As 16th-century Sultan Ahmed Al Mansour (r 1578-1603) was paving the Badia Palace with gold, turquoise and crystal, his court jester wisecracked, ‘It’ll make a beautiful ruin.’ That jester was no fool: at the beginning of the 18th century, the place was destroyed by Sultan Moulay Ismail and materials carried...

　　Saadian Sultan Ahmed Al Mansour Ed Dahbi was just as extravagant in death as he was in life. After the golden king built Badia Palace in the 16th century, he transformed an existing necropolis into this lavish tomb complex, sparing no expense and importing Italian Carrara marble and gilding honeycomb muqarnas...

　　Five times a day, one voice rises above the din of Djemaa El Fna as the muezzin calls the faithful to prayer from the Koutoubia Mosque. The mosque's minaret has been standing guard over the old city since the Almohads erected it in the 12th century. Today it's Marrakesh's most famous...

　　La Bahia (The Beautiful) is an 8000-sq-metre, floor-to-ceiling extravagance of intricate marquetry, plasterwork and zouak (painted wood), and certainly one of Marrakesh's most eye-popping sights. 　　The salons of both the Petit Riad and Grand Riad host intricate marquetry and zouak ceilings, but the Cour d'Honneur, a grand courtyard, with its 1500 sq metre floor of Italian Carrara marble,...

　　This captivating museum, opened in 2017, showcases finely selected collections of haute couture clothing and accessories that span 40 years of creative work by legendary French fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent. The aesthetically warped and wefted building resembles woven fabric and holds a 150-seat auditorium, research library, bookstore and terrace...

　　Roll up, roll up for the greatest show on earth. Everywhere you look in Djemaa El Fna, Marrakesh’s main square (pronounced jema – the d is silent), you’ll discover drama in progress. The hoopla and halqa (street theater) have been non-stop here since the 11th century. Until a few decades ago, it...

　　French fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent and his partner Pierre Bergé bought Jardin Majorelle in 1980 to preserve the vision of its original owner, French landscape painter Jacques Majorelle, and keep it open to the public. The garden, started in 1924, contains a psychedelic desert mirage of 300 plant species from...