Marrakech is the third largest city in Morocco after Casablanca and Rabat, and lies near the foothills of the snow capped Atlas Mountains.

The city is divided into two distinct parts: the Medina, the historical city, and the new European modern district called Gueliz or Ville Nouvelle. The Medina is full of intertwining narrow passageways and local shops full of character. In contrast, Gueliz plays host to modern restaurants, fast food chains and big brand stores.

The alleyways and souks of Marrakech (particularly in the Old City) look like an Arabian film set for classics such as 'Arabian Nights' or 'Prince of Persia'. It is this enchantment and fairy tale quality that draw millions of tourists to the most popular of Morocco's cities.

The main area is Djemaa el-Fna, where everything seems to happen and the place to which tourists are drawn again and again to soak up the carnival-like environment. The modern side of Marrakech with its luxury hotels, banks and streets bursting with motor scooters, blends well with the past in a metropolis made up of the peoples of the Berber Atlas tribes, Mahgrebis from the plains, and Saharan nomads.

One of the many ways to soak up the sights and sounds of Marrakech is in one of the hundreds of horse-drawn carriages, known as caleches, that are for hire, but it is also necessary to take in the Medina's souks on foot, plunging into the hurly burly maelstrom of passages where tradesmen ply various crafts, from cloth dying, copper beating, and leather working to herbalists, perfumers and slipper makers, and where shopkeepers cajole passing tourists into taking a look at their glorious array of colourful crafts.

Marrakech's climate is moderate and subtropical, cooled by breezes off the Mediterranean Sea and Atlantic Ocean. In the interior the temperatures are more extreme, winters can be fairly cold and the summers very hot. Marrakech has an average winter temperature of 21ºC (70ºF) and 100°F (38°C) in summer.