Must-see nightlife in Morocco

  • Barometre Marrakech

    Gueliz & Ville Nouvelle

    Step into a mad professor’s underground lab where apothecary jars and brewery piping line the dimly lit bar. Barometre is a first for Marrakesh: an…

  • Gran Café de Paris

    Tangier

    Gravity weighs upon the grand letters of the Gran Café de Paris, reminding us of its age at the crossroads of Tangier. Facing Place de France for almost a…

  • Kabana

    Marrakesh

    It feels like there's a bit of Bali and a bit of Senegal in this lively yet relaxed rooftop bar with views of Koutoubia Mosque. Vintage furniture, natural…

  • Café El Koutoubia

    Marrakesh

    The street terrace at this charmingly old-fashioned cafe with wrought-iron balustrades has cracking views of the Koutoubia Minaret across the road…

  • Grand Café de la Poste

    Gueliz & Ville Nouvelle

    Restored to its flapper-era glory, this landmark bistro oozes colonial decadence. Prices run high for food, but you can't beat the atmosphere if you want…

  • Dar Nour

    Tangier

    After 6.30pm, the roof atop the outstanding Dar Nour guesthouse becomes one of the best cocktail parties in town, featuring flavourful mojitos, martinis…

  • Casa Marta

    Melilla

    This is a great tapas bar that brims with people of all ages both inside and out: outdoor seating is under a tent in the street. Free tapas are included…

  • Kechmara

    Gueliz & Ville Nouvelle

    Want to hang out with the Marrakshi cool kids? Head straight to the covered rooftop bar at Kechmara after sunset and watch it pack out with a buzzing…

  • Number One

    Tangier

    Inside an apartment building, left after the entrance, this bar is perennially popular with expats. The decor is adorably funky, as is the bar's CD…

  • TangerInn Pub

    Tangier

    The former hang-out for Beat writers William Burroughs, Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg has been renovated to suit the next generation, and now teems with…

  • Nord Pinus Tanger

    Tangier

    On the top floor of this kasbah guesthouse is a bar and terrace, with fabulous views across to Spain. Sip a cocktail in the retro-chic lounge full of…

  • Café du Livre

    Gueliz & Ville Nouvelle

    This upstairs cafe-bar is a chilled-out spot with draft beer, coffee, bar snacks, cushy seating and walls of books to browse and buy. Come for happy hour …

  • Les Jardins de la Koutoubia

    Marrakesh

    This 1920s hotel offers drinkers double trouble. At sunset, head straight up to the Sky Bar, a secret haven of stylish, shady day beds and trickling…

  • Le Salama

    Marrakesh

    You might not be able to see the Djemaa El Fna from Le Salama's light-filled 'sky bar', but the 360-degree views from its floor-to-ceiling windows make up…

  • Tetería Nazarí

    Melilla

    Over 100 teas fill the menu of this Moroccan-style teahouse owned by a Spaniard (try his speciality, floral mint tea). To go with your beverage, choose…

  • Tawesna

    Ait Ben Haddou

    This small teahouse serves up a basic set menu (Dh25) of coffee or tea and a plate of homemade local sweets, the proceeds from which support the local…

  • Hôtel Atlas Orient

    Oujda

    With several drinking options, the Atlas hotel is the best place for a night out in Oujda. By the reception is a classy bar with red velvet chairs and…

  • Le Doge Cafe

    Casablanca

    There aren’t that many places to have a drink in downtown Casablanca but at the top of art deco Hôtel Le Doge’s stunning spiral staircase is an open-sided…

  • Oum Rabie

    Chefchaouen

    Smoky Oum Rabie manages to be the best bar in town, though the competition isn't exactly fierce (it's the only one not in a hotel). The two-floor…

  • 68 Bar à Vin

    Gueliz & Ville Nouvelle

    A hip and ultralively little wine bar that packs in a nice mixed crowd of Moroccans and foreign residents. There are both European and Moroccan wines on…

  • La Cervecería

    Melilla

    This Melilla institution has been slinging drinks and tasty tapas (€3) across its long marble bar top since 1991. The decor is an ode to the city's…

  • La Pérgola

    Melilla

    This cafe-bar on the pleasure-yacht harbour and overlooking estación marítima is an exceedingly pleasant place for a drink in the late afternoon,…

  • Caid's Bar

    Tangier

    Long the establishment's drinking hole of choice, this El Minzah landmark is a classy relic of the grand days of international Tangier, and photos of the…

  • Mercure Quemado Resort

    Al Hoceima

    The bar of the Mercure hotel is open to nonguests. It's not the cheapest place to have a drink in Al Hoceima, but it may be the nicest, with a deck…

  • Riad Yima

    Marrakesh

    Acclaimed Moroccan artist and photographer Hassan Hajjaj created this kitsch-crammed tearoom, boutique and gallery. Here, all your preconceived notions of…

  • Café Atlas

    Gueliz & Ville Nouvelle

    Cafe Atlas has anchored Place Abdel Moumen since the 1940s, making it a historic landmark for the Gueliz neighbourhood. Sitting beneath the cafe’s art…

  • Café Central

    Tangier

    The premier people-watching site in the medina, with tables on the pavement facing Petit Socco. See the local mafiosi arrive, watch odd specimens of…

  • Sunset view from Taros.

    Taros

    Essaouira

    This sprawling bar-cum-restaurant, where multilevel terraces come with views over the square and port, is a great place for a sundowner. There’s often…

  • Comptoir

    Gueliz & Ville Nouvelle

    Le Comptoir is one of Marrakesh's most fabled nights out. The glitzy ground floor is reserved for diners and packs out on weekends with Casa playboys,…

  • Za3Za3

    Tetouan

    This is where locals say za3za3 (zeh-zeh; meaning 'craziness') began. The owner decided to blend fruit with avocado and top it with nuts, dried fruit,…

  • Mezzanine

    Fez

    Popular with the young Fassi crowd, this multistorey lounge is a nice counterpoint to medina life, just a short walk from Bab Bou Jeloud. The covered roof…

  • Kosybar

    Marrakesh

    Mid-afternoon this is the closest the medina gets to an actual bar. The Marrakesh-meets-Kyoto interiors are full of plush, private nooks, but keep heading…

  • Café Cinéma Renaissance

    Rabat

    This cafe-bar above the namesake cinema has kept its art deco parquet flooring and sparkling chandeliers, and a terrace overlooking the action on Ave…

  • Pointbar

    Gueliz & Ville Nouvelle

    Like many restaurant-bars in Gueliz, Pointbar's charms are hidden behind a high wall and thickly draped door. Inside, this contemporary tapas bar revolves…

  • Café Maure

    Rabat

    Sit back, relax and gaze out over the estuary to Salé at this open-air cafe spread across several tiled terraces above the Andalusian Gardens. Mint tea is…

  • Salon Anglais

    Essaouira

    Sip on a classic cocktail or one of their bespoke creations (Dh160) inside the stately bar of the Heure Bleue Palais, with its leather chesterfields, a…

  • Cafe Baba

    Tangier

    Opened in the Interzone days, this smoky medina cafe got its current name from the hippies who said 'Thank you, Baba' to the man who served their tea…

  • La Tulipe

    Meknes

    A modern Moroccan cafe, with a large terrace and very decent coffee. Set on a quiet cul-de-sac, it’s a pleasant spot to kill an hour or two, and the…

  • Rubis

    Tangier

    Rubis would just be your average smoky bar if not for local legend Jimmy (real name Mohammed), a singer and guitarist who brings down the house nightly…

  • Le Studio

    Gueliz & Ville Nouvelle

    This upmarket French restaurant has a discreet wine bar tucked against its back wall, with a sophisticated list of both French and Moroccan bottles. Sip…

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