What to Do Between World Cup Matches
in Morocco 2030 — By City

Start at 8am before the heat. Walk the souks — metalwork, leather, spices, textiles — then reach the central square mid-morning. Return at sunset when the square fills with food stalls, storytellers and musicians. Two completely different experiences in one day.

Two hours in Majorelle Garden — the cobalt-blue villa and cactus garden once owned by Yves Saint Laurent — then another hour in the adjacent Berber Museum or YSL Museum. Book tickets in advance; it sells out. Best in the morning cool.

30km south of Marrakech, the Ourika Valley rises into the High Atlas. Hire a grand taxi (about €30 return) and spend the day walking beside a river gorge, visiting a Berber village, and eating a tagine at a mountain restaurant. Temperatures are 10°C cooler than Marrakech. A revelation after days in the city heat.

A 3-hour cooking class — starting with a souk market visit — is one of the best value-for-money experiences in Morocco. You'll learn to make tagine and bastilla (the extraordinary pigeon and almond pie). Multiple schools operate in the medina; La Maison Arabe is the most established.

Many riads and restaurants have rooftop terraces. Watch the medina light up at dusk, hear the call to prayer echo across the rooftops, then eat couscous with merguez and a carafe of fresh orange juice. Le Foundouk and Nomad are reliable recommendations near the souks.

A proper hammam — steam room, black soap scrub, kessa glove exfoliation — is one of the great Moroccan experiences and ideal recovery after a long match day. The Hammam de la Rose near the medina is popular with visitors; a full session runs about €25–40 including scrub and massage.

The world's second-largest mosque, built over the Atlantic — the ocean is visible through a glass floor in the prayer hall. Non-Muslims can only enter on guided tours (90 minutes, about €14). The exterior at sunset, with the 210m minaret lit up over the sea, is one of the great sights in Morocco.

Casablanca has the finest collection of 1920s–40s Art Deco buildings in Africa, designed by French architects under the Protectorate. Download the free Casablanca Art Deco trail map and walk from Place Mohammed V through the Mauresque buildings of the old medina neighbourhood. Allow 2 hours.

45 minutes by train (€4–8) and you're in the capital. UNESCO World Heritage medina, the extraordinary Kasbah des Oudaias perched above the river mouth, the Muhammad V Mausoleum, and a completely different pace to Casablanca. Leave at 8am, back by 7pm. Morocco's most underrated city.

The seafront promenade west of the city centre comes alive in the evening — seafood restaurants, beach clubs, cafés. Rick's Café (yes, modelled on the film) is touristy but atmospheric, with live piano and Casablanca-era décor. The fresh fish and shellfish along this strip are excellent.

The Central Market (Marché Central) is one of the finest food markets in Morocco — fish, vegetables, olives, pastries. Nearby, the old medina is compact and less overwhelming than Fes or Marrakech, good for a relaxed browse. The textile stalls around Rue Souika are worth exploring.

Hire a local guide for your first morning (about €25 for 3 hours — worth it). They'll show you the Madrasa Bou Inania, the Al-Attarine spice souk, the Andalusian Quarter, and extract you when you're hopelessly lost. Go back alone on your second day — getting lost is the whole point.

The most photographed sight in Morocco — the ancient tannery complex where leather has been cured in the same stone vats since the 11th century. Best viewed from the surrounding leather shops (free, with a mint leaf given to mask the smell). Go in the morning when the vats are full of colour.

1 hour from Fes by grand taxi (about €35 return), Volubilis is Morocco's best-preserved Roman site — mosaics still vivid after 1,800 years, triumphal arch intact, sweeping views across the plains. Combine with the holy town of Moulay Idriss for a full day out. Go early to avoid the midday heat.

The Bou Inania Madrasa (14th century) has the most extraordinary tilework and carved cedar ceilings of any building in Morocco. Nearby, Al-Qarawiyyin is considered the world's oldest continuously operating university, founded 859 AD. The exterior and surrounding streets are open to all; the interior to Muslims only.

Many riads in the medina host live Gnawa music evenings — the trance-like spiritual music rooted in sub-Saharan African traditions. Combined with a traditional pastilla starter and a lamb tagine, this is the single most atmospheric evening you can have in Morocco. Riad Laaroussa and Riad Fes are both excellent.

A 12th-century fortified neighbourhood of whitewashed houses perched above the Bou Regreg river. Walk the blue-painted streets, look out over the Atlantic from the ramparts, have mint tea in the Andalusian Garden. One of the most photogenic places in Morocco, with almost none of the tourist pressure of Marrakech.

Morocco's most visited monument — the ornate mausoleum of King Muhammad V and the unfinished Hassan Tower (which would have been the world's largest minaret when construction stopped in 1199). Together they're 20 minutes from the Kasbah and make a natural pairing.

A walled Merinid necropolis built on the ruins of the Roman city of Sala Colonia — now inhabited by storks nesting in the ancient minarets and a garden of citrus trees and roses. Tranquil, beautiful, and almost entirely tourist-free. Allow 90 minutes.

Rabat's medina is compact and navigable. In the evenings, the stalls along Avenue Mohammed V in the medina serve grilled sardines, shrimp and squid at half the price of Marrakech tourist restaurants. The Atlantic fisheries mean the seafood is genuinely fresh. Eat early (7–8pm) before it sells out.

The Kasbah sits at the top of the medina with views across the Strait to Spain. The museum inside the former Sultan's palace has excellent displays on Tangier's history as an international zone (1923–1956, when it was governed jointly by 8 nations). Walk down through the medina afterwards — compact and manageable.

Café Hafa, perched on the cliffs above the Atlantic, has been serving mint tea since 1921. The Rolling Stones, The Beatles and William Burroughs all sat here. Terrace levels drop down the cliff face. Come at sunset, order tea, watch the boats on the Strait. One of the great café experiences in the world.

15 minutes by taxi west of Tangier, Cap Spartel is the northwestern tip of Africa — where the Atlantic Ocean meets the Mediterranean Sea. You can see both from the lighthouse at the top. Below, the Grottes d'Hercule (caves with a famous Atlantic-shaped opening to the sea) are worth combining into the same trip.

3 hours by coach from Tangier, Chefchaouen — the "Blue City" — is the most photographed town in Morocco. Every street, wall and staircase is painted in shades of blue. Come for the day on a match-free day: leave at 7am, arrive 10am, explore all day, return by 10pm. Book the bus in advance during the tournament.

10km of Atlantic beach with remarkably clean water, consistent surf, and a wide promenade. In summer, the ocean is warm enough for swimming and there's a reliable sea breeze. Plenty of cafés and juice bars on the promenade. Mornings are best; afternoons can get crowded.

80km east of Agadir (about 1.5 hours by grand taxi or coach), Taroudant is a complete medieval walled city that almost no foreign tourists visit. 6km of intact ramparts, a traditional souk, excellent Berber craft markets, and a fraction of the hassle of Marrakech. Some call it "Marrakech without the tourists." Leave by 8am, return by 6pm.

40km south of Agadir, this coastal national park protects the last wild flamingo colonies in Morocco, bald ibis, and a diverse range of Atlantic coast wildlife. Best in the morning — the flamingo lagoon is most active at dawn. Hire a grand taxi from Agadir and ask to go to the Oued Massa estuary.

The Souss Valley between Agadir and Taroudant is the home of argan oil — the "liquid gold" produced only in Morocco and used in cooking and cosmetics worldwide. Stop at a women's cooperative to see the hand-pressing process and buy genuine oil directly from the producers. A beautiful, informative detour.

The fishing port north of the beach promenade has a line of restaurants serving the daily catch — sardines, sea bream, crayfish, octopus — grilled simply over charcoal. Order by weight, choose your fish from the display, and eat at tables by the water. Better value and fresher fish than anywhere on the tourist strip.