Casablanca
Morocco’s largest city and commercial capital is best known as the namesake of the Humphrey Bogart-Ingrid Bergman classic, even though the 1942 movie was actually filmed on a Hollywood sound stage. Visit the Hassan II Mosque, one of the world’s largest mosques. It can hold 25,000 people and is one of the few mosques in the country that can be entered by non-Muslims.
Stay: Dar Itrit is a 1980s villa converted into a beautifully decorated hotel.
Eat: Rick’s Café recreates the legend of the classic movie café in true 1940s nostalgia, with Casablanca playing continuously on its first floor, of course.
The Desert
The desert: Auberge Kasbah Derkaoua is not part of the cluster of hotels near the Erg Chebbi dunes, but the beauty of the former Sufi retreat is worth the drive. Austere rooms surround a tree-filled courtyard with a welcoming azure pool. It also offers camel trips and a stay at its lush Berber carpet-strewn desert camp.
Fez
Until the French moved Morocco’s capital to Rabat, Fez was the heart of Morocco, reaching its peak in the 13th century. Wander the narrow streets of the car-free, donkey-rich medina and feel as if you’ve been transported back in time.
Stay: Fez is big and complicated, but one way to fully experience the city, as well as enjoy classic Moroccan hospitality, is to check in at the Riad Alkantara, a gorgeous complex of guesthouses fully restored by Fez artist-turned-hotelier Abdelfettah Seffar. Mohammed “Momo” Bouftila (212 661 256 291), Seffar’s childhood friend, is one of the city’s foremost guides. He was born in Fez’s medina and knows his town and its history backward and forward, plus he’s friendly with everyone from the king’s saddle maker and his embroiderer to the city’s best shops and artisans.
Marrakesh
It’s easy to see from the peachy red walls surrounding Marrakesh how it came by its nickname, the “Red City.” A newer nickname is the “Capital of Chic,” a title it richly deserves. Millionaires and artists have been flocking to Marrakesh since the 1920s. In those days, it was Rita Hayworth and Charlie Chaplin; then it was the Rolling Stones and Jimi Hendrix. Now it’s Elton John and Jennifer Aniston. In contrast to Fez’s medieval splendor and traditional ways, Marrakesh feels faster and more contemporary. Besides the Djemaa El Fna, which is unavoidable, visit the Ben Youssef Medersa Quranic learning center, a complex so beautiful that it is almost painful.
Stay: The country’s love affair with riads—garden-courtyard family compounds that have been converted to guesthouses—started here, and there are dozens from which to choose. In you don’t book La Mamounia, Palais Sebban is a former private palace with all the trappings; some rooms even have huge medieval locks and keys for the door. American writer Peggy Ward Engh owns the primely-located Riad Amirat Al Jamal as well as Morocco Custom Travel, which offers custom desert tours.
Eat: Cafe Arabe, with its rooftop terrace, is a great place to hang in the medina. For tajine-weary diners, it also offers Italian food.
Rabat
The seaside capital of Morocco is a beauty, with its wide streets and colonial buildings. However, Rabat also has some of the most historic architecture in the country. The ruins at Chellah date back to settlements established by Carthaginian and Phoenician traders, then later by the Romans. Hassan Tower’s vast minaret can be seen from many points in the city; it is next to the Mohammed V Mausoleum, a pair of jewel box pavilions that are the burial sites of the current king’s father, grandfather and uncle. The whole complex is protected by elaborately costumed royal guards.
Stay: The exquisitely furnished Villa Mandarine is a family estate turned luxury hotel near the Ville Nouvelle. Peacocks wander among the art-filled gardens, and each room is a masterpiece of design and decoration.
Tangier
Tangier’s colliding cultures, teaming street life and strong whiff of danger and intrigue have been immortalized on film and in literature by the likes of Paul Bowles (The Sheltering Sky) and William S. Burroughs (Naked Lunch). The medina, built inside the walls of a 15th-century Portuguese fortress, holds a bonanza of tourist treasures for those coming over on the day boat.
Stay: La Tangerina is a beautifully renovated 10-room riad at the top of the kasbah, each room with specialized Moroccan décor.
Eat: For good, inexpensive Moroccan food, try the courtyard café of the Darna Women’s Community Center.