Marrakech

Marrakech gave Morocco its name — and for nearly a thousand years it has been the meeting place of the Sahara, the Atlas and the wider world. Founded around 1070 by the Almoravids, a Sanhaja Amazigh dynasty risen from the desert, the Red City was built as the northern capital of an empire that stretched from Senegal's river valleys to Andalusia — a reminder that West Africa and the Maghreb share one connected history. The medina (UNESCO-listed since 1985) is the great theatre: Jemaa el-Fnaa square, whose nightly swirl of storytellers, Gnawa musicians, food stalls and acrobats is itself inscribed as UNESCO intangible heritage; souks dyed with leather and saffron; the Koutoubia minaret as compass; and behind plain doors, riads of orange trees and fountains. Bahia and El Badi palaces, the Saadian Tombs and Ben Youssef Madrasa reward slow mornings. Outside the walls, Marrakech is Morocco's pleasure capital — Majorelle Garden and the Yves Saint Laurent Museum, hammams and rooftop dining in Gueliz — and the springboard for the High Atlas (Imlil and Toubkal), the Agafay stone desert, and multi-day Sahara circuits over the Tizi n'Tichka pass to Aït Benhaddou and Merzouga.