Away from the big hotels, tourism in Marrakech is largely and wonderfully unexploited, with dusty streets, ancient souks (market-places), hidden palaces and steamy hammams (Turkish baths) much the same as they have been for centuries.

At the heart of Marrakech is its Medina, an ancient city within the city, still largely surrounded by its original 12th century ramparts and fortress walls made of packed red mud. This fully preserved historic town is a World Heritage Site containing a myriad of alleyways, where shops, cafés, workshops, homes and historic monuments all spill out on to the streets. The Medina is also home to one of Marrakech’s most beautiful boutique hotels, La Sultana.

Up an understated alleyway, it could almost be missed if it wasn’t for its impressive studded doors. Inside, a rather uninspiring reception room leads on to four breathtaking riads — traditional Moroccan houses, painstakingly restored to their former splendour.

True to the style of a traditional Moroccan home, La Sultana has no garden as such, but in its central courtyard, there’s a sizeable swimming pool (right) surrounded by stone columns and palms and open to the skies. The indoor spa is even grander, with a large Jacuzzi pool leading to a hammam, sauna and treatment rooms. 

Spa treatments are almost a must in a city like Marrakech where life outside the luxury confines of the big hotels can often seem a little daunting. One of the best ways to get your bearings is from the pretty roof terrace of La Sultana, a great place for dinner under the stars, which looks over The Saladian Tombs, the ancient resting place of former sultans of Marrakech and the 12th century Koutoubia Mosque, from which melodic calls to prayer echo out each day. 

Although you can easily find your way around the city unaccompanied, we booked a local guide. Not only did Mustapha show us much more than we would have found in our guide book, but he also saved us from being pestered by over-eager shopkeepers or getting lost in the maze-like Grand Souk and suggested that we take a horse and carriage ride around the city walls — a relaxed way to see the sights in style. 

The imposing greatness of sights such as the 16th century Koranic school of Medersa Ben Youssef, The Bahia Palace built for a wealthy aristocrat in the 1890s and the elegant Majorelle Gardens made lasting impressions. Morocco has a rich and interesting history marked by Islam, warring dynasties, sultans and European occupation and influences. Its many rulers have created a city where Arabian minarets and palaces lie side by side with Western-style boulevards and formal gardens. Culturally, this mix of influences has also made its mark, with jeans and T-shirts as widely worn now as kaftans and hijab (traditional Islamic headscarves). 

But it’s in the souks that traditional Arabic culture still holds firm, with guides not only offering you a peek behind the scenes of family businesses that have operated for generations, but more importantly assisting with haggling — bartering down bagfuls of sequinned slippers, painted bowls, carved wooden boxes and hand-crafted metal lanterns. 

Shopping in Marrakech is taken very seriously indeed, with buyers now visiting the city from major stores all over the world. Since the early 1990s, craft production has taken off in a big way, with a range of new products, notably in metal and ceramic, being added to classic leather and wood items. The Grand Souk at the centre of the city remains a treasure trove for picking up a bargain but antique dealers are now cashing in too as trends for Moroccan style reach an all-time high. 

One of the very best treasures in Marrakech cannot be bought, but rather experienced. After dark, Place Jemaa El Fna, the city’s vast central square, comes into its own, with storytellers, magicians, snake charmers, acrobats and dancers adding to the atmosphere. 

Tourists rub shoulders with locals, with the sights and sounds of the entertainers refreshingly not just for the benefit of Western visitors. In many places across the city, tourists are certainly made to feel welcome, but not to the exclusion of locals. 

Food in Marrakech is every bit as colourful as city life with spicy tagines of lamb or beef, apricots and vegetables served with golden cous cous, kebabs and spicy sausages cooked in the traditional way over charcoal, and meze dishes including delicate filo parcels filled with vegetables, chickpeas and cheese, olives, juicy tomatoes and honey-glazed aubergine. 

Outside the city walls, the soaring Atlas Mountains provide a breathtaking backdrop with their imposing foothills just 45 minutes drive away through fields of corn and barley and shady olive groves. In the villages, life operates in the way it has done for centuries, with flour traded for figs and donkey carts as common a sight on the roadway as cars.

It’s this contrast between old and new that makes Marrakech such an interesting place to visit. Whether you are bargaining for sequinned slippers in a souk or relaxing in a steamy hammam, you can’t help but feel part of a way of life that has defied time — remaining all the richer because of it!

Liz travelled to Marrakech with Erna Low Body & Soul Holidays. 
Tel. 020 7594 0290 or visit www.bodyandsoulholidays.co.uk