The Imperial Trio

About This Tour

The Imperial Trio is the country's four imperial cities — Rabat, Meknès, Fès, Marrakech — taken in their proper order, paced for guests who want time more than miles. Eleven nights across twelve days, twelve guests at most, each city given the days it deserves. The Roman site at Volubilis and the blue medina of Chefchaouen on the route between them. One overnight at Beni Mellal to break the Atlas crossing honestly rather than the eight-hour drive day most operators run between Fès and Marrakech.

• Day 1

  Arrive Casablanca

  Met at Mohammed V airport (CMN) and transferred to a hotel near the corniche (about 30 minutes). Late afternoon visit to the Hassan II Mosque — the only mosque in Morocco non-Muslim visitors can enter, the prayer hall opens to the Atlantic. Welcome dinner on the seafront.

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• Day 2

  Casablanca to Rabat

  Morning drive to Rabat (about 1 hour). Hassan Tower and the Mausoleum of Mohammed V with a Rabat-based guide. Afternoon at the Kasbah of the Udayas — the Andalusian gardens and the tea house above the river — and the Chellah necropolis where Roman walls and a Merinid minaret share a garden. Dinner at the riad.

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• Day 3

  Rabat to Chefchaouen

  Drive north along the Atlantic and inland to the Rif mountains (about 3 hours 30 minutes). Check in at a small hotel inside the old town. The blue medina is best walked in the late afternoon, after the day-trippers leave. Dinner at a terrace restaurant above the kasbah.

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• Day 4

  Chefchaouen to Fès via Volubilis and Moulay Idriss

  Mid-morning departure south through the Rif and onto the Saïs plain. First stop at Volubilis (about 2 hours), walked with a regional archaeologist — the mosaics, the basilica, the triumphal arch, around two hours. Lunch at nearby Moulay Idriss (5 km), the white roofs of the holy town below the viewpoint. Continue to Fès in the late afternoon (about 1 hour 15). Dinner on the riad's roof terrace, looking over the rooftops of the old town.

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• Day 5

  Day loop to Meknès

  Drive to Meknès (about 1 hour on the A2) — the fourth imperial city. The Bab Mansour gate, the Imperial granaries at Heri es-Souani, and the medina with a Meknès-based guide. Return to Fès by mid-afternoon. Dinner at the riad.

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• Day 6

  The Fès medina, top to bottom

  After breakfast, walk the Talâa Kbira from top to bottom — taken across most of the morning, with stops at the Nejjarine wood museum, the Attarine madrasa, and the dyers' souk. Afternoon with the working artisans of the medina — a bookbinder near Place Seffarine, the brass workers' square, and a master dyer at the wool-dyers' pits. Late afternoon at Al-Karaouine, where the mosque and library remain working centres of worship and scholarship; we read the architecture from the permitted courtyards and exterior thresholds. Dinner at a small terrace overlooking the medina.

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• Day 7

  Fès to Beni Mellal

  Late-morning departure south across the Middle Atlas, with a brief stop in Ifrane — the cedar forests, the alpine architecture of the Royal town, sometimes a glimpse of Barbary macaques. Continue to Beni Mellal (about 3 hours 30 total). Check in at a small riad below the kasbah. Dinner at the riad.

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• Day 8

  Beni Mellal to Marrakech

  Morning drive to Marrakech (about 3 hours). Settle in at a riad inside the medina, near the Bahia Palace quarter. Afternoon at leisure to walk the immediate streets, find a mint tea on a rooftop. Dinner at the riad.

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• Day 9

  The Marrakech medina

  Walking tour with a Marrakech-based guide — the Bahia Palace and its painted ceilings, the Saadian Tombs, then through the souks (carpets, lanterns, leather, spices). Late afternoon at Djemaa el-Fna as it changes from daytime market into evening food stalls and storytellers. Dinner at a small place off the square.

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• Day 10

  Marrakech — Majorelle, YSL and the new city

  Morning at the Jardin Majorelle (the cobalt-blue Berber Museum and the cactus garden) and the Yves Saint Laurent Museum next door. Afternoon at a traditional hammam in the medina, or — for those who prefer — the gardens of the Royal Mansour for tea, or a walk in the Menara olive grove. Dinner at the riad.

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• Day 11

  Marrakech to Casablanca

  Late-morning departure for Casablanca (about 2 hours 30 on the A7). Check in at a hotel near the corniche. Afternoon to settle in or walk the corniche. Final dinner overlooking the Atlantic.

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• Day 12

  Until you leave Casablanca

  A morning in your own hand — a final walk along the corniche, breakfast at the hotel, perhaps the hammam before checkout. The driver makes the airport transfer at a time chosen by the guests — to Casablanca Mohammed V airport (CMN, about 30 minutes) for the international flight.

  Breakfast