Bucket List inspiration: A long weekend in Morocco

One of the world's most exotic and romantic locations is no further away than many parts of Europe - and therefore you have no excuse not to try to make it happen, as Giles Kime explains.

A view of the Selman Marrakech Hotel with the Atlas Mountains looming in the background.
A view of the Selman Marrakech Hotel with the Atlas Mountains looming in the background.
(Image credit: Laurent Vilbet / Selman Marrakech)

Three hours doesn’t get you very far from British soil: Gibraltar, Seville or Helsinki with a following wind. However, fly three hours to Marrakech and you’re a world away from your everyday existence, lost in a dusty world of mules, mosques and muezzins.

It’s a consuming experience – the earthiness and intimacy of the narrow streets and shaded gardens combine to form an exotic backdrop for a memorable few days. It’s this exotic otherness that is the city’s most beguiling charm and the reason it offers such a convenient opportunity for a proper escape from life in the Northern Hemisphere.

Accommodation comes in all shapes and sizes, from cosy riads that offer a calm, scented refuge from their frenetic surroundings to palatial hotels 10 minutes from the city centre, which offer more sybaritic pleasures away from the madding crowd of the Medina. In recent years, time-honoured favourites have been joined by a host of others crying out to be explored.

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Where to stay

Ten minutes from the freneticism and colour of the main square (Jemaa el Fna) is the Selman Marrakech, an equestrian paradise with views of the Atlas Mountains and just about every indulgence you could possibly desire – from sumptuous interiors by Jacques Garcia to a world-class spa and two unforgettable restaurants.

Madonna recently celebrated her 60th birthday with a dinner in the stables and these aren’t just any old stables – equine ballet is among the spectacles on offer. www.selman-marrakech.com

A suite at Selman Marrakech hotel

One of the suites at the Selman

(Image credit: Selman Marrakech)

Where to eat

The exoticism of the city extends to the food. La Mamounia offers a visual and unforgettable dining experience and lunch by the pool is a delight.

As well as a wide range of atmospheric restaurants, the food stalls that magically appear at dusk on the Jemaa el Fna offer a chance to experience the chaos of the city while you eat simple fare such as couscous, pastilla and spicy merguez sausages.

(Image credit: Alamy)

What to see

One garden not to be missed is the scented Eden at La Mamounia, enjoyed by everyone from Sir Winston Churchill to Omar Sharif. But even if you barely want to leave your poolside lounger, it’s still essential that you drag yourself to Le Jardin Majorelle, the verdant testament to the genius of Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Bergé, who lavished this magical oasis with love and brilliance.

Le Jardin Majorelle, Marrakech

Le Jardin Majorelle, Marrakech.

(Image credit: Getty)

Do not adjust your monitor – or phone, or tablet: it really is that colour. Le Jardin Majorelle, and Marrakech in general, are officially now on the Bucket List.


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Giles Kime
Giles Kime is Country Life's Executive and Interiors Editor, an expert in interior design with decades of experience since starting his career at The World of Interiors magazine. Giles joined Country Life in 2016, introducing new weekly interiors features, bridging the gap between our coverage of architecture and gardening. He previously launched a design section in The Telegraph and spent over a decade at Homes & Gardens magazine (launched by Country Life's founder Edward Hudson in 1919). A regular host of events at London Craft Week, Focus, Decorex and the V&A, he has interviewed leading design figures, including Kit Kemp, Tricia Guild, Mary Fox Linton, Chester Jones, Barbara Barry and Lord Snowdon. He has written a number of books on interior design, property and wine, the most recent of which is on the legendary interior designer Nina Campbell who last year celebrated her fiftieth year in business. This Autumn sees the publication of his book on the work of the interior designer, Emma Sims-Hilditch. He has also written widely on wine and at 26, was the youngest ever editor of Decanter Magazine. Having spent ten years restoring an Arts & Crafts house on the banks of the Itchen, he and his wife, Kate, are breathing life into a 16th-century cottage near Alresford that has remained untouched for almost half a century.