Destination: Morocco

LONELY PLANET'S OFFICIAL ITINERARY INFORMATION

Itinerary: World Heritage Sites

THREE WEEKS / FÈS TO AÏT BENHADDOU

Morocco has eight Unesco World Heritage-listed Sites (http://whc.unesco.org) which provide some excellent focal points around which to build your Moroccan journey.



The jewel in the crown is the vast, living, ramshackle museum that is Fès El-Bali in Fès, the first Moroccan site to be inscribed on the list in 1981. The splendour of the Imperial City of Meknès, including the medina, have received official recognition to match the widespread view that this is Morocco’s Versailles. Nearby, the Roman city of Volubilis, with its astonishing mosaics left in situ, suggests that this region has always inspired world-class architects.

To the north, the splendid Tetouan medina is not your ordinary Moroccan medina due to the strong Andalusian overtones bequeathed by Moorish architects escaping Spain in the 16th century. From Tetouan, head for the coast and down past Casablanca to El-Jadida where the enchanting Portuguese port yields many surprises, not least the remarkable underground cistern where Orson Welles chose to film scenes in his 1954 classic Othello. Continuing down the coast, the Essaouira medina is deservedly on the list, as is the iconic medina of Marrakesh. Of all the extraordinary mud-brick architecture in Morocco’s south, Unesco chose the Ksar of Aït Benhaddou and it’s hard to disagree with their choice.