The Woman's Kind of Trip - Marrakech Tips and Ideas

Visit Marrakech for its grandeur and imperial glamour. For the hubbub in the Medina and the deliciousness of the food. Make time to sit and enjoy the Moroccan tea and splurge buying multicoloured interior furnishings for your home. And yet, my Marrakech tips involve more ways to ways to make your trip a very personal and unforgettable experience. Follow along!

There is no more magical Moroccan city than Marrakech. No other place can compete with its voluptuous red and sophisticated atmosphere. But how you can make your trip to the imperial city remarkable and unforgettable? This Marrakech for women article will give you ideas for original and women-friendly activities to help you enjoy the city in its full potential.

Except for the popular tourist sites, there are other places in the Red city that will make you feel satisfied in two ways. The first way is to experience the less known and the other to participate in charity activities while you experience the authentic Moroccan flavours.

MARRAKECH TIPS FOR WOMEN

Marrakech Food Tours

Several things make Morocco unique – the food, its amazing red-coloured landscapes, the original architecture of the riads and kasbah, and the warm hospitality of its people. To fully understand and feel this hospitality, you should taste as much as possible of the traditional food of the country.

It is unnecessary to say that Moroccan food owes its delicious taste to the locally produced ingredients. Agriculture is the prime nature of the Moroccan people. I was amazed by how they succeed to make from a sometimes poor and rocky land a productive and rich in vegetables and fruits country. The simple agricultural technologies they use to make their food rich in taste and beneficial for human health substances.

Take Cooking Classes While Visiting Marrakech

The Amal Non-profit organization was created by Nora Fitzgerald Belahcen because she wanted to help Moroccan women from disadvantaged backgrounds. Widows, divorced or single mothers, women with little or no education and orphans get restaurant training. This helps them to get job placements and become eventually economically and socially independent.

Visiting the restaurant will give you an easy way to get familiar with the local people and customs and of course the food. But as learning by doing is the best way to stamp your knowledge forever into your brain, I suggest you take some of the cooking classes Amal Non-profit offers. If that’s not enough to make you consider taking part in these classes, imagine the fun you will have cooking together with local girls and women! At the end of the class, you will not only know how to cook some of the delights of the Moroccan cuisine but will also have new friends. Visit Marrakech and learn new skills that you can bring back home with you and share with friends and family!

>> If you enjoy learning cooking local food, check these cooking classes around the world!

(You Must!) Stay at Moroccan Riad

I had the chance to stay at two riads (Moroccan guesthouses) and one kasbah (fortified building). Additionally, I had nights in hotels as well. But to be honest, even if they were pretty good hotels, I don’t remember much about them. It’s because hotels can’t beat the amazing, homey and hospitable atmosphere of the traditional houses in Morocco. And like everywhere in the world, the privately-owned accommodations offer more personalized service; a personal contact that you can’t have in large scale hotels.

My favourite riad so far is Riad Zayane in Marrakesh. But there are plenty of others that will give you the sense of being in a fairy tale. The real life stays behind the thick wooden doors of the riad and all you can focus on is to relax and enjoy the present moment.

The kasbah where I have stayed was nearby the city of Ouarzazate, wherein the Atlas Film Studios the part of Gladiator movie was made. Kasbah Zitoune is owned by a sympathetic couple and offers a little bit rustic setting but this is the real Morocco – close to the soil and the land.

One of my Marrakech tips for you is – choose to stay at Kasbah and riads!

Visit the Medina

The medinas (the old cities) in each of the bigger Moroccan cities are interesting places to visit. But the medina in the Imperial City of Morocco (in addition to other astonishing places to visit in Marrakesh) is something special. First and foremost, beware that its streets are a maze – you can’t find your way alone! At least you can’t find it the first time. After someone local shows you the way, you will be fine. Before that, you may need to pay a small amount to a local to bring you directly to your guest house.

As for the walks and the shopping – the medina is the best to do this in Marrakech. Be careful but get lost on its streets. Stay on the main streets were it is full of people but try to explore as much as you can of this bubbling with life and trade heart of the city.

In the medina, you will see the abundance of locally produced food, will learn to bargain and will be able to find original handmade gifts… It’s not the most beautiful part of Marrakesh but for sure is the most real one.

Visiting the medina as a woman raises some concerns. I don’t say it is dangerous to visit it alone, but you should be alert. Read Visiting Morocco as a Female Traveller.