Easy Ways and Know-How
HOW TO MOVE
At the airport (6 km in the South from the town center) :
Taxi fare from airport to city center.
Change only the minimal sum you will need at the airport. - The exchange rate is much better into the city.
« Small Taxis » ( urban routes , limited to 3 passengers)
The small taxis, by opposition to the big taxis which provide the interurban links, are omnipresent but they cannot go out of Marrakesh. The average price of a journey within the city is 10 dh. An additional 50 % increase is charged after dark. Luggage also gives place to a supplement. Taxi stations : Place Jemaa el Fna, Bab er Robb, Bab Doukkala.
« Big Taxis » (urban and interurban journeys, limited to 5 passengers)
Big taxis assure routes known in the city, a little like buses, but they have no stations. You hail them. Big taxis also assure intercity links (negotiate the price before departure).
Caleche (horse-carriage) (limited to 4 passengers)
The caleche constitutes an original means of transport.
EVERYDAY LIFE
Tips
A tip (of a few dirhams - 10 or 15 % of the amount of the bill) is often waited in restaurants, but also for numerous services).
Some Arabic words
- yes : na'am, iyah
- no : la
- thank you : choukran, baraka hallaoufik
- sorry : afwan
- hello : es salam alaikoum (answer alaïkoum salam)
- are you fine ? : labès ?
- good bye : b'slama
- it is all, that is enough : safi, baraka
- OK : wakha (kh is pronounced like “J” in Spanish)
Opening Schedules
- Administrative offices : Monday through Friday - 8:30 am / 4:30 pm
- Trade : Monday through Saturday (or Sunday) – 8:30 am / 1:00 pm and 2:30 pm / 7:30 pm - The souks are open Monday through Saturday (or Sunday) – 8h30 am / 1:00 pm and 2:30pm / 6:00 pm - Certain shopes close on Friday
- Banks : generally Monday through Friday - 8:30 am / 4:00 pm.
- Post offices : pen from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm. You can buy stamps at the tobacconist's shops or reception desk at certain hotels. The mailboxes are numerous and easy to locate, of yellow color as in France.
- Museums : 9:00 am / 12:00 am and 3:00 pm / 6:00 pm - Closed on Tuesday.
FOOD
Cook : some typical dishes
- The pastilla : floret of the Moroccan kitchen, “The Pastilla” is a subtle pastry containing onion, pigeons (or chicken), parsley, hard-boiled egg and almonds. Mixed with sweet and salted scented cinnamon. There are recently alternatives (fish, seafood…).
- The mechoui, lamb raised in full nature and roasted on wood fire: meat with the taste of antan, dusted with cumin and salt...
- The tagine, dish slow to cook in a conical pottery of form out of terra cotta and left several hours on a soft ember.Version poultry, lamb or fish, accompanied by vegetables.
- Do not leave Marrakesh without tasting with the local dish, Tanjia. It is at the same time the name of a potbellied and delicious mets containing sheep and spices.One throws there pell-mell all ingredients and mixes them very well. Then, the jar is closed with aluminum foil and taken to the public oven where it will cook for about 4 hours in the midst of hot ash inside the oven’s furnace.
Moroccan restaurants in the Medina :
- Dar Es Salam : 17th century Palace.
- Dar Moha : gastronomical and elegant
- Gharnata Palace : magnificent decoration
- Dar Fez : Fez-native kitchen characterized by the association of salt-sweetened, the use of fruits and vegetables, the codified use of spices and condiments
- The Marrakchi : with view on Jemaa el Fna
- Soleiman Palace : charming palace
- Ksar el Hamra : architectural splendor
- Diaffa : luxe and gastronomic cooking
- La Sultana : savours of the East and Occident
- Le Café Arabe : italian and maroccan cooking
- Bougainvillea : arabian coffee
Moroccan restaurants in Gueliz :
- Le Comptoir : mediterranean specialities
- Safran & Cannelle : maroccan cooking
- Le Sabal : french and maroccan specialities
TO VISIT AND DISCOVER
Official tourist guides
The official guides are generally dressed ih a white djellaba and provided with a red badge and a chart of guide of the Ministry for Moroccan Tourism written in French. You will find them at the tourist Office or at the reception desks of the hotels. Their wages are fixed according to an established scale.
Moroccan Tourist Bureau
IN MARRAKECH : At the corner of Mohammed-V Avenue and Yougoslavie Street. Tel. : 044-43-61-31 or 79.
Fax : 044-43-60-57. Open : Monday through Friday - 8:30 am / 4:30 pm. .
Saturday 9:00 am / 12:00 am and 3:00 pm / 6:00 pm
IN FRANCE : 161, rue Saint-Honoré, 75001 Paris. Tel : 01-42-60-47-24. M. : Palais-Royal.
Open : 9:00 am / 6:00 pm. Saturday : 10:00 am / 1:00 pm. Internet : www.tourisme-marocain.com
IN BELGIUM : av. Louise, 402, Bruxelles 1050. Tel : (02) 646-63-20 ou 646-85-40. Fax : (02) 646-73-76. Internet : www.tourisme-marocain.com
IN Sweden : 5, Schifflande, 8001 Zurich. Tel : (01) 252-77-52. Fax : (01) 251-10-44.
Internet : www.tourisme-marocain.com
IN CANADA : pl. Montréal Trust, 1800 MacGill College, suite 2450, Montréal, Québec, H3A-3J6.
Tel : (514) 842-81-11. Fax : (514) 842-53-16. Internet : www.tourismemarocain.ca
TELEPHONE
Morocco to France : 00 + 33 + number of the correspondent with 9 digits (not to compose the 0 which precedes the number).
Morocco towards other French-speaking countries : idem but the code of Belgium is 32 - that of Sweden 41 and that of Canada 1.
All countries towards Marocco : 00 + 212 + call number to 8 digits without the initial 0.
Marocco to Marocco :
The country is divided into four zones of classification :
02 : Zone Casablanca – Settat
03 : Zone Rabat – Tanger
04 : Zone Marrakesh – Laâyoune
05 : Zone Fès – Oujda.
Telephone numbers in case of urgency from a fixed phone :
- Police : 19
- Royal Gendarmerie : 177
- Fire Brigade and urgency : 15
- Informations : 160
- International Informations : 120
- Center Antipoison : 037.68.64.64
- SAMU Marrakech : 044 40 40 40
Telephone number in case of urgency from a mobile phone : 112
The "MOBILE" network in Morocco is very good quality.
SOME SOUVENIRS TO TAKE BACK
Non-residents in Morocco can export :
Without formalities :
- Products of Moroccan origin (craft industry or others) acquired locally and this, without limitation of value. The justification of the payment is given by any suitable means: exchange contract, international credit card, travelers' cheque etc.
- Travel souvenirs,
- Decorative, fossiliferous rocks and/or stones known as semi-precious (with the proviso of not exceeding ten).
- 1 litre of alcohol more 22° and two liters of wine + a cartridge of 200 cigarettes
With formalities :
- Antiquity and collection, art objects: the authorization of the Department in charge of the Cultural Affairs is necessary (consult the site of the Moroccan customs : http://www.douane.gov.ma)
At the airport (6 km in the South from the town center) :
Taxi fare from airport to city center.
Change only the minimal sum you will need at the airport. - The exchange rate is much better into the city.
« Small Taxis » ( urban routes , limited to 3 passengers)
The small taxis, by opposition to the big taxis which provide the interurban links, are omnipresent but they cannot go out of Marrakesh. The average price of a journey within the city is 10 dh. An additional 50 % increase is charged after dark. Luggage also gives place to a supplement. Taxi stations : Place Jemaa el Fna, Bab er Robb, Bab Doukkala.
« Big Taxis » (urban and interurban journeys, limited to 5 passengers)
Big taxis assure routes known in the city, a little like buses, but they have no stations. You hail them. Big taxis also assure intercity links (negotiate the price before departure).
Caleche (horse-carriage) (limited to 4 passengers)
The caleche constitutes an original means of transport.
EVERYDAY LIFE
Tips
A tip (of a few dirhams - 10 or 15 % of the amount of the bill) is often waited in restaurants, but also for numerous services).
Some Arabic words
- yes : na'am, iyah
- no : la
- thank you : choukran, baraka hallaoufik
- sorry : afwan
- hello : es salam alaikoum (answer alaïkoum salam)
- are you fine ? : labès ?
- good bye : b'slama
- it is all, that is enough : safi, baraka
- OK : wakha (kh is pronounced like “J” in Spanish)
Opening Schedules
- Administrative offices : Monday through Friday - 8:30 am / 4:30 pm
- Trade : Monday through Saturday (or Sunday) – 8:30 am / 1:00 pm and 2:30 pm / 7:30 pm - The souks are open Monday through Saturday (or Sunday) – 8h30 am / 1:00 pm and 2:30pm / 6:00 pm - Certain shopes close on Friday
- Banks : generally Monday through Friday - 8:30 am / 4:00 pm.
- Post offices : pen from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm. You can buy stamps at the tobacconist's shops or reception desk at certain hotels. The mailboxes are numerous and easy to locate, of yellow color as in France.
- Museums : 9:00 am / 12:00 am and 3:00 pm / 6:00 pm - Closed on Tuesday.
FOOD
Cook : some typical dishes
- The pastilla : floret of the Moroccan kitchen, “The Pastilla” is a subtle pastry containing onion, pigeons (or chicken), parsley, hard-boiled egg and almonds. Mixed with sweet and salted scented cinnamon. There are recently alternatives (fish, seafood…).
- The mechoui, lamb raised in full nature and roasted on wood fire: meat with the taste of antan, dusted with cumin and salt...
- The tagine, dish slow to cook in a conical pottery of form out of terra cotta and left several hours on a soft ember.Version poultry, lamb or fish, accompanied by vegetables.
- Do not leave Marrakesh without tasting with the local dish, Tanjia. It is at the same time the name of a potbellied and delicious mets containing sheep and spices.One throws there pell-mell all ingredients and mixes them very well. Then, the jar is closed with aluminum foil and taken to the public oven where it will cook for about 4 hours in the midst of hot ash inside the oven’s furnace.
Moroccan restaurants in the Medina :
- Dar Es Salam : 17th century Palace.
- Dar Moha : gastronomical and elegant
- Gharnata Palace : magnificent decoration
- Dar Fez : Fez-native kitchen characterized by the association of salt-sweetened, the use of fruits and vegetables, the codified use of spices and condiments
- The Marrakchi : with view on Jemaa el Fna
- Soleiman Palace : charming palace
- Ksar el Hamra : architectural splendor
- Diaffa : luxe and gastronomic cooking
- La Sultana : savours of the East and Occident
- Le Café Arabe : italian and maroccan cooking
- Bougainvillea : arabian coffee
Moroccan restaurants in Gueliz :
- Le Comptoir : mediterranean specialities
- Safran & Cannelle : maroccan cooking
- Le Sabal : french and maroccan specialities
TO VISIT AND DISCOVER
Official tourist guides
The official guides are generally dressed ih a white djellaba and provided with a red badge and a chart of guide of the Ministry for Moroccan Tourism written in French. You will find them at the tourist Office or at the reception desks of the hotels. Their wages are fixed according to an established scale.
Moroccan Tourist Bureau
IN MARRAKECH : At the corner of Mohammed-V Avenue and Yougoslavie Street. Tel. : 044-43-61-31 or 79.
Fax : 044-43-60-57. Open : Monday through Friday - 8:30 am / 4:30 pm. .
Saturday 9:00 am / 12:00 am and 3:00 pm / 6:00 pm
IN FRANCE : 161, rue Saint-Honoré, 75001 Paris. Tel : 01-42-60-47-24. M. : Palais-Royal.
Open : 9:00 am / 6:00 pm. Saturday : 10:00 am / 1:00 pm. Internet : www.tourisme-marocain.com
IN BELGIUM : av. Louise, 402, Bruxelles 1050. Tel : (02) 646-63-20 ou 646-85-40. Fax : (02) 646-73-76. Internet : www.tourisme-marocain.com
IN Sweden : 5, Schifflande, 8001 Zurich. Tel : (01) 252-77-52. Fax : (01) 251-10-44.
Internet : www.tourisme-marocain.com
IN CANADA : pl. Montréal Trust, 1800 MacGill College, suite 2450, Montréal, Québec, H3A-3J6.
Tel : (514) 842-81-11. Fax : (514) 842-53-16. Internet : www.tourismemarocain.ca
TELEPHONE
Morocco to France : 00 + 33 + number of the correspondent with 9 digits (not to compose the 0 which precedes the number).
Morocco towards other French-speaking countries : idem but the code of Belgium is 32 - that of Sweden 41 and that of Canada 1.
All countries towards Marocco : 00 + 212 + call number to 8 digits without the initial 0.
Marocco to Marocco :
The country is divided into four zones of classification :
02 : Zone Casablanca – Settat
03 : Zone Rabat – Tanger
04 : Zone Marrakesh – Laâyoune
05 : Zone Fès – Oujda.
Telephone numbers in case of urgency from a fixed phone :
- Police : 19
- Royal Gendarmerie : 177
- Fire Brigade and urgency : 15
- Informations : 160
- International Informations : 120
- Center Antipoison : 037.68.64.64
- SAMU Marrakech : 044 40 40 40
Telephone number in case of urgency from a mobile phone : 112
The "MOBILE" network in Morocco is very good quality.
SOME SOUVENIRS TO TAKE BACK
Non-residents in Morocco can export :
Without formalities :
- Products of Moroccan origin (craft industry or others) acquired locally and this, without limitation of value. The justification of the payment is given by any suitable means: exchange contract, international credit card, travelers' cheque etc.
- Travel souvenirs,
- Decorative, fossiliferous rocks and/or stones known as semi-precious (with the proviso of not exceeding ten).
- 1 litre of alcohol more 22° and two liters of wine + a cartridge of 200 cigarettes
With formalities :
- Antiquity and collection, art objects: the authorization of the Department in charge of the Cultural Affairs is necessary (consult the site of the Moroccan customs : http://www.douane.gov.ma)
