Short Haul Culture Fix? Try Marrakesh!

A great place for a culture fix but only a short haul flight away is Marrakesh, Morocco.

We spent a wonderful week here some years ago when we had a 2 year old and I was pregnant with number 2. We fancied a bit of a travel fix and some winter sun, we visited in February, perfect exploring weather, not too hot.

We opted to stay slightly out of town at hotel - Riad Dar Ilham- which was wonderful! The staff here were so friendly and the rooms opulent. There are many of these places and some, like ours offer a free shuttle service to and from town. We had a lovely but rather cold pool and delicious food.

One of the days we hired a driver and he drove us into the Atlas Mountains, making various stops, including one in the village where he was from, humbling and so interesting. The best sight was a tree full of goats! Excellent climbers they are!

We also drove to the coast and spent a couple of hours looking around Essaouira which was lovely- but windy!

Back in Marrakesh visit:

🐍 Jemaa el-Fna, the huge open square, heart of the medina. Full of characters such as snake charmers but the craziest sight for us was a man selling teeth, false teeth etc from his little table.

🌵Jardin Majorelle- a botanical garden created by a French artist and Yves Saint Laurent in 1980 as he loved it so much. A nice place to wander around and has a stunning blue art deco house at its centre.

I believe there is now a Yves Saint Laurent couture museum next door now.

However Marrakesh is just a place made to wander through the souks, taking in all the sights and sounds. The locals were welcoming. I’ve had friends who have had a bit of trouble with people offering fake tours etc but we didn't come across this, just have to have your wits about you, like anywhere.

I probably don’t look back on this holiday as fondly as I should as it ended with me having the worst food poisoning ever and being pregnant made it more scary. I ended up at a hospital having tests. All was ok but it left me with not so fond memories but I was just unlucky! I would love to go back as a family of 5. It's a rewarding place to visit!