North Africa

About the destination: Marrakech, the gateway to the desert and the south, is an overwhelming experience unlike any other imperial city in Morocco. Its reddish-pink streets and alleys are alive with sounds, sights, smells, and life. The mid-summer heat can be intense enough to exhaust most tourists. The best times to explore Marrakech are early morning, early evening, and during winter, when temperatures are mild but drop significantly at night due to the cold air from the High Atlas Mountains. The Djemaa El-Fna, or Assembly of the Dead, is anything but what its name suggests. By day, it's a hot and crowded market, but at sunset, it truly comes alive as entertainers take over. This chaotic outdoor circus offers a microcosm of Morocco at its most exotic. Large audiences gather in tight circles around a diverse cast of performers. Almost every tour of Marrakech begins at the 12th-century Koutoubia Mosque, with its magnificent minaret overlooking the Djemaa. The minaret, topped by a lantern of three golden spheres, is the oldest and purest surviving example of Almohad architecture. The city’s two most breathtaking monuments date back to the 16th century. Feast your eyes and cool off at the ornate Ben Youssef Madrassa, the largest Qur’anic school in North Africa. Even more lavish are the dazzling Saadian Tombs, modeled after the interior of the Alhambra in Granada. The view from the terrace at the Badi Palace, now in ruins, is majestic. Nearby is the 19th-century Bahia Palace, an ornate and beautiful palace with tranquil, fountained gardens. To escape the relentless midday sun, wander through the lush Menara Gardens and relax in the charming lakeside pavilion. Marrakech is noisy, busy, dusty, and chaotic. It is a visual and sensory feast of color, diverse cultures, architecture, and design. Marrakech offers an exotic and exciting taste of Africa, and the best part is that it is only a few hours away from Europe by plane.

About the destination: With a warm, sandy Mediterranean coastline, perfumed with jasmine and sea breezes, Tunis is reinventing itself as a boldly modern Arab capital. The city is passionate about preserving its Mediterranean traditions as well as its Arabic and African origins. This mindset is mirrored in its architecture, with the ancient Arab medina situated next to the French colonial Ville Nouvelle (New Town). Like any other Arabic metropolis, the medina is the historical and spiritual center of the city. The labyrinthine streets of the medina are bustling with people selling, buying, and transporting goods, all amidst the aroma of spices. The contrast with the palm trees and café terraces of the ville nouvelle's avenue Habib Bourguiba could not be more stark. Elderly men in traditional attire observe office workers in suits and the youth in jeans and shirts passing by: this is Tunis. In the suburbs lie the magnificent Bardo Museum and the awe-inspiring and enigmatic ruins of ancient Carthage, from where Hannibal embarked on his journey to lead his elephants over the Alps. Also nearby is Tunisia's most picturesque village, Sidi Bou Said, a source of inspiration for many artists, and the stunning white-sand beaches of La Marsa. Tunis is a lively yet relaxed capital city that embraces its Western and Eastern influences and proudly showcases its cultural heritage.