This town is the most popular of Morocco's coastal spots with independent travellers, and only rarely do you see package tours here. By the looks of things, however, this won't last forever. Essaouira has a beautiful beach that curves for kilometres to the south. Those who've had enough haggling and jostling in the big cities will be glad to hear this town can be summed up in one word: relaxing.The forts of the old city are a blend of Portuguese, French and Berber military architecture, and their massiveness lends a powerful mystique to the town. The Skala du Port, designed to protect the town's sea, has good views and was also where Orson Welles shot some of his film Othello.

This unspectacular town about halfway down Morocco's Atlantic coast is a good base for hiking trips in the surrounding hills and to Berber villages. Just outside the town is a rather eccentric array of painted rocks. The Belgian artist behind the strange attraction chose a number of smooth rounded boulders peculiar to the region as his canvas.

Near the High Atlas town of Tinerhir, at the end of a lush valley of palms and mud-brick villages hemmed in by barren craggy mountains is one of Morocco's most glorious natural sights. This is the Todra Gorge: some 300m high but only 10m wide at its narrowest point, and with a crystal clear river running through it.Although the main gorge can be explored in half a day, those with more time should head further up the gorge towards Tinerhir. There are numerous kasbahs and the people here are very friendly. Rock climbing is becoming increasingly popular on the vertical rock face of the gorge and camping around the base is also an attractive option.There are plenty of hotels in and around the gorge itself. For the more adventurous, a network of difficult pistes links the sporadic villages here in the High and Middle Atlas mountains. Regular buses pass through Tinerhir en route between Marrakesh and Er-Rachidia.

About 33km from the city of Meknès is the site of the largest and best preserved Roman ruins in Morocco. Volubilis dates largely from the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD, although excavations have revealed that the site was originally settled by Carthaginian traders even earlier. There's only one hotel nearby, but camping facilities are available.