If your desires for Morocco bloom with the sunny days, spring is the right time to pick them! The light still pure at the end of winter brings out the incredible nuances of a nature in full renewal, and the sun, already present, is as soft as a flight of swallow. The perfect season to find the new museums of confidential medinas, smell the scents of bewitching gardens, tread the sand of the desert or the paths of the mountain pastures and treat yourself to summer pleasures before the hour by the sea ... From the Mediterranean to the Atlantic Ocean via the Atlas, here are five ways to recharge your batteries to the rhythm of flowering.
To discover
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See alsoWhere to go to Morocco in 2023? Our 7 travel ideas in all seasons, from the ocean to the desert
Immerse yourself in the heritage of confidential medinas
Andalusian garden of the Kasbah of the Oudayas in Rabat. Anne Claire Delorme / Le Figaro
Do you dream of unlocking the secrets of Morocco's medinas without taking a bath in the crowd? Just push the doors of cities still confidential, such as Tangier and Rabat, two nuggets with authentic charm. Madly photogenic with their panoramas of the Mediterranean for one, the Atlantic Ocean and the Bouregreg River for the other, the two cities reveal a priceless heritage, highlighted by museums with new clothes (National Museum of Adornment, National Museum of Photography in Rabat, Dar Niaba or Perdicaris Museum in Tangier ...). In Rabat, we offer ourselves as a bonus a second medina with that of Salé, sister of piracy at the time of the Republic of Bouregreg (seventeenth century), where nestles one of the most beautiful Merinid madrasas in Morocco. And in Tangier, we push to Chefchaouen, the blue city, or Asilah the white perched on the Atlantic.
Where to put your suitcases?
In a beautiful garden, Story Rabat, a neat boutique hotel in the Souissi district. Press photo
In Rabat, in Euphoriad, refined riad of the medina with inventive Moroccan table. From 105 € the room, 129 € the Deluxe, breakfast included. 7-9 Impasse Caïd Bargach, Medina, 10030 Rabat. Tel: +212 (0)5 37 73 42 09 or +212 (0)6 62 11 69 76 (whatsApp).
In a beautiful garden, Story Rabat, neat boutique hotel with 27 rooms and 10 suites. From 270 € the Premium room with breakfast, 450 € the suite. Corner Bani Yader Street and Jebala. Souissi les Ambassadeurs district. Rabat 10120. Phone: +212(0)5 38 05 08 00.
See alsoMorocco: the best hotels in Rabat
Get drunk on the scents of gardens of paradise
Anima Garden, a lush fantasy 30 minutes by car from Marrakech. Suzy Stöckl
Orange trees whose scents promise delights on the plate, but also bougainvillea or jacarandas with insolent reds and purples dear to Yves Saint Laurent... In Morocco, gardens exult in spring, like the Majorelle garden in Marrakech. But the most famous is also... the tree that hides the forest! First that of its neighbor, the Villa Oasis, former home of Pierre Bergé and Yves Saint Laurent, which reveals its twin garden at certain times. And that of the countless Eden that dot the kingdom of the riad, literally the garden house. In Marrakech, a green city that has always been fooled, we forage between hotel gardens (Beldi Country Club, Les Deux Tours or La Mamounia and its secular olive trees) and artist's gardens like Anima Garden, a lush fantasy 30 minutes by car. And in the heart of the imperial cities, we are introduced to the history of the Arab-Andalusian garden as in Rabat where that of the Kasbah of Oudaïas has just been renovated or in Fez whose Jnan Sbil, green lung of the eighteenth century, reveals a restored period noria.
Where to put your suitcases?
Olinto Atlas Mountain Retreat, a recent address 1h30 from Marrakech. Pink Palm Studio
In the High Atlas 1h30 from Marrakech, a recent address popular with garden lovers, Olinto Atlas Mountain Retreat, eight refined pavilions overlooking the mountains. From 700 € the pavilion for 2, breakfast and minibar included, 950 € the pavilion with swimming pool. Olinto Atlas Mountain Retreat Ouirgane, Douar Marigha, 42152, Morocco. Phone : +212 (0)6 10 68 54 64.
Visit: Anima Garden. Km 28 route de l'Ourika. Every day, from 9 a.m. to 18 p.m. Admission: 10.75 euros, free child under 12 years old. Free shuttle 2 times/day from the city center. Phone : +212 (0)666 56 17 76.
Read alsoMarrakech in a weekend, our ideas to enjoy the red city
Dive into the great oxygen bath of the coast
Taghazout, fishing village and surf spot. Hicham LAABD
What if you got ahead of the calendar with a good summer bowl on the Moroccan coast? The Cherifian kingdom has the longest coastline in Africa, more than 3700 km of coastline hemmed with cliffs, dunes and lagoons populated by birds. If it is rather necessary to aim for the end of spring to swim on the Mediterranean side, the Atlantic begins to warm up from May in the region of Agadir (18 to 20 °). Affordable for families, especially since the region is a breeding ground for experiences for all ages, from the world-famous surf spots of Taghazout, fishing village and state-of-the-art seaside resort, to the quiet bay of Agadir. Learn kite surfing or surfing, let go for a yoga workshop, hike between valley carpeted with citron trees, estuary planted with banana plantations and hills dotted with argan trees, tutelary tree and guardian of the soil against erosion... Enough to enjoy the summer in green and blue before the hour!
Where to put your suitcases?
Riu Palace Tikida Taghazout, a 5-star hotel and club with 500 rooms facing the bay. Press photo
With the family, at the Riu Palace Tikida Taghazout, a 5-star hotel-club with 500 rooms facing the bay with 7 outdoor swimming pools including a child, equipped beach, spa, kids club and activity program. From 125 €/person per night in a double room in all inclusive. Hotel Riu Palace Tikida Taghazout. Taghazout Bay. Phone : +212 (0)5 28 38 48 48.
" READ ALSO Morocco: 5 reasons to make the summer last in Taghazout, the seaside resort that has the wind in its sails
Flush out perched attics, rock carvings and oases in the desert
South of Zagora, the desert and its procession of oases are everywhere in Morocco! stock.adobe.com
Treading the warm sand, walking western canyons when the first light makes the stone shine, dining under the stars in the middle of nowhere ... When the nights get warmer, the desert gets milder, the perfect time to break new ground. Because beyond the great massifs of dunes, erg Chebbi near Merzouga and erg Chegaga, south of Zagora, the desert and its procession of oases are everywhere in Morocco! In Tafilalet, in the south-east of the country, the largest oasis in the world stretches between Erfoud and Rissani at the gates of the dunes: nearly 80,000 km2 of an ocean of palms dotted with cultures and ksour (fortified villages) such as Tinheras or Oulad Abdelhalim. And in the little-known region of Tata, a pre-Saharan village south of the Anti-Atlas, collective granaries and rock engraving sites (Igherm, Oum El Malek) dot often lunar landscapes. Past the first sand dunes, the Sahara is already announced!
Where to put your suitcases?
In Merzouga, Kasbah Azalay. Press photo
In Merzouga, Kasbah Azalay, authentic and without fuss facing the dunes, 7 rooms and suites (air-conditioned) with swimming pool. Camel rides and homemade bivouac. From € 60 per person per night with half board. Hotel Kasbah Azalay Merzouga. Phone : +212 (0)6 21 58 10 64.
Chic and unique: the Route du Sud created by Thierry Teyssier, privatized tour with exclusive stopovers of 6 nights, 1000 € per night and per person in a double room in all inclusive.
" READ ALSO Morocco: solidarity reverie at the gates of the desert
Fill up on colors between pastures and mountain lakes
In Bin El Ouidane, the reservoir is one of the most photogenic in Morocco with its turquoise waters framed by red mountains. Laurens Hoddenbagh
Spring is the perfect season to travel the mountains of Morocco. After the beginning of May, the risk of snow is unlikely and the trails reveal at each turn an incredible declination of greens, between cereal fields, fruit trees and high-altitude vegetation. It is also a good time to learn about the pastoral life of the mountain pastures, as in the country of Aït Bou Oulli, in the Central High Atlas, where we meet shepherds and flocks: this confidential valley is their stronghold ("aït bou oulli" means the children of sheep breeders)! It is also a singular land by its palette of colors: in some villages, the houses follow the hues of the ground, half green-of-gray, half red, enough to feed some shocking clichés. We will add a blue to make lagoon lovers dream. In Bin El Ouidane, the reservoir is one of the most photogenic in Morocco with its turquoise waters framed by red mountains. Swimming, kayaking, stand up paddle or sailboat, you can also fish for carp, pike or pikeperch ...
Where to put your suitcases?
For an exclusive stay, Villa Lhotse. Press photo
For an exclusive stay, Villa Lhotse, waterfront with 6 bedrooms including a children's dormitory, 18 meter swimming pool, tennis court and access path to the lake. From 4000 € per night in full board (250 €/person based on 16 (10 adults + 6 children), staff included at Villanovo, specialist in luxury villa rentals.
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