The 9 UNESCO World Heritage Sites of Morocco

Morocco has nine cultural sites on UNESCO's World Heritage List, according to the list as we know it. UNESCO occasionally adds sites, so check its website for the latest before you plan around a number. They run from the Roman ruins of Volubilis to the walled medinas of Fez and Marrakech, and most can be combined in one route.

The Medina of Fez (inscribed 1981) is the best known: Fez el-Bali is one of the largest car-free urban areas in the world, with the Al Quaraouiyine mosque and university, the madrasas and the working tanneries. Allow at least two nights, and a guide for the first day, because the alleys are hard to navigate alone.

The Medina of Marrakech (1985) is the other great old city: Jemaa el-Fna, the souks, the Koutoubia minaret and the Saadian tombs. It is livelier and more open than Fez, and the riads inside the walls are a large part of the experience of staying there.

The Ksar of Ait-Ben-Haddou (1987) is a fortified village of earthen buildings on the old caravan route south of the High Atlas, and it has appeared in many films. It is a standard stop between Marrakech and the desert, and staying nearby lets you see it without the day-trip crowds.

The Historic City of Meknes (1996), the Archaeological Site of Volubilis (1997) and the Medina of Tétouan (1997) belong to the north. Meknes was an imperial capital with monumental gates and granaries, Volubilis is the best-preserved Roman site in the country, and Tétouan has a medina shaped by Andalusian refugees. Meknes and Volubilis are easy to reach on the way from Fez to Chefchaouen.

The Medina of Essaouira (formerly Mogador, 2001) is a walled Atlantic port laid out in the eighteenth century, and the Portuguese City of Mazagan (El Jadida, 2004) is a sixteenth-century fortress town with a vaulted cistern. Rabat: Modern Capital and Historic City (2012) covers the capital's mix of French-era planning and older monuments, including the Hassan Tower and the Kasbah of the Udayas.

Seven of the nine sit on routes we already run, including Fez, Marrakech, Ait Benhaddou, Meknes, Volubilis, Essaouira and Rabat, and the others can be added to a tailor-made route. Tell us which sites matter to you and we will build the days around them, with time at each rather than a quick photograph.

Want to see how this works on a real route? Our 15-Day Morocco Tour from Casablanca via Rabat, Asilah and Ait Benhaddou and 10-Day Morocco Tour from Marrakech are private itineraries we can adjust to fit.