rather than Agafay’s rockier stretch, Zagora is roughly five hours from Marrakech and delivers the sand most people picture when they think of Morocco.
thewhitecamel.com | @thewhitecamelagafay
Sights Worth the Detour
Bahia Palace remains worth the entry fee despite earthquake damage in recent years. The scale of the tilework across 160 rooms still holds up, and a riad nearby makes for a cool, quiet stop afterwards.
The Saadian Tombs offer a quieter alternative, a mausoleum set in gardens with marble and colourful tiling that gets less foot traffic than the bigger sites.
400 Rue de La Kasbah, Marrakesh 40000
And for the souks themselves, Jemaa el-Fnaa gives you the full sensory hit – spice stalls, food carts, snake charmers and performers – but in a square large enough that you can step back when it gets too much. Terrace bars and lunch spots ring the edges, each one a decent vantage point for watching the chaos from a safe distance.
