Introduction
December in Marrakech can reach a rather lovely average temperature in the high teens (DegC). This makes it an ideal winter destination to escape the cold and grey of the UK and explore this fabulous historic city without the oppressive heat of a North African summer. Our anniversary falls on 2 December, so a few days in this mesmerising city was an ideal break to celebrate.
Getting there
Direct flights from the UK to Morocco’s popular city of Marrakech are plentiful, and usually cheap. We took an Easyjet flight from Luton, and touched down on the warm tarmac of Marrakech airport less than four hours after takeoff. All the usual budget airlines fly to Marrakech, as do British Airways. As usual, Skyscanner will help you find your ideal flights.
As we waited for our driver (who was fashionably late) we were treated to some very lively scenes outside the airport, with people in traditional dress drumming and singing for the arriving tourists. A much more entertaining welcome than you might see at Luton or Heathrow!
Our driver zoomed along weaving his way between taxis, mopeds, and donkeys, all passing each other extremely closely. It appeared chaotic at first, but we noted how the various road users patiently took turns to fit through the narrow archways dotted between the main city walls surrounding the medina.
Disclosure : this article contains affiliate links. This means that if you make a purchase via links in the article, I will receive a small commission which can help the blog to grow. I will only recommend hotels that we have personally stayed in and enjoyed.
The wonder behind the wall
The best option for accommodation in Marrakech is to stay in a riad – smaller boutique type hotels with a grand internal courtyard. These vary in price and luxury, but often are reasonably priced and have a small internal plunge pool, relaxation/lounge areas, and sometimes a traditional hammam.
We stayed at the rather lovely Ksar Anika riad, located just outside the main walls of the Medina, and a stone’s throw from the Bahia Palace. From the outside, you would not be aware of the splendour that lies within. Next to a faded old Renault 4 was a big wooden door framed by the typical deep sand coloured walls. As we walked through the door we were amazed by the opulent interior that greeted us. The main courtyard contained an inviting blue plunge pool, with comfy chairs, beautiful carpets, and huge green cacti and succulents reaching for the sky from their grand terracotta pots. I will review this wonderful riad in full in a future article.
Just taking it all in
From the rooftop of our riad the snow-capped peaks of the Atlas mountains could be seen in the distance. I brought my gaze back in over the rooftops and the sand coloured buildings, and looked down to the hubbub of the street below. The sound of donkeys hooves was mixed with the buzz of mopeds and shabby beige coloured Dacia taxis. This was quite a culture shock from the damp streets of the UK!
Taking a walk along the city walls and into the narrow streets of the Medina was a further culture shock. We stood out quite nicely as being very obviously tourists!
People called out to us asking where we were from, if we needed directions, and trying to tempt us into various stores to look at piles of colourful spices. Yes we did get dragged into a spice shop on the first day, given some “free” mint tea, and yes we did spend far too much money on some Senna, Verbena Tea, and menthol crystals! Although we got thoroughly taken for a ride here, we kind of enjoyed the experience all the same. Very quickly in Marrakech, you learn to say “La shukran” (“no thank you” in Arabic) rather a lot!
Temples and palaces fit for kings and queens
The city has more than its fair share of magnificent palaces and temples to add to your itinerary. Most of these (like our riad) are full of majesty hidden behind the usual modest looking sandy walls.
Just around the corner from our riad was the 19th century Bahia Palace, features lush gardens, intricately detailed ceilings, and huge expanses of multi-coloured tile floors.
Similarly incredible, the nearby 16th century Saadian Tombs are immaculately well preserved, and contain a majestic beauty with their stucco carvings and colourful tiles.
Our favourite however, was probably the El Badi Palace. Also a 16th century construction of the Saadian dynasty, this one is now in ruins, with huge storks nesting on the tallest parts. It is an enchanting place to walk around and speculate on how it must have looked in its former glory.
Food, glorious food!
Morroco is renowned for its food. The combinations of spices and flavours used in the dishes create a divine dance of flavours in the mouth. Almonds, pomegranates, dates, and apricots all merge seamlessly with savoury spices here.
A particular highlight for us was a meal we had at Kosybar in Tinsmith’s Square. As we ate, we were fully entertained by a Canadian singer working full time on the Marrakech scene. His audience interaction made for a very entertaining time. After the food we retired to the balcony where we enjoyed some flavoured shisha as we enjoyed a nightcap and gazed at the night sky. Even in December all we needed here were light jackets for the evening.
Walking back from Kosybar we were feeling full of food, and quite lazy. We flagged down the driver of a horse and cart, who took us the rest of the way back to our Riad for a very good price. I may have been a bit merry on Morrocan wine, but a hilarious highlight of this ride home was being overtaken by a guy on a moped with his dog running alongside him.
We had eaten an equally fine Morrocan meal in our riad on the first night, but for our third night we opted for something a little different, Ibrahim Pacha Turkish restaurant located just around the corner from the Menara Mall (which we also visited).
A night at Ibrahim Pacha is a full on evening’s entertainment. You pay a set price here for three courses which are served slowly over a few hours as you watch the entertainment on the main stage. First up some traditional dancing, various singers, more dancers, then belly dancers, and finally some traditional dancing with audience participation! The food was great, and the entertainment was extremely slick and professional, with more than a little bit of a Eurovision vibe to it.
Camels and quad bikes
There are so many activities to do just outside Marrakech. A look at the list on Viator reveals balloon flights, desert trekking tours, trips into the mountains, and various quad biking or camel trips. We took a trip out to the Agafay Desert which included an hour’s quad biking followed by some time spent camel trekking. This included a break to drink some mint tea and enjoy the warm December sun on our skins. A welcome dose of Vitamin D for us sun-starved UK residents!
The quad biking was good dusty fun, although my bike had a hole in the side exhaust which was puffing out red hot fumes onto my leg, meaning I had to constantly keep moving my right leg around. I much preferred the camel trekking, which involved donning some traditional clothing before heading out for a relaxing plod through the desert on a group of well looked after animals.
Conclusion (and glaring omissions!)
Our four days in Marrakech made for a truly memorable anniversary mini-break. It’s a destination that really draws you in with its warmth and its energy. We would go back in a heartbeat for another winter break to escape the cold of the UK winter and enjoy the vibrant atmosphere of this historic Moroccan city.
I don’t tend to write my articles as too much of a checklist of the main attractions, but even so, you may have noticed that I have missed off some of the big draws of Marrakech… We did not visit Jemaa el-Fnaa square, Koutoubia Mosque, or the Yves Saint Laurent Museum and Majorelle gardens. Glaring omissions though these are, they serve very nicely as a very fine excuse to go back to Marrakech again for another winter adventure!
