Overview & Highlights:
- Discover Casablanca, the economic capital of Morocco and its largest city.
- Visit Hassan II Mosque, the largest in Africa.
- Visit Morocco Mall, the largest shopping center in Africa.
- Explore Rabat, the current capital city of Morocco.
- Visit Hassan Tower, Mohammed V Mausoleum and Oudayas Kasbah.
- Explore Fes with professional guide.
- Discover the charming blue-washed Medina of Chefchaouen.
Itinerary:
Day 1: Arrival – Casablanca.
Upon arrival, we will meet you at the airport and head to your accommodation in Casablanca. There you will take time to relax and recover from your journey.
Overnight in Casablanca.
Day 2: Casablanca – Rabat – Fes.
After breakfast, you will check out of your hotel. Making our journey in Casablanca and begin with a visit to the stunning Hassan II Mosque, the largest in Morocco and the third largest mosque in the world that non-Muslims are allowed to enter. Able to accommodate up to 105,000 people in prayer, this marvel of modern Moroccan architecture is the work of hundreds of expert craftsmen from around the country, many of them donating their work.
Then we drive along the Cornish where you can have also walk, at its end there is Morocco Mall, the largest shopping center in Africa which was opened in December 2011, with an impressive marine aquarium that extends through all floors and presents forty fish species. You can also visit mohamed V plaza and the Rick’s café.
Then continue to Rabat, Morocco’s fourth imperial city, where you will visit the Hassan Tower, which has sat unfinished since 1199. Commissioned by Abu Yusuf Yaaqub al-Mansur, the tower was to be the minaret for the largest mosque in the world. Unfortunately, when the sultan passed away in 1199, the project was abandoned, leaving some partial outer walls, 348 columns, and a minaret only standing half-finished at 140 feet rather than the intended 260 feet. Standing opposite the Hassan Tower is the Mohammed V Mausoleum, which contains the tombs of Mohammed V, the current king’s grandfather, as well as the king’s father, Hassan II, and his uncle, Prince Abdullah. It is considered a masterpiece of Alaouite architecture with its white walls and green tiled roof.
Visit also the Kasbah of the Oudayas, which is a small fortified town area of the city, with white and blue houses, a nice Moorish garden and a breath taking view of the opposite city Sale and the Atlantic Ocean. Stop for lunch in a restaurant that serves delicious Moroccan food and seafood. In the late afternoon we will travel east toward Fes.
Overnight in Fes.
Day 3: Fes sightseeing – Chefchaouen.
After breakfast in your Riad/Hotel, you will meet your private guide to explore the different sights of the ancient Medina of Fes. Begin your tour with a visit to the royal palace, with its seven golden doors, and learn about the significance of the intricate decor.
Continue and stroll through the Mellah, or Jewish quarter, which was built next to the palace to offer protection. And then take in the view of the city from Borj Sud, a former fortress and one of the lookouts on a hill where you can see all of Fes laid out, allowing you to spot landmarks otherwise hidden by the skyline-obscuring buildings.
Visit a pottery cooperative to see how they make the unique Fes pottery, as well as handcrafting the intricate mosaics adorning half of Morocco. Head into the ancient medina and step into a sort of living museum. The Fes medina is very much a local community that lives and works and goes about daily life in the medina.
Stop by the Al-Quaraouiyine University, the oldest degree-granting university still in operation, have been founded in 859CE by a woman. Visit handicraft workshops, where you will see why Fes is considered the handicraft capital of Morocco.
This can include, among other things, the silk weavers, where beautifully colorful fabrics are woven from silk fibers of the agave plant, and the famous Fes tannery, where they process all manner of animal hides by hand, much as they have for nearly 1000 years. During your tour of the medina, you will stop for lunch in a restaurant that would be very easy to walk right past, but is truly a hidden gem. In the afternoon, travel north to Chefchaouen, nestled high in the Rif Mountains.
Overnight in Chefchaouen.
Day 4: Chefchaouen – Casablanca.
After breakfast you will check out of your Hotel/ Riad, and take quiet morning to explore Chefchaouen, the charming blue-washed medina, an endless winding maze of picturesque homes and streets. That in the late 15th century its population was boosted by a number of Jews and Muslims fleeing southern Spain and remained mostly untouched and isolated until the last century.
There you can see the Grand Mosque and the Kasbah. The Mosque was built by Moulay Mohamed in 1560 and cannot be entered by non-Muslims (but the view from the outside is still nice). A visit to the Kasbah (old fortification) can be done in 30-40 minutes, where you can visit a garden, a museum, and some of the old prison cells. And hike up to the Spanish Mosque further up the mountain, looking out over Chefchaouen. In the afternoon, you will travel back down the mountains to Casablanca.
Overnight in Casablanca.
Day 5: Casablanca – Departure.
In the morning, after breakfast check out of your hotel and transfer to Casablanca airport for your departure flight.