Northern Morocco: Blue Towns and Coastal Cities

Tangier has, for centuries, been Europe’s gateway to Africa. But unlike the traders and travellers who hastily left the city in search of Marrakech and beyond, we believe there are plenty of reasons to linger. On a tour of the city with a private guide, you’ll see why the likes of Matisse, Kerouac, Hendrix and Jagger did so, especially if you start in the aptly named ‘Idlers’ Terrace’. Catch sweeping views of the port (and Gibraltar, on a good day) before ambling to the palm-shaded main square, Grand Socco, and into the mesmerising medina. Make sure to pause by its clusters of babouche slippers, fragrant spices and stacks of tangerines and escape the sun in a nearby café for a mint tea. After you’ve discovered every inch of this tantalising city, we recommend spending the evening at a local restaurant sampling couscous, zalouk and fish chermoula.

Your Moroccan adventure continues in Asilah. With a driver at your disposal for the day, you’ll have the opportunity to explore every nook and cranny of this fortified town. Its medina is best admired slowly, especially as intricate street art seems to reveal itself around every corner. There are plenty of art galleries and palaces to nose around, and a beautiful beach, which you might just have all to yourself. For lunch, we recommend heading to a local restaurant for a plate of paella and a glass of Rioja. It’s a cool culinary reminder that this compact town was under Spanish influence for just short of 200 years. Make sure to pick up some handmade and painted pottery before heading back to Tangier.

Your last day in Tangier is yours to spend as you want. Spend the morning ticking off attractions such as the kasbah, Marina Bay and Tangier American Legation Museum before making your way to the boutique Villa Mabrouka for lunch. Sink your teeth into plates of daily caught fish, grilled lamb cutlets, risotto and tagine (of course) and enjoy views over Yves Saint Laurent’s former home, redesigned by Jasper Conran as a secret garden with ivy and wisteria-clad verandas and kidney bean pools. For sunset, there’s no place better place for cocktails and dinner than El Morocco Club, which offers classic Moroccan gastronomy with a playful spin.

Pack your suitcase and hit the open road (with a private driver) to the ‘Blue Pearl of Morocco’, Chefchaouen. The one-and-a-half-hour drive will go by in a flash, and give you little time to prepare for the sapphire-tinged city that awaits. Drop your bags at your elegant inn, complete with romantic jasmine gardens and an infinity pool, before striding out through the surprisingly quiet cobalt-hued medina. Browse market stalls and pick out rugs, jewellery and homeware to take home with you; snap pictures of the town’s resident cats (spoiler: there are thousands); and stop for a refreshing drink at Café Clock, which overlooks Chefchaouen’s rooftops. If you have time, head up to the Spanish Mosque for golden hour. The views and sounds of the call to prayer won’t disappoint – promise. Once back in the town, we recommend heading to Lala Mesouda for dinner and drinks.

Framed by the raw peaks of the Rif, Chefchaouen is the epitome of natural beauty; something your guide will have no trouble convincing you of on a four-hour walking tour of the town’s medina. Learn about its history and how it rose from a small kasbah to a bustling Spanish and Portuguese Jewish settlement during World War II. In between taking photos of more cats, you’ll also get to grips with the town’s colour pallet and learn why it’s given a new lick of paint every year. After your tour, you can either spend the day by the pool, meander through the medina one last time or, if you want to head further afield, drive to nearby Akchour for the lung-punching hike to its cascading waterfalls and God’s Bridge. In the early evening, you’ll hit the road for the three-and-a-half-hour journey to Fes. Check in at your centrally located riad, where you’ll bed down for the next four nights, on king-size mattresses for some well-earned rest.

Some may say we’ve saved the best ‘til last. While we don’t like to have favourites, there is something pretty special about Fes. Once an epicentre of education (home to scholars, philosophers, astronomers and mathematicians from all over the world), and trade (merchants would come to flog their exotic wares from the Silk Road and sub-Saharan trade routes), it’s retained a confidence and cultural and spiritual lineage that beguiles visitors. So, it makes sense that your first port of call on your Fes adventure is a private day tour of its medina and ramparts, Andalusian district, tanneries, dyers, old Rsif market and Jewish quarter. Spend the evening trying pastilla (also called b’stilla), bessara soup and spit-roasted lamb brochettes at the Ruined Garden or Le Jardin des Biehn.

Ever dreamed of becoming Indiana Jones? Well, today is your lucky day. On this day-long archaeological tour of the region’s Roman sites, you’ll visit Volubilis, the best-preserved archaeological site in Morocco, and Meknes. Known as 'The City of 100 Minarets', its 25 miles of wall encompass a UNESCO-protected medina, a monumental gate called Bab El-Mansour and the old Mellah (Jewish quarter). Your final stop is Moulay Idriss, just 12 miles from Meknes. This whitewashed town sits astride two green hills (make sure you have your cameras at the ready) and is one of the country’s most important pilgrimage sites. It’s surprisingly tourist-free too, so expect to have it all to yourself.

Your penultimate day is reserved for one thing and one thing only: relaxation. Spend the morning roaming the medina or lounging by the pool and clear the afternoon for a salubrious slumber in a traditional Moroccan hammam. Flit between saunas and steam rooms and enjoy the benefits of the country’s natural products such as lavender, eucalyptus ghassoul (clay) and rose water. Suitably serene, spend the evening at your hotel’s restaurant, sinking your teeth into tangy lemon and olive tapenade and spicy harira soup.