The imperial cities

Casablanca · Rabat · Moulay Idriss Zerhoun · Fès · Azrou · Ouzoud · Marrakech

Rabat, Meknes, Fes and Marrakech, the kingdom’s four capitals, linked by the cedar forests of the Middle Atlas and the Ouzoud waterfalls. A journey of medinas and palaces, with time to wander.

Duration10 days
Distance945 km
DifficultyEasy
VehiclesCar

Start from this trip

Notebook from €590

Les toits de la médina de Fès

Highlights

The Hassan II mosque in Casablanca
Two full days in Fes
The cedars and macaques of Azrou
The Ouzoud waterfalls
Marrakech, from the souks to the Majorelle garden

Day by day

The stages as Agnès drew them. Everything can change: one more night here, a detour there.

Day 1
From the Hassan II mosque to Rabat
Casablanca → Rabat125 km · 2 h
From Mohammed V airport, thirty-five minutes to the Hassan II mosque, built out over the ocean: it is one of the few mosques in the country open to non-Muslims. Lunch on the Aïn Diab seafront, then an hour on the motorway to Rabat.
Day 2
Rabat on foot and by tram
Rabat15 km · 30 min
Leave the car parked: the tram links the medina with the Hassan Tower and the new town. Morning at the Kasbah of the Udayas and its Andalusian garden, afternoon at the Chellah, where storks nest on the Merinid ruins.
Day 3
Meknes, the city of Moulay Ismail
Rabat → Moulay Idriss Zerhoun170 km · 2 h 30
Motorway to Meknes, often overlooked yet splendid: Bab Mansour, the royal granaries and stables of Heri es-Souani, the mausoleum of Moulay Ismail. Lunch on El Hedim square, then thirty minutes’ drive to Moulay Idriss for the night.
Day 4
Volubilis in the morning, Fes in the evening
Moulay Idriss Zerhoun → Fès80 km · 1 h 30
Be at Volubilis when it opens: the light is soft, it is cool and you will have the mosaics almost to yourself. An easy drive to Fes, arriving in time for lunch. Late in the day, go up to the Merinid tombs to watch the medina light up.
Day 5
Fes el-Bali with a guide
FèsLittle or no driving
A whole day in the world’s largest car-free medina, with Hicham, who takes you into the workshops rather than the shops. The Chouara tanneries, the Attarine madrasa, old caravanserais, the coppersmiths’ souk. Lunch on Talaa Kebira.
Day 6
Ifrane and the cedar forest
Fès → Azrou85 km · 1 h 30
You leave the heat of the plain for the Middle Atlas: Lake Dayet Aoua, then Ifrane, the “little Switzerland” with its pitched roofs. Beyond Azrou, the cedar forest is home to Barbary macaques, to be watched but never fed. A short, restful day.
Day 7
The great Middle Atlas crossing
Azrou → Ouzoud300 km · 5 h 15
The longest leg of the trip, on good roads: Khenifra, the Tadla plain and Beni Mellal at the foot of the mountains. Stop at the Aïn Asserdoun spring, then skirt Lake Bin el Ouidane before reaching Ouzoud. Leave early to enjoy the evening above the falls.
Day 8
The falls in the morning, Marrakech in the afternoon
Ouzoud → Marrakech160 km · 2 h 45
Walk down to the Ouzoud pools before the tour groups arrive: a 110-metre drop, rainbows in the morning and monkeys in the olive trees. Drive on to Marrakech, where you can return the car or park it for two days. In the evening, Jemaa el-Fna and its grill stalls.
Day 9
Marrakech, from the souks to the gardens
MarrakechLittle or no driving
The Majorelle garden at the first morning slot, before the crowds, then the Bahia palace and the Ben Youssef madrasa. In the afternoon, get lost in the souks north of the square, then head back to rest at the riad before a last dinner.
Day 10
Last shopping and departure
Marrakech10 km · 20 min
A free morning for last-minute shopping at Rahba Kedima, the spice square. The airport is twenty minutes from the riad; the rental company collects the car at the departures car park.

In practice

Duration: 10 days
Distance: 945 km
Longest drive: 300 km
Difficulty: Easy
Vehicles: Car
Regions: Rabat, Casablanca and north coast · Fes, Meknes and Middle Atlas · Marrakech and surroundings
Notebook from: €590

Agnès designs the itinerary and your notebook. You book and pay for accommodation and transport yourself, with her trusted addresses.

Price of the design of your itinerary and of your notebook. Accommodation, transport and activities are booked and paid for by you, directly with the providers.