14 Best Sights in Morocco

If you want a little breath taken out of you, don't pass up the chance to see this extraordinarily well-preserved 16th-century Koranic school, North Africa's largest such institution. The delicate intricacy of the gibs (stucco plasterwork), carved cedar, and zellij (mosaic) on display in the central courtyard makes the building seem to loom taller than it really does. As many as 900 students from Muslim countries all over the world once studied here, and arranged around the courtyard are their former sleeping quarters—a network of tiny upper-level rooms that resemble monks' cells. The building was erected in the 14th century by the Merenids in a somewhat different style from that of other medersas; later, in the 16th century, Sultan Abdullah el Ghallib rebuilt it almost completely, adding the Andalusian details. The large main courtyard, framed by two columned arcades, opens into a prayer hall elaborately decorated with rare palm motifs as well as the more-customary Islamic calligraphy. The Koranic school closed in 1960, but the building was restored and opened to the public in 1982. In 2018 the building closed for further restoration and is expected to reopen in 2022.

Yacoub el Mansour built Marrakesh's towering Moorish mosque on the site of the original 11th-century Almoravid mosque. Dating from the early 12th century, it became a model for the Hassan Tower in Rabat and the Giralda in Seville. The mosque takes its name from the Arabic word for book, koutoub, because there was once a large booksellers' market nearby. The minaret is topped by three golden orbs, which, according to one local legend, were offered by the mother of the Saadian sultan Ahmed el Mansour Edhabi in penance for fasting days she missed during Ramadan. The mosque has a large plaza, walkways, and gardens, as well as floodlights to illuminate its curved windows, a band of ceramic inlay, pointed merlons (ornamental edgings), and various decorative arches. Although non-Muslims may not enter, anyone within earshot will be moved by the power of the evening muezzin call.

Turn left around the corner of the Great Mosque, and you'll see on your right the Abou el Hassan Medersa. Built by the Merenid sultan of that name in the 14th century, it's a fine example of the traditional Koranic school. Like the Bou Inania in Fez or the Ben Youssef in Marrakesh, this madrassa has beautiful intricate plasterwork around its central courtyard, and a fine mihrab (prayer niche) with a ceiling carved in an interlocking geometrical pattern representing the cosmos. Upstairs, on the second and third floors, you can visit the little cells where the students used to sleep, and from the roof you can see the entire city.

Diagonally across from Bab Sedra, across Avenue Moulay Rachid and with the hospital on your right, is the Dar Baroud, once a French ammunition-storage facility. This high-walled building is closed to the public—and is locally rumored to be haunted—but stand back on the sidewalk opposite and you can admire its delicate carved stone walls from the exterior.

At the end of the 12th century, Yacoub al Mansour—fourth monarch of the Almohad dynasty and grandson of Abd al Mu'min, who founded Rabat—planned a great mosque. Intended to be the largest in the Muslim world, the project was abandoned with the death of al Mansour in 1199. A further blow to the site occurred with the strong tremors of the 1755 Lisbon earthquake, and this tower is the only significant remnant of al Mansour's dream. A few columns remain in the mosque's great rectangular courtyard, but the great tower was never even completed (which is why it looks too short for its base). Note the quality of the craftsmanship in the carved-stone and mosaic decorations at the top of the tower. From the base there is a fine view over the river. Locals come here at dawn to have their wedding photos taken.

Once a Glaoui palace, the Kasbah Taourirt is the oldest and finest building in Ouarzazate. This rambling edifice was built of pisé (a sun-dried mixture of mud and clay) in the late 19th century by the so-called Lords of the Atlas.

It is worth hiring a guide at the entrance to take you around for about 100 DH.

Just off the beach about 28 km (17 miles) south of Oualidia, the koubba of an unnamed saint is built on a rock in such a way that it's only accessible at low tide. Some of the cliffs here are truly magnificent, reminiscent of the Atlantic coast of Ireland.

The truncated pyramidal towers and bastions of the Ksar Igdâoun are visible 15 km (9 miles) past the turnoff onto Route 6956/R108 to Tazzarine. There used to be three gates to the ksar: one for Jews; one for other people who lived nearby; and one for the local governor.

Built in the 1980s by King Hassan II in honor of his granddaughter, this mosque is proof that the tradition of Moorish architecture that produced the Court of Lions in Granada's Alhambra is alive and well. Notice the exquisite sandstone work on the walkways surrounding the mosque, and look up at the colorfully painted geometric designs on the ceilings. The mosque is surrounded by immaculately kept gardens. Non-Muslims may not enter, but there's plenty to admire from outside.

The photogenic Portuguese cistern is where water was stored when El Jadida was still the fortress of Mazagan (some say it originally stored arms). A small amount of water remains, illuminated by a single shaft of light, reflecting the cistern's gorgeous Gothic arches, a stunning effect. According to local legend, this massive spot wasn't rediscovered until 1916, when a Moroccan Jew stumbled on it in the process of enlarging his shop—whereupon water started gushing in.

Newly renovated and open to the public for the first time in 2021, this is the city's oldest monument and the only intact example of Almoravid architecture in all of Morocco (the few other ruins include some walls here in Marrakesh and a minaret in El Jadida). Dating from the 12th century, this masterpiece of mechanical waterworks somehow escaped destruction by the Almohads. It was once used for ablutions before prayer in the next-door Ali ben Youssef Mosque (relying on the revolutionary hydraulics of khatteras, drainage systems dug down into the water table), and also had a system of toilets, showers, and faucets for drinking water. It was only excavated from the rubble of the original Ali ben Youssef Mosque and Medersa in 1948.

The medina's amazingly well-preserved walls measure about 33 feet high and 7 feet thick, and are 15 km (9 miles) in circumference. The walls are fashioned from local reddish ocher clay laid in huge blocks. The holes that are visible on the exterior surface are typical of this style of construction, marking where wooden scaffold supports have been inserted as each level is added. Until the early 20th century, before the French protectorate, the gates were closed at night to prevent anyone who didn't live in Marrakesh from entering. Eight of the 14 original babs (arched entry gates) leading in and out of the medina are still in use. Bab Agnaou, in the kasbah, is the loveliest and best preserved of the arches.

The best time to visit the walls is just before sunset, when the swallows that nest in the ramparts' holes come out to take their evening meal. 

Also known as the Bastion Bab Marrakech, the South Bastion is a carefully restored element of the original fortified medina walls. Managed by the local Delegation of the Culture Ministry, it is open to the public when exhibitions and events take place, like the annual Gnaoua and World Music Festival. The flat roof offers a view over the rooftops to the beach and is often the backdrop to concerts and other performances. The area in front of the bastion (now a parking lot) was the site of the town's original Muslim cemetery.

Close to the Great Mosque (Djemâa Kabir) and the Abou el Hassan Merenid Medersa is the zaouia---a shrine to a Muslim saint of the Tijani order, a mystical Sufi sect founded by Shaykh Ahmad al-Tijani (1739–1815).