Winter Wonderland

Hyde Park Winter Wonderland, London

When the days are getting shorter and colder, a part of Hyde Park close to Speakers’ Corner turns into the Hyde Park Winter Wonderland – a crazy mix of a Christmas market, the Oktoberfest and a fun fair. Winter Wonderland began at London in 2005 and was ever-growing since then (if you ignore the Covid-19 times). It combines good music, festive lights, fun rides and overpriced food and drinks. A funny adventure letting you taste unexpected food creations and experience the joy of amusement parks.

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Marrakech-Ménara

Aéroport Marrakech-Ménara, Marrakech

The international airport of Marrakech (RAK) is located at the city quarter Ménara pretty close to the modern part of the city. It was opened 1942 as an airbase of the United States (like most airports at Morocco) and transports 2.5 million passengers each year with its one runway. That is just a third of the volume of the airport of the economic powerhouse, Casablanca. The modern airport building is connected via busses to the city, but because of the short distance also fixed-price taxis are a very valid option.

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Paradise of Silence

Riad Paradise of Silence, Aït-Ben-Haddou

Visiting the old Ksar of Äit-Ben-Haddou is a unique pleasure, but the rest of the city is just a collection of restaurants and houses on the opposite side of the river. Most people get there just for some hours and then travel further on. But where to stay if you want to spend a night in the city? On a hill above the city you’ll find the Riad Paradise of Silence, a wonderful guesthouse optimized for that.

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Riad Khabia

Riad Khabia, Marrakech

The Medina of Marrakech is a place full of hustle and bustle. Good if you’ve got a Riad booked that serves you as a calm and quite place for the night. The Riad Khabia is located in a derb close to Rue Berrima in the South of the Medina. It feels a bit hidden but it is very good to reach and has nice rooms, very friendly staff and a good roof terrace with great views. But the best reason to book here is the location: you can walk to most of the important places easily.

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Tannery

Tannery Chouara, Fès

The classic cover picture of guidebooks about Morocco is the Tannerie Chouara, hidden in the Medina of Fès. As it is a rather dirty and smelly craft, the tannery is located in the outer part of the old city close to the river. The skins of various animals are first bleached here in basins and later colored in the same way. If you arrive on the right day you can see many craftsmen working between multi-color water basis. The tannery is organized as a collective, many different people work in the same space and various shops surrounding it sell the products.

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Riad Nazha

Riad Nazha, Fès

The Medina of Fès is car-free and therefore having a Riad close to a city gate or road around is a pure necessity. A good option is the Riad Nazha located in the southern, lower part of the city center. The guesthouse is like a palace and it has a wonderful roof terrace with great views on the Borj Sud fortification. And like always in Morocco you can’t see the beauty of this place from the outside – once you’ve found the door after walking between high houses without decorations an unexpected world opens up.

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Villes impériales

Scheme of a Ville Imperiale, Meknès

When people visit Morocco, they typically visit the four villes impériales: Fès, Meknès, Marrakech and Rabat. These four have been capital cities throughout time for different dynasties of rulers: Idrisids (Fès), Almoravids (Marrakech), Almohads (Marrakech), Marinids (Fès), Saadis (Marrakech, Fès) and Alaouites (Fès, Meknès, Rabat). They shaped their favorite cities, contributed new buildings to them and left their traces.

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Riad Yacout

Riad Yacout, Meknès

When visiting Meknès, the Riad Yacout is a good option for staying overnight. It is not only located directly between the mausoleum of Moulay Ismaïl and the Medina, it is also close to the Bab Mansour city gate and the place Lahdim. Furthermore its entrance is facing the Place Lalla Aouda, a large parking area that can be easily reached by taxi from the train station. What I absolutely enjoyed is the amazing roof terrace of the Riad, giving you great views on the city and the minaret of the mosque being part of the mausoleum.

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Riad Zyo

Riad Zyo, Rabat

Once you reach the medina of Rabat you’ll see that it is entirely surrounded by an ancient city wall. The streets within are mostly traffic-free (with the exception of the Avenue Laalou passing between medina and necropolis), which gives you a nice experience while walking through the old town but also challenges you with the question of how to reach your guesthouse. The Riad Zyo is pretty easy to recht: after passing the Bab Laalou you only need to walk some meters on the Avenue Mohammad V and then turn right into the Rue Moreno. A small plaque at the wall will signal you that you’ve reached your destination.

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Kenzi Basma

Kenzi Basma Hotel, Casablanca

Casablanca is the economic powerhouse of Morocco and its medina has unfortunately been destroyed by the earthquake of Lisboa in 1755. It feels acceptable to in this case not aim for a classic guesthouse but to check-in at a plain vanilla hotel. The Hotel Kenzi Basma is located at the Boulevard Hassan I between the medina and the Place Mohammed V with its administrational buildings. From the hotel main entrance it is easy to reach the central Place des Nations-Unies and to access the tramway network.

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