Spice, Smoke & Skyline: A Marrakech Food Weekend

Drop your bags at your riad in the medina and let the narrow alleys and the smell of orange blossom do the work of arrival. A cool drink in the courtyard before you head out is non-negotiable.

Orient yourself at the city's most recognisable landmark. The 12th-century minaret rises 70 metres above the palm gardens at the edge of the medina, and the surrounding gardens are the perfect place to get your bearings before plunging into the souks.

A rooftop terrace perched above the spice souk — this is exactly the right place to ease into the weekend. Classic Moroccan plates arrive against a panorama of medina rooftops, with the scent of cumin and coriander drifting up from the market stalls below.

A short walk from the spice souk, this 14th-century Islamic college is one of the most ornate buildings in North Africa. Intricate zellige tilework, carved stucco, and a central pool that reflects the carved cedar ceiling — take your time in the courtyard.

As the light turns amber, the great square shifts gear. Snake charmers give way to rows of smoke-billowing food stalls — grilled merguez, harira soup, fresh-squeezed orange juice, sheep's heads if you're brave. This is the street food heart of the city and there is no better time to eat your way through it.

End the first day high above the medina at Le Salama's sky bar. The rooftop looks straight out over Jemaa el-Fnaa — the square glows below while you sip something cold. Stay for dinner if the mood takes you; the kitchen runs late into the night.

Take breakfast in your riad courtyard or at one of the small café terraces around the medina. A glass of sweet Moroccan mint tea and msemen flatbread is the perfect, unhurried start.

Sealed for two centuries and rediscovered in 1917, these royal tombs from the Saadian dynasty are among the most atmospheric sites in the medina. The Hall of Twelve Columns is a masterpiece of carved plaster and gold leaf — arrive early to have it largely to yourself.

Five minutes on foot from the Saadian Tombs, the ruined 16th-century palace of Sultan Ahmed al-Mansour gives you a vivid sense of lost grandeur. Storks nest on the crumbling ramparts, orange trees grow in the sunken courtyard, and the scale of the place is genuinely astonishing.

A beautifully restored 17th-century riad turned restaurant, Dar Zellij is the place to sit down to a proper Moroccan lunch — bastilla, slow-cooked tagines, and pastilla au lait for dessert. The tiled courtyard and carved wooden ceilings make the food taste even better.

A 19th-century palace built to be the greatest of its age, Bahia rewards a proper wander through its sequence of painted apartments, zouak-ceilinged reception halls and garden courtyards. The scale of ambition — and the craftsmanship — is remarkable.

A fitting finale to the weekend. Comptoir Darna is equal parts restaurant and spectacle — Moroccan and international dishes arrive alongside live music and a stage show that keeps going well into the evening. Dress up a little, order the lamb, and let the night run.