There’s more to Morocco than Marrakesh

Forget the well-trodden route south. Morocco’s north offers something altogether different. Tangier’s old-world glamour, the wild Atlantic coast and a new kind of luxury rooted in place.

For most travellers, Morocco begins and ends with Marrakech. And while we’ll never tire of its terracotta walls and hidden riads, look north and there’s another Morocco waiting. Greener, wilder and refreshingly under-the-radar.

Start in Tangier, a city that has always existed slightly between worlds. Perched where the Mediterranean meets the Atlantic, it has drawn writers, artists and wanderers. There’s a faded glamour to its whitewashed streets and sea-facing cafés, but a new energy too, and two very different places to stay depending on how you want to experience it.

For full-scale glamour, choose Fairmont Tazi Palace Tangier. Set away from the bustle of the Medina in the hills above the city, this is Tangier on a grander scale, with several restaurants, a vast pool, beautiful interiors and the kind of space that makes returning after a day exploring feel like a retreat in itself. It’s the choice for those who want Tangier, but with all the trappings of a proper resort.

Or go in the opposite direction.

Villa Mabrouka, once the home of Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Bergé, feels more like being let in on a secret. Intimate, secluded and surrounded by extraordinary gardens, it sits close to the Medina yet feels completely removed from it. There are just a handful of rooms, hidden corners beneath the palms and views towards Gibraltar. This is the Tangier of long lunches, books beside the pool and nowhere particularly urgent to be.

But the journey shouldn’t stop here.

Continue south along the Atlantic coast to Larache, where La Fiermontina Ocean offers perhaps the most compelling reason to venture beyond Morocco’s familiar circuit. This is less a conventional hotel and rather an eco-community immersed in the landscape. Built alongside local villages and surrounded by protected countryside, La Fiermontina connects its guests with the people who have lived here for generations. Mornings might begin with breakfast in a village home and afternoons with walks through olive groves or down towards the Atlantic.

And then there’s the beach. Five miles of virtually untouched sand stretch along the coast below, backed by cliffs and open countryside, with barely another person in sight. It feels wonderfully removed from the Morocco most visitors know. Raw and deeply peaceful.

Marrakech will always have its magic. But perhaps the most exciting Morocco right now is the one that lies beyond it.