Why hire a car in Marrakech
Marrakech's medina is one of the great pedestrian experiences in the world — the Djemaa el-Fna square, the souks, the Bahia Palace and the Majorelle Garden are all best reached on foot or by petit taxi, and bringing a car near the old city walls is more stress than it's worth. But the real reason to hire a car in Marrakech is everything outside the city. The N9 south climbs immediately into the High Atlas mountains, reaching the Tizi n'Tichka pass (2,260 m) in about 90 minutes and descending to the kasbahs of the Draa Valley beyond. The ksar of Aït Benhaddou — a UNESCO site and film location for dozens of productions — is around 3 hours south.
West, the A3 and N1 run 190 km to Essaouira, the whitewashed Atlantic port city with a completely different character from Marrakech — cooler, windier and less visited. It's an ideal two-day escape from the medina heat. North, the R203 climbs through the foothills toward Azilal and the Ouzoud Waterfalls, one of Morocco's most striking natural sights. All of these require a car; taxis and buses reach them only with effort and compromise.
