MOROCCO
I spent nearly 3 weeks in Morocco, another country that was on my bucket list for years...unfortunately I didn't fall in love with this place and actually, I am not sure I recommend visiting it. There are undoubtedly some amazing places but the amount of hassling you get from locals is just too much to enjoy anything and, on top of that, add groups and buses of Instagrammers posing in all sort of idiotic poses to collect a couple of likes on the social media platform.
During my 3 weeks trip to Morocco, I found some places I liked and this is what I have enjoyed at each stop of my trip. The trip started in Marrakech and I travel overland ( mostly trains or buses) to different cities: Essaouira, Casablanca, Rabat, Fes, Chefchaouen, Tangier.
Travelling around Morocco was super easy. Trains are very frequent and very cheap. timetables available here
When I travelled by bus I purchased the bus tickets through a company called CTM (http://www.ctm.ma). They have an app and it is super easy to buy tickets there even with a foreign credit card.
MARRAKECH
The beginning of my Moroccan trip. Probably this is the city I liked the least, too touristy and the locals are too aggressive, rude and VERY annoying. Luckily I spent only 3 days here including a day trip outside.
MEDINA
When I travel I love getting lost in a city, and it is very easy to get lost in the medina...and discover new places: in Marrakech was literally impossible without being harrassed every minute by locals trying to scam you or sell you something. I decided to then walk around the old medina early in the morning (around 7 AM) to be able to see something without being disturbed...but most, actually all, places are closed at that time. Just outside the old medina, there are some cool pieces of street art. I have used this website to locate some of those: https://streetartcities.com (note that the geo-location on this website is not super accurate for Morocco, so you will have to spend some extra time looking around the area).
JARDIN MAJORELLE & YSL MUSEUM
YSL Museum and Jardin Majorelle are probably the only 2 things I enjoyed in Marrakech. The Museum is not very big but has a great selection of fashion pieces from YSL, so it is a must if you are into fashion or want to discover more of this great fashion designer.
If you want to take some decent pictures of Jardin Majorelle, with not so many people in front of your camera... YOU HAVE TO GO EARLY! I went 10 minutes before the garden opened and I had only 2 people queuing in front of me. I recommend doing the garden first because the museum opens later and you can buy the ticket to the museum together with the ticket for the garden so you avoid the queue later. Expect in both locations groups of wannabe Influencers taking idiotic pictures in idiotic poses.
LE JARDIN SECRET
This was another place that I enjoyed. Not so secret as it is in the middle of the Medina. Again I went as soon as it opened to avoid the crowds. This garden is not as beautiful as Jardin Majorelle but still enjoyable.
ESSAOUIRA
Essaouira is probably the city I liked the most during the whole trip, possibly because this wasn't in the original plan and was mostly decided to leave Marrakech for a day. Many buses are going to Essaouira but I have decided to go with one of the many organised trips that leave Marrakech every morning. The trip had also a couple of extra stops including one to see the goats on the Argan trees.
Essaouira is super nice and not so big, so it is perfect for a day trip. The port with all the boats and the fishermen was my favourite part but also exploring the old city with its narrow alleys.
CASABLANCA
Casablanca was my 3rd stop on my trip. I travelled by train and it took around 2.5 hours to get there. The train was on time and fairly comfortable and very cheap (110 DH). I only spent 2 days in Casablanca since there is not a huge amount of things to see but there is some amazing street art I wanted to check out. People ins Casablanca were a little bit more friendly and less aggressive compared to Marrakech. These are the things I enjoyed during my stay in the city.
MEDINA
The medina in Casablanca is not as pretty as the one in Marrakech but it is more peaceful ( People don't bother you every second!). I actually enjoyed walking around the narrow alleys and getting lost for a couple of hours. There are different vendors and markets and many interesting things to take pictures of.
HASSAN II MOSQUE
This is one of the most beautiful Mosques I have ever seen. It is on the seafront and its architecture it is just really beautiful. When I went it wasn't crowded with tourists.
STREET ART
There is street art around the whole Casablanca with some amazing pieces. My favourite pieces of street art are the one covering whole buildings on the seafront. I reached this location after visiting the Hassan II mosque and I went there by walk. It took me around 45 minutes walk. There are many buildings painted with a different type of street art, so the best is to get there and explore.
HABBOUS
This is another area of Casablanca I really enjoyed. It is also called the New Medina and there are many souks, patisseries and cool architectures. On the way there I passed by an egg market (I forgot to pin the location at the time and cannot find it on google anymore). This was quite interesting for a photographic point of view, except the fact that people got very aggressive if you take pictures of their eggs (again another reason why I am not a fan of Morocco, you can't take pictures of anything without being harassed. I could understand people getting annoyed if I took pictures of people...but for eggs?...really??)
RABAT & SALÉ
Rabat was an amazing surprise. At this point, I had no expectations for this city but it became my second favourite place in Morocco. Not super touristy, nearly friendly people and amazing sites to explore...and great street art too! I wished I stayed longer but I only spent 2 days there, one visiting Rabat and one visiting the nearby city of Salé. Getting to Rabat from Casablanca is super easy with the frequent trains and it takes just under one hour. The train ticket was around 70 DH.
STREET ART
Like Casablanca, there are many pieces of street art around the city. I have used the website www.streetartcities.com to locate most of them. As mentioned earlier, the geolocation is not super accurate but if you look around you will eventually the street art.
KASBAH OF THE UDAYAS
One of my favourite place in Rabat with picturesque alleys with buildings mostly painted in blue. From this place you can also have an amazing view of the seafront.
ANDALUSIAN GARDEN
A nice garden just next to the Kasbah of the Udayas. Nice exotic plants and fruit trees
RABAT LIGHTHOUSE
SALÉ MEDERSA
The main reason to go to Salé is the Medersa. The entry fee for tourists is 60 DH. The building is very small but its architecture is worth the visit. you can also visit the upstairs area where the scholar's rooms where located. I recommend going when they open in the morning ( 10 AM) so you can have the whole place for you without any other tourist. You can reach Salé easily from Rabat using the convenient tram line. I decided, as usual, to walk there.
FES
This was another place I didn't really enjoy. too touristy and again locals not friendly. People stopping you at every corner to sell you carpets, to drag you in a restaurant, to sell you souvenirs...all while being surrounded by 1000s of tourist: Hell. Not as hell as Marrakech but close. From an architectural and historical point of view, Fes is really beautiful and I managed to appreciate it in the morning when nobody was out so I could see places and just wander around without being harassed every second. I travelled by train from Rabat, the train journey takes just under 3 hours. There are things and places I enjoyed in Fes.
ROYAL PALACE
Beautiful architecture but expect huge crowds of tourists. I went around 10 am but it was already super packed. I decided to change tactic and go during lunchtime, around 1 PM. At this time all the organised tour group were gone and taking pictures with no people was super easy.
AL-ATTARINE MADRASA
This was my favourite architecture in Fes. A beautiful example of intricate Islamic architecture built in the 14th Century. The small courtyard is probably the best part of the building with amazing ornaments and carved Islamic calligraphy. Again the best time to visit the Madrasa is as soon as it is open to avoid the groups of tourists (the official opening hour is 8 AM but the security guard was "late" when I went).
MOSQUE AL KARAOUINE
RAINBOW STREET
FUNDUQ AL-NAJJARIYYIN
TANNERIES
There are plenty of shops selling leather items with balconies overlooking the tanneries. This is free but they will always try to sell you some items, some vendors were ok taking a "no" as an answer...some were way more pushy and annoying.
MEDINA
MEKNES
Meknes wasn't on my original plans for this trip but I wanted to escape Fes so I have decided to do a day trip there. Getting to Meknes from Fes is super easy as the train takes just under one hour to get to this city. The city is nor very big so I decided to explore the different sites by walk.
Bou Inania Madrasa
Since I didn't' plan much for Meknes I discovered many things by just walking around the city. This Madrasa was a total surprise, such a beautiful architecture with different rooms to explore and in my opinion way better than the one I saw in Fes. Great and intricate ornaments all around and to my pleasure, I was the only person in the building.
ROYAL STABLES
CHEFCHAOUEN
Getting to Chefchaouen from Fes is very easy. I have booked my bus ticket a couple of weeks before my trip ( this destination is super touristy so buses get full easily). The CTM app is easy to use and accepts also international cards. CTM (http://www.ctm.ma).
I took the bus from the Fes bus station ( From Fes Medina is about 50 minutes walk if you like walking as i do ). I took the 8 AM bus and I got to the Blue City around 12.
Once in Chefchaouen be prepared to find 100s and 100s of tourists. Luckily I stayed only one night. The city itself is very picturesque but impossible to see anything without being disturbed by the loud organised tourist groups. A tip to be able to take nice pictures without being disturbed is to explore the city early in the morning, before breakfast, when all the tourists are still sleeping or getting ready to visit the city.
TANGIER
This was my last stop of the 3 weeks trip in Morocco. Since I had only one day in the city before my flight back to Sweden I didn't have much time to do extensive sightseeing; I was also getting quite tired of Morocco at this point and looking forward to leaving.
All in all I rated Morocco 5/10 on a scale where only Iran reached 10/10. Again this rate is only based in my personal experience and each travel experience is different. Mine relays a lot on locals and how approachable they are and how friendly they are. In Morocco I have seen really beautiful places but unfortunately too many people trying to scam you, trying to sell you something in a very aggressive way and not taking a "no" as an answer. Will I go back to Morocco? Probably NO; but I am glad I went and experienced it with my eyes.
