MoroccoTourism

Morocco's geography is its argument: the Mediterranean and Atlantic on two coasts, the Rif and the High Atlas pinning a fertile plain in the middle, and the Sahara opening to the south. Within a week's drive you can ski above 3,000 metres at Oukaïmeden, walk a Roman city at Volubilis, drink mint tea on the Atlantic at Essaouira, and watch sunset on the dunes at Erg Chebbi. Few countries this size pack such different terrains into a tight loop.

The cultural inheritance runs equally deep. The imperial cities — Marrakech, Fez, Meknes, and Rabat — each carry a UNESCO-listed medina, with leather tanneries, koranic schools, and souqs that have changed less than they have stayed the same. Berber, Arab, Jewish, French, and Spanish layers stack on top of each other; a single Marrakech street can carry signs in four languages. The Hassan II Mosque in Casablanca, with its 210-metre minaret rising from the Atlantic, is one of the largest in the world.

Travel here is unusually frictionless for North Africa. The high-speed train (Al Boraq) connects Tangier to Casablanca in under two hours; intercity rail is reliable and cheap. The walking-distance medinas mean a car is unnecessary in most cities. March through May and September through November are the practical seasons — the desert is reachable, the cities aren't yet baking, and Atlantic surf-towns like Taghazout work year-round. Visas are not required for most major nationalities.