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Morocco is really so close to Europe, but a vacation of only a few days seems like a real voyage. Pascal and Véronique Béherec have always seen their ideas through to the end. The hoteliers fell in love with Marrakech and, over one weekend, bought what would become the Villa des Orangers. A weekend that changed their lives. "Our lives completely changed over one weekend in 1998. We had come to Marrakech to celebrate the acquisition of a hotel near Aix en Provence and discovered this riad in the heart of the city. My wife had spent some of her childhood in Northern Morocco, but I was just discovering Marrakech for the first time. Curiously and perhaps a little casually, we asked our guide to take us to a riad, and the rest is history: we sold both of the establishments we had in Paris and moved to Marrakech!"
To give you inspiration, Relais & Châteaux presents the Routes du Bonheur: suggestions for travel itineraries that you can fully personalise according to your wishes and the experiences you would like to discover. Our consultants are available to help customise your route and assist you in making reservations at our properties. It is up to you to reserve any recommended activities on-site or nearby that might interest you.
*Total price provided for information only, based on accommodation for two people in a double room for the number of nights per property as indicated on this page, exclusive of recommended activities, properties that cannot be reserved online and restaurants.
Hotel and restaurant in town. In the heart of the Art Deco district of Casablanca, Le Doge is a gem of a hotel, where authenticity and sophistication are key. Legend has it that it was an Italian entrepreneur who gifted this little gem to his wife, who he met in Morocco. The building’s 30s architecture is carried through in the interior décor and the conservation of central period elements. Le Jasmine restaurant’s traditional Moroccan cuisine will delight all the senses. Much like the Petit Spa that offers treatments and rituals in the purest oriental tradition: steam baths with eucalyptus, argan oil massages and hammam all contribute to the relaxing well-being experience on offer in the heart of the ‘White City’.
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Hotel and restaurant in town. A subtle mix of Andalusian sumptuousness and Moroccan art de vivre, the Riad Fès reflects its prestigious past and the refined civilisation to which it belongs. This majestic palace is an authentic example of Hispanic-Moorish architecture, boasting four harmoniously styled patios, sculpted doors and zelliges on the walls, stucco arcades and marble basins. It offers panoramic views of the magical spectacle of the sun rising over the Fès Medina, and the Atlas mountains. Hammams and massages, fountains, smoking-rooms, sophisticated cuisine and a trendy lounge bar: this is a world where traditions and contemporary conveniences combine delightfully.
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And what if the greatest pleasure of Fes was wandering and losing yourself in its medina? Founded in 808, this incredible labyrinth still stretches over 200 hectares. We can count around a hundred palaces and some 2,500 houses belonging to persons of note. In juxtaposition to these sumptuous palaces made from wood and zellige tiles, the population teems through the alleyways dominated by hundreds of single storey dwellings, mosques and secret gardens…
Listening to the Festival of World Sacred Music, Fes
Created in 1994, the Festival of World Sacred Music in Fes is unmissable. Joan Baez, Patti Smith, Björk, Ben Harper, Paco de Lucia, Ravi Shankar, Barbara Hendricks and Salif Keita have all come to sing on one of the stages in the town. For overa week, between May and June, the performances continue between the Bab Makina square, the JnanSbil garden and the hidden riads of the medina…
Hotel and restaurant in a park. The intoxicating fragrance of the herb garden and fig and olive orchards wafts through the air of the magical Ksar Char-Bagh, a Moorish palace nestling in the palm grove of Marrakech, just ten minutes from the Medina. The gentle rushing of the water irrigating the gardens reaches your harim, a small private suite overlooking a terrace or a private garden. Guests may eat their meals where the fancy takes them: the French chef uses vegetables from the palace cottage garden. A huge red marble hammam, strolls in the gardens, orchard or around the farm, and a cigar cellar, smoking lounge and library bar add the final touches to this Moroccan paradise.
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Hotel and restaurant in town. Véronique and Pascal Beherec have used the best of Moroccan craftsmanship to decorate this palace, which is full of fine fabrics, sofas, and pillowcases embroidered with gold thread. The moment you arrive, you know you are in for a real treat. The private Riad suite has its own swimming pool and patio, and you can sip mint tea and nibble Moroccan delicacies. With a big garden and patios full of plants, a massage rooms and a Nuxe beauty salon, a restaurant that blends French, Mediterranean and Moroccan influences, a cigar cellar, and three pools, including two which are heated during the season and one on the roof overlooking the Koutoubia and the Atlas mountains, you will be left wondering what more you could wish for.
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Home of the finest buckskin and leather babouches, this boutique also has gorgeous linen djellabas and beautiful traditional embroidery designed by Abdelali Chabi. Located at 10 Souk Semmarine, once the souk for branding irons.
Mustapha Blaoui’s boutique
The type of place where you might poke your head in the door and end up coming out with armfuls of tableware, mirrors, lanterns and wool carpets. Antique dealer, second hand goods salesman and furniture importer, Mr. Blaoui is one of the most remarkable people in the city. Hidden away in the medina at 142-144 Rue Bab Doukkala, his boutique is a true Ali Baba’s cave with his own touch.
Jemâa el-Fna square
A place of spectacle where you will see at least two performances. By day, Jemâa el-Fna square is home to dried fruit vendors, barbers and shoe shiners. The square attracts fortune-tellers, jugglers, snake charmers, water vendors and henna artists, who share the space with the ephemeral food stalls that appear at night. Savour cumin escargots or chicken kebabs while Gnawa music floats around the square. My favourite time is right in between the two performances, at dusk, when the square is transformed and Marrakchis and tourists flow into the centre of the city and into another world.
33 rue Majorelle
Rue Majorelle, running along the famous Jardin Majorelle, was renamed Rue Yves Saint Laurent in late 2010. Whether by design or not, fashion boutiques sprung up one after the next. 33 Rue Majorelle was established as a premiere locale on the street, a kind of marrakchie Colette that brings together approximately thirty truly creative designers. Today, the boutique is one of the hippest in the city.
Yahya Création
More artist than artisan, Yahya is one of Morocco’s most important copperware producers. His showroom on Rue de Yugoslavie is full of mirrors, light fixtures and various decorative objects that combine elements of Middle Eastern tradition with modern creation. Reinventing steel, bronze and copper, Yahya is master metalworker with an international reputation.
Fabrics and embroidery
A creation of Caroline and Laurence Hamille, Chez Zoé is primarily a linen workshop that also produces embroidered tablecloths and bed and spa linens. Their creations are carefully crafted, with half of the workers embroidering in the workshop by hand. Chez Zoé has also recently opened a small boutique in the heart of Mamounia. Not far from the workshop, in Sidi Ghanem, you will find the showroom of prolific designer Florence Teillet, who creates beautiful fabrics using silk, hemp and the finest cotton.
Gardens of the Koutoubia Mosque, Marrakesh
Beneath the famous 12th century Hispanic-Moorish minaret which was the model for Seville’s Giralda, the largest mosque in Marrakesh can hold nearly 20,000 worshippers. Only accessible by Muslims, you can nevertheless walk through the rich gardens and imagine the ancient souk that traded in manuscripts here. Kotoubia still means “Mosque of the Booksellers” …
On the route
Kasbah Aït Ben Haddou
What do Lawrence of Arabia (1962), The Last Temptation of Christ (1988) and Gladiator (2000) have in common? These three Oscar-winning films are among those filmed in Aït-Ben-Haddou. This gorgeous ksar, located on the road linking the Sahara to the city of Marrakech, was once a haven for passing caravans. On UNESCO’s World Heritage List, it is one of the most beautiful Kasbahs in the Maghreb.
Film studios in Ouarzazate
More cinema: during the first half of the 1950s, Jacques Becker filmed Ali Baba et les 40 voleurs in the area around Ouarzazate. Since then, the city has hosted some of the world’s biggest filmmakers, providing exceptional light, rare landscapes and an energetic and available local workforce. The establishment of film studios enabled the development and organization of filmmaking. Located at the entrance to the city, Atlas Studios is open for visits when filming is not underway.
A walk around Telouet
Telouet is a small village, the old fief of the Glaoui of Marrakech. Caravans passing by were required to give up rights of passage on the road to Marrakech. In ruins today, his old Kasbah reminds us of the rich history of the locale. Inside, the giant Bahia Palace, with its patios and gardens, remains a peaceful haven and a masterpiece of local architecture.
Hotel and restaurant on the seafront. This palace of marvels lies in the heart of Essaouira, a mysterious and spiritual place loved by artists and adventurers alike. L’Heure Bleue Palais has succeeded in preserving the character of a traditional Moroccan house and the hospitality cherished by this country. At the crossroads of African, Moorish, Portuguese, English and oriental influences, the rooms and suites are located around the patio, where a fountain sings and the heart of the Riad beats. The traditional hamman is the perfect place to relax, the panoramic outdoor pool on the terrace overlooks the medina and the ocean, and the cuisine is a subtle blend of French and Moroccan influences.
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Kite surfers are passionate when they speak about Essaouira, an annual stop on the World Tour. The bay is protected from offshore swells and has a long coastline to the north and good waves to the south for jumps and surf. The wind is stronger than force 4 almost twenty-three days per month, and the water temperature is consistently between 19 and 22 °C. The best company for kite surfing is UCPA, whose headquarters are located on the beach.
Argan oil cooperatives
There are several argan oil cooperatives between Essaouira and Tamanar, on the road to Agadir. Benefitting from an exceptional microclimate, the region is the only one on the planet where argania trees can be grown. Argan oil has a hazelnut aroma and is renowned for its nutritional benefits and its cosmetic properties, and is increasingly in demand around the world. Kaouiki and ASSAISS are two women-run cooperatives where you can learn about the oil and taste it at each step of production.
The Port and the daily catch
Established by the Carthaginians in 500 BC, Essaouira was conquered by the Romans and for a long time thereafter served as a consistent location for the extraction of purple pigment. The port is one of the last remaining shipbuilding yards, producing wooden fishing trawlers. I encourage you to go and see the daily catch, which come in at approximately 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., depending on the weather. Taste fish fresh from the nets and cooked over fire baskets at the end of the pier.
The enchanting Gnaoua Festival
Organised since 1998, a visit to the Gnaoua Festival on the last weekend of June is a must. In almost 20 years, it has become established as one of North Africa’s main festivals. The sounds of the grand masters of gnawa music continue here, honouring the former slaves who were freed. The programme contains: open-air concerts by local groups, World music and US jazz (Marcus Miller, Maceo Parker, Ibrahim Maalouf, etc.) under the great gates of the medina. Party atmosphere and feverish dancing...
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