Magical Morocco Art and Cooking Tour

Welcome to Morocco! We land in the capital of Morocco, Rabat, called the White Imperial City. We will be assisted on arrival then transfer to our hotel and check in for the evening. After freshening up, we will meet for a welcome dinner to go over our most updated itinerary and meet each other. (D)

We will begin our morning with a Welcome Breakfast to greet our local guide before going to visit the Contemporary Museum to get an overview of Moroccan art. After our private tour, we will make our way to Casablanca, where we will have a cooking demonstration, followed up with an embroidery class. We will have a brief city tour that includes an outdoor visit of the Hassan II Mosque and a stop by Rick’s Café before we make our way to El Jadida for overnight. (B)

This beautiful coastal town is a former Portuguese stronghold with a spectacular 1100 square meter underground reservoir. We will visit Galerie Chaibia Talal for a private tour to get introduced to Morocco’s most important female artist, who painted at the same time as Picasso (and who some say influenced his style). We will take a drive to Chtouka, to visit her hometown and see firsthand the village life she painted with such love. We will have an unusual en plein air art class, inspired by her style. We will have a cooking demonstration to show the El Jadida style of Moroccan cooking. Overnight in El Jadida. (B)

Continued sightseeing in El Jadida and visit to the Notre-Dame-de-l’Assomption. Drive to Essaouira via Safi. Essaouira is an excellent example of a Portuguese port and is an exotic blending of Moorish and Portuguese art and architecture. Traders and artists have gathered here since the 18th century. On arrival we will attend a cooking demonstration. Overnight in Essaouira. (B)

Today we will go to Agadir to spend some time volunteering with a local youth group. We have had Arabic language books donated to our travel agency and are donating them to their village for the children to use. We will volunteer with the kids on a joint art project and Arabic/English language lesson. Overnight in Agadir. (B)

Upon leaving Agadir, we will stop along the way at Chichaoua to visit an Argan cooperative,  and maybe even see some goats in the trees on our drive to Marrakesh. Overnight in Marrakesh. (B)

We will have a full day exploring Marrakesh, sightseeing throughout this historic city including the Koutoubia Mosque and gardens, the Saadien Tombs, and the Bahia Palace We will walk through the colorful souks with their wealth of treasures, the famous Djemaa El Fna Square filled with fascinating characters, fortune tellers, merchants, story tellers, snake charmers, and tame monkeys, to name a few! This is the shopping capital of Morocco, so bring your best bargaining face! We will also have a cooking demonstration today. Overnight in Marrakesh. (B)

Today we will have a private tour of the Museum of African Contemporary Art Al Maaden, visit a few art galleries, and enjoy a ziligie demonstration. Ziligie is mosaic tile work made from individually chiseled geometric tiles set into a plaster base. This form of Islamic art is one of the main characteristics of Moroccan architecture. Continuing our visits in Marrakesh and overnight. (B)

After breakfast we say goodbye to Marrakesh with last bit of sightseeing then we depart for Rabat. On arrival in Rabat we will check into our riad then depart for a private museum tour at the Mohammed VI Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art. Overnight in Rabat. (B)

Today we will explore Rabat, which has a rich, long history and we will learn about it in art guided tours of colonial architecture, the Hassan tower, the splendid Mohamed V Mausoleum, the Kasbah of Oudayas and the Medina, along with a culinary tour of coastal influences. We will have our last cooking demonstration and finish the day with a farewell dinner. Overnight in Rabat. (B/D)

Early morning assistance in departure transfer to Rabat–Salé airport for your flight home.

End of services.