Rabat is the quiet capital. The Kasbah of the Udayas is a small whitewashed quarter painted blue to head height, dropping to the river mouth where it meets the Atlantic. The unfinished Hassan Tower and its field of broken columns sit above. After Casablanca's noise it's a calm first night.

Volubilis is a Roman city left in a wheat field below Meknes. Standing columns, a triumphal arch, and floor mosaics of Orpheus and the seasons still in place, open to the sky. A guide brings it alive; otherwise it's beautiful rubble. The storks nest on the arch. Combine it with Meknes's huge granary the same morning.

A full day is the minimum for Fez el-Bali, the old medina. Nine thousand lanes, no cars, donkeys carrying gas bottles, the tanneries' dye-pits, the Quaraouiyine that claims to be the oldest university on earth. Take a local guide for the morning at least; the maze defeats phone maps. The medieval city is the whole point of Fez.

After the northern cities, Marrakech is warmer and louder. The Koutoubia minaret over the palms, the Bahia Palace's painted ceilings, the night market on Jemaa el-Fnaa. The long drive down from Fez via Beni Mellal is mostly motorway. Save energy for the square after dark.