Meridian

A private travel office · Amsterdam You were given a word.

Marrakech · In season March to May and September to November

Marrakesh

A short flight from most of Europe, and a different world on landing — a city bursting with colour and flavour, and quite unlike anywhere else.

Eat

  1. Nomad Modern international lines drawn over traditional Moroccan cooking, a chic rooftop bar above the souk, and a flourless orange cake that closes the argument. Medina
  2. Dar Yacout A medieval palace serving the traditional gastronomic canon — a drink on the rooftop first, with the Medina laid out below. Medina
  3. Grand Café de La Poste Art Deco with a statement staircase, straight out of the Roaring Twenties — the salade de La Poste and a glass of Val d’Argan rosé carry a long weekend lunch. Gueliz
  4. Bacha Coffee The coffee house at Dar el Bacha — over a hundred coffees, pastries and warm dishes, and rooms that reward the detour. Medina
  5. Moro Part concept store, part hotel, with a café around a mulberry tree at the edge of Jardin Majorelle — fashion, art and The Moroccans skincare line under one roof. The prickly-pear scrub earns its reputation. Medina
  6. Farmers Aziz Nahas’s farm-to-table room in Gueliz, fed by his 25-acre Sanctuary Slimane — lamb tacos, sea bream with harissa salsa, hibiscus-poached pears, and the Midnight Corbusier from the bar. Gueliz

Stay

  1. El Fenn Authenticity as the heartbeat — an artistic riad honouring the old customs of Marrakech, with lunch and cocktails on a roof terrace facing the Medina. Medina
  2. La Mamounia The legend among the city’s hotels, set in eight acres of royal gardens, refurbished by Jacques Garcia and Olivia Giacobetti. Hivernage
  3. Amanjena A peaceful compound twelve kilometres south on the Ouarzazate road — every room with its own courtyard, the Atlas within reach for a day’s walking. Palmeraie

Do

  1. Musée Yves Saint Laurent More immersion than retrospective — couture, sketches and photographs, with Jardin Majorelle and the private villa next door completing the morning. Gueliz
  2. Beni Rugs Part showroom, part weaving studio, flooded with sunlight — bespoke rugs designed on the spot and woven next door, craftsmanship of the first order, with a contemporary edge. Ménara
  3. Coopérative Artisanale Art Tissage Tam A women’s cooperative in Tameslouht, just outside the city — hand-embroidered linens, rattan, ceramics and furniture, village handiwork worth the drive. Tamesloht
  4. El Badi Palace More ruin than royal, and magical for it — the shadow of sixteenth-century gold-encrusted grandeur, underground chambers, a vast courtyard, and storks holding the walls. Méchouar-Kasba

Shop

  1. Au Fil d’Or Mohammed’s tiny atelier in the souk, with a following to match — kaftans, Moroccan cashmere jackets, suede babouches; 1960s Marrakech glamour, cut to measure. Medina
  2. Lalla Laetitia Trouillet’s jewel box — supple leathers, tasselled suede clutches and sculptural totes, bohemian and refined at once. Gueliz

The office can arrange any of this.

You were given a word.