Marrakech

Marrakech's dominant marketplace -- the Djemaa el Fna -- has been the meeting place for food vendors, snake charmers, Berber storytellers and travelers for hundreds of years. From the marketplace, windy streets and alleyways -- all pedestrianized, save for the odd donkey cart or motor scooter -- curl around the median for miles, offering outdoor restaurants, hundreds of shops and Marrakech's answer to a hotel: the riad (a handful of beautifully tiled and painted rooms clustered around an interior courtyard, often with a pool). The call to prayer from the minaret of the statuesque Koutoubia Mosque adds to the allure of Marrakech's fascination. Visitors round out a day with a visit to a harem (Turkish bath), the sumptuous Majorelle gardens or a stroll through the Jewish quarter. Marrakech gets close enough to the fabled Atlas Mountains that adventurous souls often head into the mountains to explore stunning natural landscapes like the Ourika River Valley.