First immersion in the city
February 2, 2009
As always I read everything written in Travbuddy and I bought my Lonely Planet. Actually I bought two! Marrakech Encounter and Morroco! I loooove reading about all destinations. But this time I am trying something new! I visited playandtour.com and I bought a tour guide in .mp3. It is a brilliant idea, as every touristic resource has a number drawn in a map and an audio file explaining everything about it. So what I did is to buy the guide for 17 euros and store it in my iPod.
This morning I overslept, so we rushed all over the place to get on time. No problems whatsover, and Clickair was very punctual! Now I am already in my seat, writing to you guys and checking all my notes and guides. Yesterday I spent all day preparing this trip. It is a five day trip, so I need to organize it properly.
Excitement, that is the word that better describes how I feel today! Once we get to the airport there will be a taxi waiting for us. What worries me is where to exchange money. I read all about the use of money so first thing we are doing is to exchange money in a local exchange office.
We are staying at Riad Maison Do in The “Medina”, the oldest neighbourhood in the city. You will find a review of this riad in my travel blog. It is located 10 minutes from Jemaa El-Fna! That’s all for now, I will keep writting tonight… ;) It is time to play my audio guide!
It is 1am in Marrakech and I can only say… Woaow! What an amazing city we have been visiting! Lets start from the beginning…. Our flight hasn't been too good as the pilot had to do some manoeuvres to land the plane.
During the flight we had to fill out an inmigration form we had to hand it in at our arrival in Marrakech. As soon as we exited the aiport, there was a guy from the hotel waiting for us. Right at the exit you find some official exchange rate offices, so we exchanged all our money. Actually I withdrawn all my money from an ATM machine, which is the easiest way.
There were some water drops, but right when we headed to the car, it started raining like crazy! Raindrops were huge so in 2 minutes we were soaked wet! Damn, what a nice welcome! ☺ It took us for ages to get to the hotel, as one of the main roads was closed.
It was still raining when the man explained everything to us, so they offered to cook us lunch until the rain stoped.
The Riad was around 7 minutes from Place Jemaa-el-Fna. The streets had a very lively red colour, even having rain most of the time. On the way I took many photos as everything looked beautiful! Once we got to the Place, first thing you come across are small booths with fruits and other tasty things. Then, as we walked across Jemaa-el-Fna two guys came straight to us! They put two monkeys on my shoulders so we could take a photo. The photos came out great, although I did not enjoy being forced to pay for them when we didnt ask for it.
From Place Jemaa-el-Fna we went to see Minaret Koutoubia. They say that the Giralda de Granada was inspired in it! Right next to it you find the Mosquee Koutoubia and a small park with a big line of carriages. In “planeta finito”, a travel program on TV, we saw that they cost 10 euros per hour, although we don't know for sure as we didn't ride in it. Once we saw some shows in the middle of the Place, we headed to the souks!
Don´t ever ask anyone how to get anywhere! If you do, get ready to pay money, and they don´t like coins, they want bills! Even if you don´t ask, some of them will walk with you until you give them money.
The terrace is upstairs and has beautiful views over the city! In the winter they close it with some kind of plastic, but in the summer is wide open! You can tell not too many local people can afford it, as it was packed of tourists and did not a single local! If you are around, it is a must see place!
Once we left Café Árabe, we went back to Place Jemaa-el-Fna and we book a table in Le Marrakchi! The had two shifts, one at 7.30pm and another at 9.
Le Marrakchi is right in the squere overlooking the whole Place. I guess it is a touristic place, but you eat extremely well and for a very small amount of money. It is true than my mother and I do not eat so much, but It only cost us 32 euros for two people! We had couscous with chicken and vegetables, a tajin with chicken and a local beer (Casablanca)! Food was really good although they don´t have a very huge menu!
If you make a reservation make sure you tell them to book a table next to the window, as in a clear day you can see the whole Place. The only thing I did not like from the place is how small the tables were! Everyone recommened this restaurant, so we were kind of forced to do it and improved our expectations!
From the restaurant we headed back to the Riad! Woaw, I love talking too much hehehe I will talk to you guys tomorrow!
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Bar / Restaurant with views over the city
Café Arabe is located next to the souks, around 4 minutes from Qobaa Almoravide, although if you don´t find it fast, just ask someone for directions and get ready to pay 30 or 40 Dirhams! The place is beautiful! There are 3 floors with different themes and decoration. In our Riad they recommended us to go for a coffee or drink but avoid having dinner. A Mojito cost me around 90 dirhams, that means it was almost 10 euros! They serve all drinks with olives!
The terrace is upstairs and has beautiful views over the city! In the winter they close it with some kind of plastic, but in the summer is wide open! You can tell not too many local people can afford it, as it was packed of tourists and not a single local! If you are around is a must see place! If you are concerned about the money, just order a mint tea!
The terrace is upstairs and has beautiful views over the city! In the winter they close it with some kind of plastic, but in the summer is wide open! You can tell not too many local people can afford it, as it was packed of tourists and not a single local! If you are around is a must see place! If you are concerned about the money, just order a mint tea!
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Restaurant with views over Place Jamma El Fna
Le Marrakchi is right in the squere overlooking the whole Place Jamma El Fna. I guess it is a touristic spot, but you eat extremely well and for a very small amount of money. It is true that my mother and I do not eat so much, but It only cost us 32 euros for two people! We had cuscus with chicken and vegetables, a tajin with chicken and a local beer (Casablanca)! Food was really good although they don´t have a extensive menu!
If you make a reservation make sure you tell them to book a table next to the window, as in a clear day you can see the whole Place. The only thing I did not like from the place is how small the tables were! Everyone recommened this restaurant, so we were kind of forced to do it and improved our expectations!
If you make a reservation make sure you tell them to book a table next to the window, as in a clear day you can see the whole Place. The only thing I did not like from the place is how small the tables were! Everyone recommened this restaurant, so we were kind of forced to do it and improved our expectations!
Beautiful Riad in the middle of the old city
When I started organizing the trip I had to decide whether to go to a hotel or a Riad. For some reason I thought a Riad was a better option if I wanted to stay in a place closer to the place’s culture. I looked around and I found Riad Maison Do. The place looked fantastic and It was very close from Place Jamma El Fna, which ended up to be the place I liked th most in Marrakech.
I will start my review talking about the service…. Amazing! That is what best describes how we were treated in this Riad. The owner (Yolande Morin) and all the personel were very kind and helpful everytime we asked for anything. I called a couple of days before getting there and they arrange trasnportation to pick us up at the airport. So was as easy as getting to the airport and met a guy who was waiting for us with a big sign with our name on it. The first day was raining and it was quite late, so they offered us lunch there, which was great. As they did not expect anyone for lunch they cooked us some salad and omelets. I could even order a bottle of wine! They were very kind to us during our whole staying. The owner and everyone there will come to us every day to know if everything was ok or if we needed anything else. By the way, we booked a room which had only one Queen bed, but seeing that we were mother and sun they upgraded the room to a bigger one for the same price. As it is a strange month to visit Marrakech, we were alone in the Riad, so they had spare rooms!
Everything was extremely clean. No noise whatsover, even though we were in the middle of the old city. You don´t even have a TV! :) And best of it, I had Wifi connection to the Internet so I could check my emails every night. I took many photos from the place and room, as it is very original and well decorated. We also had breakfast included, and it was always very punctual and beautifully arranged.
On top of the building you have a beautiful terrace although at the time we went was under construction. Just in front of it they have another Riad, so if you arrange a big group they can still fit you. Last night they prepared an incredible dinner for us! We had nice salads for starters and chicken Tajin for mains, wine, desserts and tea! I recommend you to arrange at least one dinner in the Riad. You can order whatever your prefere but you have to do one day in advance.
The location was just perfect. It is only 7 minutes away from Place Jamma El Fna. First day one of the guys working in the Riad explained to us how to move around giving us all directions to leave and come back to the Riad. Even if you think the area is dangerous, it is very secure. That is one of the facts that most impressed me, at no time I felt unsecure in the streets, not even at night.
The room cost us around 600 Dirhams (60 euros aprox), although it might be different if you book straight with them. Call them up and check rates! If you have any questions about this Riad just drop me a note!
Website: http://www.maisondo.com/
I will start my review talking about the service…. Amazing! That is what best describes how we were treated in this Riad. The owner (Yolande Morin) and all the personel were very kind and helpful everytime we asked for anything. I called a couple of days before getting there and they arrange trasnportation to pick us up at the airport. So was as easy as getting to the airport and met a guy who was waiting for us with a big sign with our name on it. The first day was raining and it was quite late, so they offered us lunch there, which was great. As they did not expect anyone for lunch they cooked us some salad and omelets. I could even order a bottle of wine! They were very kind to us during our whole staying. The owner and everyone there will come to us every day to know if everything was ok or if we needed anything else. By the way, we booked a room which had only one Queen bed, but seeing that we were mother and sun they upgraded the room to a bigger one for the same price. As it is a strange month to visit Marrakech, we were alone in the Riad, so they had spare rooms!
Everything was extremely clean. No noise whatsover, even though we were in the middle of the old city. You don´t even have a TV! :) And best of it, I had Wifi connection to the Internet so I could check my emails every night. I took many photos from the place and room, as it is very original and well decorated. We also had breakfast included, and it was always very punctual and beautifully arranged.
On top of the building you have a beautiful terrace although at the time we went was under construction. Just in front of it they have another Riad, so if you arrange a big group they can still fit you. Last night they prepared an incredible dinner for us! We had nice salads for starters and chicken Tajin for mains, wine, desserts and tea! I recommend you to arrange at least one dinner in the Riad. You can order whatever your prefere but you have to do one day in advance.
The location was just perfect. It is only 7 minutes away from Place Jamma El Fna. First day one of the guys working in the Riad explained to us how to move around giving us all directions to leave and come back to the Riad. Even if you think the area is dangerous, it is very secure. That is one of the facts that most impressed me, at no time I felt unsecure in the streets, not even at night.
The room cost us around 600 Dirhams (60 euros aprox), although it might be different if you book straight with them. Call them up and check rates! If you have any questions about this Riad just drop me a note!
Website: http://www.maisondo.com/
