Four days to see the great imperial cities of the north without giving them two weeks. The circuit leaves Marrakech, heads up to the Atlantic at Casablanca, then follows the coast and the interior through Rabat and Meknes before stopping two nights in Fes. The return runs through the mountains, across the Middle Atlas.
The second day is the densest: it takes in three cities. Casablanca in the morning, with the Boulevard de la Corniche and the Hassan II Mosque; then Rabat, for the royal palace, the Kasbah of the Udayas, the Hassan Tower and the Mohammed V mausoleum; and finally Meknes, its ramparts, the Bab el-Mansour gate and the mausoleum of Moulay Ismail. Arrival in Fes in the evening.
The third day belongs entirely to Fes, with a local guide: the medina of Fes el-Bali, a World Heritage site, the al-Qarawiyyin university, the historic madrasas, the Chouara tanneries and the workshops of wood, pottery and textiles.
The fourth day takes the mountain road: Ifrane, nicknamed Morocco's little Switzerland, then the Middle Atlas villages and Khenifra, before dropping back through Beni Mellal to Marrakech. Accommodation is half board, one night in Casablanca and two in Fes.
