Report Serge Barret, photos Alain Parinet.

IDENTITY CARD

Formalities Passport.
Area code : + 212.
Currency The dirham (MAD).
1 euro = 11.3 MAD (March 2018).
Best season Early autumn or late spring for corporate groups. The heart of the shoulder seasons can be rainy in northern Morocco. Winters are harsh in the Rif, and summers very hot.
Time difference : -1h.
Group size All sizes. However, when visiting medinas, limited groups are recommended.

GETTING THERE

Royal Air Maroc offers a daily flight between Paris Orly and Rabat Salé airport.
Internet: www.royalairmaroc.com

Air France connects Paris CDG to Rabat with two or three flights a day, while its low-cost subsidiary Transavia serves Tangiers with two or three flights a week.
Internet: www.airfrance.fr

Ryanair connects Tangiers and Rabat from Paris Beauvais, with two and three weekly flights respectively.
Internet : www.ryanair.com

TO FIND OUT MORE

Moroccan Tourist Office
161, rue Saint-Honoré. 75 001 Paris. Tel: 01 42 60 63 50
Email : accueil@onmtfrance.fr
Internet : visitmorocco.com

RABAT

Hotel

The View

The View! A very simple name, almost conceptual, and above all perfectly appropriate for this establishment belonging to the Atlas Hospitality chain. Opened at the beginning of 2017, it takes advantage of its vertical position to enjoy the lights of the city and the panoramic views from all its rooms. The same goes for one of the lifts, attached to the wall of the building and entirely glazed. The same goes for the rooftop gourmet restaurant and the two large lounge bars, one very cosy, the other in a 'summer time' spirit. There are few, if any, oriental touches - except perhaps in the gourmet restaurant, which offers Moroccan cuisine revisited - but rather a contemporary design perfectly suited to corporate groups when they move to the city. The public areas are airy, in sober tones, and the rooms, just as sober, are truly very spacious, in the spirit of the times, with a completely open bathroom, which "customers love", according to the management. 147 rooms and suites, a gourmet restaurant, a brasserie, two lounges, swimming pool and spa. As for meetings, the View Forum offers a room for 70 people, five sub-committee rooms for 10 to 30 people and a plenary room for 300 people.
Av. Annakhil. 10 000 Rabat - Tel : + 212 (0)538 000 888 - Email : info@theviewhotels.com - Internet: www.theviewhotelrabat.com

Cafés and restaurants

Café Maure

Down below is the Bouregreg river, with the small town of Salé on its right bank, and the ocean on the left. And above all, there's the charm of a café with a view. Shaded terraces, sloping pergolas, mint tea afloat and a farandole of Moroccan cakes... In the heart of the Kasbah, the Café Maure is undoubtedly one of Rabat's must-visits. It can be privatised.
Kasbah des Oudaïas, Rabat.

Al Marsa

Beautifully located in Rabat's marina, Al Marsa is the restaurant of choice for decision-makers from the worlds of politics and business. From the terrace, the view of the pleasure boats on board is no doubt part of the relaxed chic atmosphere that reigns here, particularly at lunchtime, when the menu is preferably Spanish specialities and freshly caught fish. The restaurant can be reserved for business groups.
Marina du Bouregreg, Salé. - Tel: + 212 (0)537 845 818 - Email. : la.pescaderia@menara.ma   - Internet: www.restaurantalmarsa.com

ASILAH

Restaurant

Casa Pepe-restaurant El Océano

Fish, fish and more fish. Seafood too, served tapas-style in a multitude of small plates. The tasting menu is truly pantagruelian: prawns, octopus, clams, spider crabs, lobster, fish tajine... Opened at the beginning of the last century, Casa Pepe is home to countless celebrities who have passed through its doors at one time or another. It's understandable, as the establishment is one of the best in this small town that has become a hyper-trendy seaside resort.
22, rue Zellaqa - Tel: +212 (0)539 417 395

TANGER

Hotels

Kenzi Solazur

Below the windows of the Kenzi Solazur: Tangier's immense curving beach, recently redeveloped. On the left and above the port: the medina overlooked by the kasbah. On the right: Cap Malabata. A few minutes from Tangier's old town and 12 km from the airport, the hotel has one foot in tradition and the other in modernity. Starting with its architecture, which dates back to the 1970s and was completely refurbished in 2011, and continuing with its large, contemporary public areas, completed by its rooms, which are above all functional, and its suites, which almost resemble small flats. At the back of the white building, a restaurant opens onto a landscaped swimming pool and, above all, onto a garden exuding all the scents of the Orient. These can be found not only in the Moroccan restaurant, but also in its gastronomic restaurant, where chef Philippe Azoulay offers extremely inventive cuisine, reinterpreting traditional Moroccan dishes. As for meetings, everything takes place on the rooftop. The advantage of this is that the plenary sessions are completely open, overlooking both the sea and the garden. Eight meeting rooms for 10 to 400 people. 348 rooms and suites, 4 themed restaurants, 3 bars, spa, night club, swimming pool.
Boulevard Mohamed VI. 90 000 Tanger - Tel: + 212 (0) 539 34 83 83 -
Email : info.solazur@kenzi-hotels.com - Internet : www.kenzi-hotels.com

Dar Sultan

It's delightful, arranged in tiers around a central patio, as befits any self-respecting riad, and what's more, it's located in the heart of the Kasbah, just behind the palace of the Belgian royal family. The whole place is decorated in an ethno chic style, full of unexpected details, including a collection of stoup and another of babouches. All the rooms are different, and the terrace overlooking the town and the sea is simply wonderful. Seven rooms, which only allows small, exclusive groups.
49, rue Touila, La Kasbah, Tangier - Tel : +212 (0)5 39 33 60 61 - Email : dar-sultan@menara.ma - Internet : www.darsultan.com 

Cafés

Fuentes, Tingis and Central

In the days of gay Tangier, in the early evening, almost everything happened in public places, including of course the cafés, not always well decorated, not always well frequented. There were three bistros on the Petit Socco square, three meeting places for diplomats and bankers, of course, but above all for the underworld that made the nights of Tangier so beautiful. These cafés are still there, and are well worth a visit. On the right is the Café Fuentes, which is quite run-down and virtually uninviting in the evenings. William Burroughs used to stay there, as did Camille Saint-Saëns before him. On the left, the Tingis, a little better preserved but barely, with faded walls and cheap azulejos. Was it like this when Jean Genet sat there? Its terrace opens directly onto that of the adjoining Central, obviously the most upmarket, if you can call it that, with its large terrace and white parasols. A coffee in one, a mint tea in the other: the approach is above all literary.

TÉTOUAN

School of Arts and Crafts

The only one of its kind in Morocco, the Tetouan school has been training students since 1919 in the traditional arts and crafts in which Moroccans excel. Groups can visit the workshops.
Av. Hassan 1^er - Tel: +212 (0)39 972 721 - Email: eao.tetuan@gmail.com

PRACTICAL GUIDES

Geoguide, Petit Fûté, Lonely Planet, Le Routard...