Arabian nights in MarrakechOur teams have tested out for you 11 Hotels

Marrakech, capital of the south, gave its name to the country. Before arriving into the heart of the city, take a trip to the Saadian tombs where princes and princesses rest underneath marble tombstones. Curvy columns, zelliges, cast plaster cupolas adorned with honey-combed niches decorate the mausoleums. In the same area, walk past the fortifications of el Badii Palace built at the end of the 16th century by Ahmed el Mansour. Jealous Moulay Ismail had had it taken down and the materials (gold, onyx and Italian marble) transferred to his residence in Meknes. What remains today is a vast esplanade with fountains and orange trees. The more recent Bahia Palace dates from the 19th century. Carved cedar painted with natural pigments ornaments the ceilings of the legitimate wives' apartments. Zelliges embellish the marble floors and the fountain in the centre of the courtyard indicates that this was the harem. You are not far from Jemaa el Fna Square where story tellers, musicians and snake charmers are always busying themselves amongst the orange stalls. Come back in the evening and climb up to a cafe terrace to admire the sunset. At night time, the small lights of the refreshment stalls are refracted in the smoke of the grilled meat. To find your way around town, keep an eye on Koutoubia Minaret, masterpiece of hispano-moresque art, 226 feet high. It may prove very useful when you walk into the souk in the heart of the medina. Dyers souk changes colour nearly everyday. You can visit the ironsmiths' district, el-Kelin souk, for its leather ware, the babouche slippers at Smata souk, the grocers' square, Zrabia souk, for the carpet auction sale, within three hours. On your way, you will walk past Medersa Ben Youssef, the old Koranic school which used to be the most important one in the whole of Maghreb. Leave the medina for a walk around the ramparts: eight miles of adobe walls built in the 12th century opened up by 14 gates, one of which being Bab Agnaou. Remain within the walls. In the modern town, there is a garden called Majorelle created by the French painter who goes by the same name, where lush greenery grows around a small fine art museum which now belongs to Yves Saint-Laurent. Save the visit to the hundred year old olive trees of Menara and the palm grove for the end of the afternoon. Marrakech is worth staying a minimum of two days.

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