Marrakech

Marrakech rewards travellers who understand that the best addresses hide behind blank walls. A riad presents nothing to the street; the whole house turns inward onto a courtyard, a fountain and a slice of sky, and the temperature drops several degrees as you step through the door.

The city pairs that seclusion with a hammam tradition that predates every European spa, a food scene that runs from street grills on Jemaa el-Fnaa to formal Moroccan-French tasting rooms, and the Agafay and Sahara within reach for an overnight camp.