French-inflected flavors, desert hideaways, and world-famous rhythms.

Artsy pursuits

Feel soft clay yield under your palms as you learn to shape a conical tagine cooking vessel on the potter’s wheel, and try your hand at clean Arabic calligraphy. See rugs on the loom in a women’s weaving cooperative, and shop for the best leather poufs and babouche slippers.

Not a mirage

Cool cedar forests give way to the dramatic Ziz Gorges, en route through the Atlas Mountains from Fez to Erfoud, in the country’s largest Sahara oasis. Pass through date plantations on your way out of town to meet up with a nomadic desert community for a four-wheel-drive adventure.

Marrakech finery
Swelter in the intense heat of the hammam, then treat yourself to a relaxing YSL’s famed Villa Oasis..massage. Next up are reservations at La Grande Table Marocaine, helmed by superstar chef Yannick Alléno. Take a private tour of the Majorelle-blue Yves Saint Laurent house.

Spiritual beats
Meet some of Morocco’s minority Gnawa people. Gnawa music has earned a global following, but it’s still deeply tied to the group’s spiritual practices. Visit a village for a performance, and try some dance steps.

Desert solitude

Trace the boundaries between mountain, oasis, and desert as your helicopter zooms over the Atlas Mountains. Your party will be the only guests at a secluded camp in an unending sea of golden sand. Savor a clay-oven barbecue, and walk on the ridges of those famous Saharan sand dunes.

See rugs on the loom in a women’s weaving cooperative, and shop for the best leather poufs.