RIDE: in a sidecar, with Marrakech Insiders

You know those travel days, where you arrive back at your hotel hot and dusty, smiling ear-to-ear and you cannot believe what you just experienced? Marrakech Insiders gave us that day and then some, via an antique sidecar, a killer tour guide (ask for Felix) and a million stops for Lebanese pastries, sprawling palm groves, camel detours and local markets. Book Marrakech Insiders in advance and prepare to see the real backstreets of the city. Our tour was roughly $100/person and came with a Polaroid camera, film and a split of Champagne at the end.

DINE: at Ksar Essaoussane

If I lived full-time in Marrakech, I would take every new arrival here, to this crazy, ancient home hidden deep behind the Jemaa el-Fnaa market. You walk and walk, moving farther into the Medina. Other tourists grow sparse, as does the light from the outside world. The stone walls rise on either side of you, and tarps extend overhead.

Finally, there’s a dark, wooden door with a big brass knocker and a plate reading Ksar. You enter, moving silently across vintage carpets, past a dripping candelabra and arrive in an atrium, with brocade furnishings, couches for dining, flickering light and a menu of lamb tagines, couscous, olives, chicken and almond pastries. It’s another time. Another era. A world away. A total experience.

This photo above is not the actual restaurant. It was so dark, and so dreamy, I didn’t pull out my camera. But the surprise will be well worth it, as will the exceptional food. Just imagine this image, but on Moroccan steroids.

ATTEND: a drum circle, at Jemaa el-Fnaa

One of the things I liked best about Marrakech was how it keeps one foot firmly in another time.

Each night, after the sun sets, the curious gather around fires scattered across the market square. Some gather for Arabic storytellers. Others to play music. One of my favorite moments of the trip was pausing and sitting for five minutes in one of the drum circles. No one made a sound. The benches vibrated beneath us. No one pulled out a phone. Cameras sat silently in laps, all eyes watching weathered hands beat taunt animal skins; others shaking handmade rattles.

It was trance-inducing. Primal. Old. Real. I don’t have a photo of the drum circle, except in my mind. If you go, do the same please. This is not something for Instagram. This is something that connects you to campfires and to travelers from one-thousand years ago. To humanity.

After, go photograph the creepy cobras and just lock the drum circle away in your soul.

SHOP: in Gueliz

My first stop in Gueliz was a Starbucks. I wanted to see the differences in the options. I sourced a Quiche Lorraine and laughed when it was filled with slices of chicken. Ham is forbidden, afterall.

I then wandered the side alleys off the main Avenue Mohammad V, where shops like Lalla and Rue Marjorelle sell brightly colored bags, brass and clay jewelry, hip sunglasses and funky art. If you’re done with the Medina’s hawking and hot sun, this is the neighborhood where you’ll find trendy cafes, fashion-forward Moroccans and that oasis of a Starbucks for refueling.

WANDER: the Kasbah area

Between the Jemaa el-Fnaa and the Kasbah, I liked Kasbah better for shopping. You’ll find bigger, permanent rug shops, larger furniture stores and emporiums full of antiques, from plate-silver candlesticks to filigree-patterned brass platters. You’ll pay a little more, of course, for items made in Marrakech. These come bearing some serious age and history. But, you get what you pay for, as the old adage goes.

When you’re tired and hungry, head to the rooftop of Cafe Clock. They make a damn fine American breakfast, too, with roasted potatoes, a fabulous omelette, smoky mushrooms. Say hello to the cross-eyed rescue cat and even stay for a cooking class.

TOUR: the Vintage cars at Dumaine du Retro

Marrakech Insiders will take you on a number of tours and the guides are happy to discuss personal preferences. It’s only natural that I wanted to check out the Dumaine du Retro––the largest museum of antique cars for thousands of miles.

The collection, housed in open-air garages, is surrounded by beautiful gardens. It’s out in the middle of some desert, about 20 minute from town, and it features 30 perfectly restored vehicles, ranging from Barbara Hutton’s Rolls Royce to a mint-condition Alpha Romeo from the ’60s.

You don’t have to book through Marrakech Insiders to tour it. You can book directly with Dumaine du Retro and even arrange a ride in one of the automobiles!