25 Best Sights in Morocco

Just 10 km (6 miles) north of Salé, you'll find the extraordinary Jardins Exotiques, which were created in the mid-20th century by a Frenchman named Marcel François, who used to play classical music to his plants. Planned to represent different regions (like Polynesia, Brazil, or Japan), the gardens are a haven for birds and frogs. There are two circuits of different lengths and the walkways and bridges make this a wonderful playground and educational experience for children, too. Since François's death in 1999, the property has been maintained by the government and has recently been well restored. A touching autobiographical poem forms his epitaph at the entrance.

Many people combine a visit to the gardens with a day at the beach at Plage des Nations, another 10 km (6 miles) along the coast. A private taxi organized by your hotel costs 300 DH for the return trip, including the driver's wait while you explore the gardens. 

Chilean artist Claudio Bravo came to Morocco in 1972 and built this palatial home-turned-museum with stunning gardens and stables 10 km (6 miles) outside Taroudant. Following his death in 2011, the estate became a museum showcasing his art and collections, including works by friends like Picasso. The palace is divided into several pavilions connected by inner courtyards and covered walkways, while inside the guest rooms, salons, and Bravo’s private rooms and studios are paintings, sculptures, and artifacts, including Roman and North African ceramics. Wander through the gardens full of exotic plants to the large water basin, and rest in the shade of a pavilion with a cup of tea and views of the Atlas Mountains. A full guided tour takes two to three hours, but it’s possible to do an unguided visit of the gardens. The hefty entry fee includes transportation by horse carriage from the entrance to the main building. You must reserve in advance to visit. You can also reserve for lunch or dinner (expect to pay 400 DH–500 DH per person).

This delightful, beautifully maintained public garden does not receive the attention it deserves. Paved pathways wind through cactus plantations, rose gardens, and exotic flowerbeds, past ornamental fountains, and through striking cascades of bougainvillea. It's the perfect escape from the city mayhem. 

The beach here swings around a crescent from southeast to northwest; you're more likely to find a quiet spot if you wander south, although be careful to avoid the private beaches of the resorts. The most crowded areas, frequented year-round by families and locals, are to the north. Along the flanking thoroughfare, known as the Corniche (promenade), are cafés, bars, and restaurants. At the very northern end is the swanky marina development where private yachts are moored. The promenade comes alive at dusk, when families and youngsters take their evening walks, but as night falls, it can become a little sketchy. Nonetheless, from the shelter of a café terrace, it's still a good spot to stop and watch the world go by. The northern tip is also the place to rent a Jet Ski, catamaran, or surf equipment. Amenities: food and drink; water sports. Best for: sunset.

If you're looking for things to do in Ouarzazate, visit Atlas Studios—Morocco's most famous studios—next to the Hotel Oscar. Guided tours start every 45 minutes, and the price is discounted if you're a guest of the hotel. It isn't Disney World, but you do get a sense of just how many productions have rolled through town—including Hollywood blockbusters like The Mummy and Gladiator, and classics like Cleopatra and Lawrence of Arabia.

Ask for Mohammed Brad Pitt as your tour guide.

For another angle on the Ouarzazate film industry, check out the rather grand-looking kasbah off to the right just out of town on the way to Skoura. One enterprising local producer, frustrated by the increasingly expensive charges being levied on film crews wanting to film around real kasbahs, decided to build his own and undercut the competition.

This 19th-century palace is now a museum with an excellent collection of antique Moroccan crafts including pottery from Safi and Tamegroute, jewelry, daggers, caftans, carpets, and leatherwork. The palace's courtyard is filled with flowers and cypress trees, and furnished with a gazebo and fountain. The most extraordinary salon is upstairs; it's a somber room decorated with gibs cornices, zellij walls, and an amazing carved-cedar ceiling painted in the zouak style (bright colors in intricate patterns). Look for the prize exhibit, a marble basin with an inscription indicating its 10th-century Córdoban origin. The basin, which is sometimes on loan to other museums, was once given pride of place in the Ali ben Youssef Mosque in the north of the souk. It was brought to Morocco by the Almoravid sultan in spite of its decorative eagles and griffins, which defy the Koran's prohibition of artistic representations of living things.

Essaouira's main beach is a sweep of sand along the bay that has provided shelter to seafarers from Atlantic storms since antiquity. Although temperatures are moderate all year and the sun is nearly always shining, the wind is consistently strong, making sunbathing or swimming less attractive than farther south in Agadir. Nonetheless, sunbed rentals are relatively inexpensive or even free if you eat at one of the cafés at the southern end of the beach.

The wind comes from the north and creates three main areas. The most northerly part, tucked up into the armpit of the port, has wind that comes in gusts. Just south of this the wind strengthens, with fewer gusts. Farther south are the steady, strong trade winds the town is known for, and that make it a mecca for wind and kitesurfers. The range of areas makes the bay perfect for every level of water-sports enthusiast.

The surrounding islets, the Iles de Mogador, are home to nine bird species, including the endangered Eleanora's falcon. They are closed to visitors during breeding season (April to October), but otherwise you can get a boat trip from the port, with boats leaving morning and afternoon depending on weather conditions. Amenities: food and drink; lifeguards (summer only); toilets; parking (fee); water sports. Best for: sunset; swimming; walking; windsurfing.

The most frequented beach in Dar Bouazza is a great place for swimming and surfing in the summer. On the far side, there’s a tidal pool area and, when tides are low, the long stretches of soft sand are ideal for strolling and exploring the coast. Amenities: food and drink; lifeguards (in summer); parking. Best for: surfing; swimming; walking.

High up on the hill to the northwest that looks over Agadir are the few ruins of the old kasbah, the main site of Agadir until an earthquake razed the city in 1960. The devastating earthquake created the opportunity for the development of modern Agadir, which stands today to the south. Although there is little to see here of the former city, the panoramas are breathtaking, especially at sunset. The only way to get here is to take a bus with ALSA, the public transportation company, from the parking lot at the foot of the mountain. The bus leaves every 20 minutes from 8 am to 9:30 pm (8:30 pm on Saturdays) and costs 4 DH each way. 

Emblazoned on the side of the hill below the kasbah are three Arabic words that keep guard over Agadir at all times. Their meaning? God, country, and the king. By day they're a patchwork of huge white stones against the green grass. At night they're lighted up powerfully against the dark. The huge hill is really a burial mound, covering the old medina and the impromptu graves of those who died in the earthquake.

When you need a break from the city bustle, this environmentally friendly farm makes a very pleasant getaway for both adults and children. On-site you can discover organic plants and herbs, as well as visit and look after animals. Food and drinks are available if hunger hits.

This combination ethnological museum and bazaar is the dream of Moroccan-born Italian decorator-architect Coco Polizzi, who wanted to replace the medina Agadir lost to the 1960 earthquake with a new one on his own land. Located in Ben Sergao, a few miles south of Agadir, on the Inezgane road, the remarkable 13-acre project was completed in 2007 by hundreds of Moroccan craftspeople who used centuries-old techniques. Each stone was laid by hand, and the buildings are made of earth, rock from the Souss, slate from the High Atlas, and local woods such as thuya and eucalyptus. Decorations follow both Amazigh and Saharan motifs. You can find a few mosaic craftspeople, painters, jewelers, metalworkers, and carpenters in workshop nooks throughout the medina. The medina also houses a restaurant, shops, and even an amphitheater. Grands taxis to the medina from Agadir cost around 100 DH round-trip.

This reservoir is around 80 years old and a very established feature of the region, built by the French during the protectorate period. The water level fluctuates depending on rainfall and snowmelt, as it is fed from the mountains above. There are a few Jet Skis and paddleboards available to rent and take on the lake, which is not illegal but still questionable, given that this is a working reservoir. Swimming is forbidden since there is no lifeguard, but it's not uncommon to see people taking a dip, especially in the hotter months when temperatures rise. The most popular activity here is simply walking around the lake, which affords lovely views of the region as well as the local birdlife.

The Menara's vast water bassin and pavilion are ensconced in an immense olive grove, where pruners and pickers putter and local women fetch water from the nearby stream, said to give baraka (good luck). The elegant pavilion—or minzah, meaning "beautiful view"—was created in the early 19th century by Sultan Abd er Rahman, but it's believed to occupy the site of a 16th-century Saadian structure. In winter and spring snowcapped Atlas peaks in the background appear closer than they are; you might see green or black olives gathered from the trees from October through January. Moroccan families swarm here during the holidays and weekends to picnic. Come prepared as there's little shade in the main walking areas.

Moulay Bousselham is at the head of the Merja Zerga National Park, a vast lagoon stretching over 17,000 acres. This region is one of the most important wetland reserves in North Africa and is a major stopover for countless birds migrating from Norway, Sweden, and the United Kingdom to Africa: the birds fly south at the end of summer and winter at Merja Zerga before continuing on to West Africa and even South Africa. They stop off again on their way back to Europe in spring, so spring and fall are the times for bird-watching. The Ramsar Convention site holds between 50,000 and 100,000 waders at any one time, including shelduck, marbled teal, coot, pied avocet, and slender-billed curlew. The pink greater flamingos on their way to and from Mauritania are particularly spectacular.

This small but ambitious community-oriented spot is well worth a stop if you're driving east from Tinerhir toward Merzouga. Housed in the 19th-century ksar of El Khorbat, it contains old maps, photos, antiques, and exhibits that document the traditional lifestyle of the southern oasis, with proceeds going to development and educational projects in the village. You can also buy locally made items at the craft workshop, and then enjoy a meal or spend a night in the atmospheric El Khorbat guesthouse ($$)—both are part of the same tourism initiative.

Before the Mazagan Beach Resort was built between Azemmour and El Jadida, you could walk along the sand from one community to the other. While that's no longer possible, this is still a stunning beach and one of the cleanest on the coast. There's also a shipwreck that's fun to explore. Amenities: food and drink; lifeguards (in summer). Best for: sunsets; surfing; swimming; walking.

This long sandy bay attracts swarms of surfers, sunbathers, and families in summer when temperatures can get very high. Amenities: food and drink; lifeguards (in summer); parking. Best for: sunbathing; surfing; swimming; walking.

Kids and adults alike love treading in these giant tracks of both carnivorous and herbivorous dinosaurs that are estimated to be about 185 million years old. There are several dinosaur-footprint sites in the region, but the easiest to find are those in the village of Ibaklliwne. As the road leads into the Aït Bougmez hamlets, it splits in two—this is actually a double valley. Follow the right-hand branch, leading into Tabant, the main village complete with a couple of cement structures, a school, and an administrative building. Follow this track for about 1½ km (1 mile) past the schoolhouses into the village of Ibaklliwne, where you'll find the dinosaur footprints on the hillside.

Rabat’s zoo is home to 1,800-odd animals representing 150 species, most of them residing in relatively wide enclosures. Covering more than 120 acres, it’s divided into five themed ecosystems—Atlas Mountains, desert, savannah, rain forest, and wetlands—with the first of these being the highlight due to the presence of Atlas lions, which only exist in captivity. Elephants, giraffes, hippos, and hordes of magnificent oryx and gazelles also call this place home. After ogling them, you can learn more by visiting the educational farm or catching one of the scheduled daily events.

This beautiful stretch of sand extends southwest away from El Jadida; you can access it by taking the coastal road about 5 km (3 miles) out of town. It's an ideal place to stroll or watch the sunset. Swimming is great here too, although currents can be strong. Amenities: food and drink; lifeguards (in summer); parking. Best for: sunsets; swimming; walking.

In the northeastern corner of the city, this daily bazaar sells souvenirs, household goods, and the produce of the fertile Souss plains. It's one of the biggest in Morocco, and you'll need to bargain hard. The souk is a great place to witness and participate in real Moroccan life. 

Midway between Erfoud and Rissani, this private museum is hard to miss—just look for the giant replica dinosaurs standing outside. Take a peek inside at the interesting, well-presented collection curated by Moroccan paleontologist Brahim Tahari; it includes fossils, bones, minerals, flints, crystals, and assorted oddities.

There’s a shop attached if you want to purchase your own bit of prehistory.

This small beach with wonderful sand can be empty during colder months, but it's very much the opposite in summer. It's a short walk from the train station. Amenities: food and drink; lifeguards (in summer); parking. Best for: sunset; swimming; walking.

It's not so much a valley as a pleasure garden connecting Avenue Hassan II to the beach. The garden has not only birds but also monkeys, fountains, and lovely green surroundings. Very popular with Moroccan families and young couples as well as tourists, it makes for a pleasant stroll between downtown and the beachfront.