If you didn’t see it on instagram, we recently announced our first ever L | M Escape, a luxurious & intimate 8-day, 7-night creative + slow living retreat, in Marrakech, Morocco, and it’s now open for registration! Edit: Sold out! We have a just a couple of spots left unreserved! Our good friend & Marrakech expert Emma Rice has partnered with us as our guide, and you can find detailed (very detailed!) information & reserve your spot over at L | M Retreats. As such, I kicked myself into gear (despite being brain dead & poised to give birth any day now…two days ago was technically my due date!) to finally share my photos of our time in Morocco as well as a few of our favorite spots + recommendations—sure to be updated as we discover more. Click through for photos of our trip, what to expect on the escape, and our guide to the city!
During the Escape, we’ll be taking guests on a journey that begins at the garden oasis pictured in this post, Riad Berbere, hidden in the heart of the medina (old town) and mere steps from the hectic scents and vibrant colors of the souks (markets). From there our little group will travel on to Scarebeo, a luxe camp site, in the out-lying Agafay desert for star gazing and camel safari before ending at the beautiful Kasbah Bab Ourika. Hot air balloons to hammam spa treatments; street food to long table, lantern lit dinners; cooking classes from locals to morning yoga: this is our most elaborate, detailed, and immersive event yet.
The small group (6 guests total) is designed to maximize guests one-on-one time to discuss the topics that interest them most be it recalibrating their life, styling, photography, editing in Lightroom, social media, brand & business building, slow living + work/life balance, writing, and more. But most of all it’s intended to be an inspiring, curated travel & food experience unlike any other.
Without further ado, here are our current favorite places to eat, stay, and shop in the city as well as our favorite things to source.
wander guide | marrakech, morocco
a pink dust circus of motorbikes & markets
Stay
- Le Riad Berbere
- Kasbah Bab Ourika
- Scarabeo Camp
- La Pause
- Beldi Country Club
- AirBnB for tons of riads in the medina!
Eat
- Nomad
- Jemaa El-Fna Square, stall 44 (get what is essentially a mashed potato + egg pita….not kidding!)
- Le Jardin
- Cafe D’espices
- Street food!
Shop + See + Do
- The Souks
- Hammam (a.k.a. Turkish Bath) – our favorites were Le Bain Bleu & Les Bains de Marrakech
- The man with the white beard pictured below, near the beginning of Jemaa el-Fna. He sells herbs and incense in/near the square. And is amazing.
- Sufjan’s rugs. Walk straight back into the rug section of the souks, and you’ll see a small, all-white rug stall right in front of you. That’s the one. Ask about other rugs. He has an amazing collection.
Acquire – suggested goods to hunt while there
- Brass & copper goods
- A tagine
- leather house slippers
- spices
- incense
- olive oil soap
- woven baskets
- Berber Rugs & textiles
- African Antiques
Travel Tips
- Always carry a few dirham for tipping. If you take someone’s photo, tip them. And ask permission.
- Don’t drink the water unless it’s been boiled (i.e. tea is fine). Stick to bottled.
- Haggle. Don’t take the first price offered you in the souks! They expect to be talked down, and playing the game is how to get a fair price!
- Arabic & French are fluently spoken, and getting by in English isn’t a problem.
- If you’ve heard it’s a pain and you’ll be hassled constantly, don’t believe the hype. Yes, in the souks you will be constantly called to look at their wares. Consider it part of the experience and you’ll be fine!
- Don’t miss the hammam! We were spa junkies while there.
- Street food. Eat it! It’s hard for me to recommend many sit down restaurants because I love the street food so much! If you have favorite spots in ‘Kech leave them in the comment section, and we’ll be sure to update with more after our next trip.
make sure to check out the Jardin Majorelle! It’s a beautiful spot in the New Town area with lush plants + stunning architecture. It was favorite of Yves Saint Laurent.
Yes! We hope to make it there this time around. Excellent suggestion.
and across from the gardens, just around the corner check out
Anitan : they have a small but nice selection of rugs and crockery
http://www.anitanrugs.com/
Agreed – a must see.
Love the pics! Which lens do you carry while you’re out and about in your travels?
Morroco is on my must-visit list. thank you for sharing so many useful tips and beautiful pictures. love your instagram feed!!!!
Oh. My. Goodness. Those pictures are gorgeously stunning. Such vibrancy and rich history. Morocco is 100% on my list of places to go and this just reconfirmed that in a huge way.
I absolutely agree on the Jardin Majorelle.
And for a restaurant, I love Dar Yacout.
I just started using a tagine on the stovetop- must now go to Morocco to ‘drench’ myself in the food culture!
Congratulations to you both <3
Nomad every damn day!
The magic* market next to Nomad with skulls and lizards and sooo much more – offering spells for everything you could want. My favourite was the 'good luck for prostitutes' eyeballs (did not purchase).
Salt roasted almonds in the market.
Sunrise orange juice and coffee in Cafe de France, watching the square wake up.
You have captured Morocco perfectly. Such beautiful shots that show the essence of this country. I can almost smell my memories !
Thank you for sharing.
WOnderful photos!
http://beautyfollower.blogspot.gr/
Marrakesh is such a beautiful city !
Like Zoey, I recommend les Jardin Majorelle, with its lush nature and blue buildings.
A restaurant that I enjoyed for a sit down dinner is Dar Moha in the Medina
On things to bring back home, I agree with your recommendations ! I would add : wooden ustensils, rose water from M’Gouna ( a village located in the valley of roses that produces the best rose water), and beldi glasses (traditional glasses). You can find all of this in the souk.
A shop that is a must see is Chabi Chic on the ground floor of Nomad Restaurant.
Charlotte
Beautiful photos! It looks amazing!
Great post and wonderful photos!
Such a gorgeous post – I was recently in Marrakech and totally agree with EVERYTHING! Your post make me wanna go back badly!
xx Mirjam // http://www.miiju.ch
Wonderful post, dear Beth! Your photos are absolutely stunning as always! Thank you so much for this inspiration…
This post was awesome!! I am heading out there in a couple of months and I CANNOT WAIT to take it all in!!
I love it… Great photos
We just got back from Morocco a few weeks ago. We had the best time!
My boyfriend and I both agreed that the best meal we had was actually at the Musee de la Photographie. They have beautiful turn of the century photographs of morocco, which is reason to go in itself. We were surprised to find that the small cafe upstairs served (what we thought was) the best chicken tagine in Marrakech. I literally had a dream about eating it a few nights ago.
Love this post! It made me so happy to see you listed the “egg sandwich” from Jemaa el Fna as one of your favorite things to eat. My fiance (who’s originally from Marrakech) and his friends there make fun of me for loving their “cheap egg sandwich” so much that I always get one when I visit.
Can you / did you use the hammam while pregnant?
I did! But whether one does is definitely a personal choice.
What gorgeous photos you have! We visited Marrakech a few weeks ago, and I definitely agree with your tips on what to eat and acquire. We came home with a gorgeous rug and bellies full of food from Nomad, Le Jardin, private dining at our riad and some delicious street food (which is sadly often overlooked in this city in favour of the restaurants)
Having just returned from Marrakech last week and still dreaming about it, it was wonderful to stumble upon your blog. Your pictures are fantastic and just make me want to return to this beautiful place.
A few recommendations which we enjoyed whilst there last week:
– Un déjeuner a Marrakech – A modern, relaxing restaurant with a really calm atmosphere. Amazing views from the roof terrace and really lovely staff. A mix of modern and traditional dishes.
– Roti D’or – Mexican style food, extremely cheap but really tasty too. Definitely recommend the mojito
– Amal Center – Located in the new town. The service was great and the food was delicious! We had a selection of dishes and enjoyed them all. The price is also great. They also offer cooking classes and the best thing about this place is that they train disadvantaged woman in culinary skills so they can better support themselves.
– Kech Burger- Amazing burgers, chips and sauces!
Hi! Excellent writing and, if I may say so, even better photography! Marrakesh is indeed a city that stays in our hearts forever, and one I hope to visit again soon. Please find my (much shorter) take on this city in http://borntowanderlust.com/travel/marrakesh-a-portal-to-another-culture/. Thank you!
I LOVE the mood of your photos. Absolutely stunning. I’m headed to Morocco for the first time in November. This guide was just what I needed!
Awesome! Check back when it’s updated—I’m heading there this weekend to solidify a few new favorite choices like Riad UP and Rida Yasmine as other great places to stay, a few hard to find eats I *hope* to be able to pin to a map, etc.
Just curious which (if any) of your Lightroom preset package you used on these?! Thank you dearly. I
My lightroom travel collection was used on these!
Hi Beth! I’m interested in purchasing your Lightroom presets, but wanted to know if you used any of them to edit the pictures in this post. If so, do you happen to remember which ones? They’re so lovely. Thank you!
I used my travel collection to edit the photos in this post!
Hi Beth,
I love all your tips and photos. I am traveling to Morocco the end of this month and reading your post definitely helped me. I was curious what camera do you use when traveling? I have a DSLR Nikon but do not want to travel around with something so big. Is there a smaller camera you use and/or would recommend I look into?
Thanks so much!
Best,
Natasha
Hey Natasha,
Great questions! Try a Sony A7II. It’s a full frame mirrorless. If that’s too pricy, I’d research a ASP-C crop sensor mirrorless cameras and see which looked best, as those will be cheaper than a full frame. Best of luck!
This post is really helpful for me. Thanks for sharing
Which Riad would you recommend the most today after traveling so many times to Marrakech?
Love the guide and will finally go there in February…