Marrakech for The Romantics: a Friday-to-Monday weekend

The twelfth-century minaret glows pink at sunset. Non-Muslims cannot enter the mosque, so walk the rose gardens along its flank and watch the swifts.

The square changes shape at dusk as the juice sellers leave and the smoking grill stalls arrive. Watch it from a rooftop first, then walk in together.

A restored riad with zellige courtyards and a candlelit tagine menu. Ask for a table beside the fountain and let them pour the wine.

Cobalt blue walls among cacti and bamboo, quietest right after the doors open. Buy a timed ticket online to skip the queue that builds by eleven.

A leafy riad courtyard off Souk el Jeld with lanterns, tiled floors and a good salad-and-tagine lunch. Take the corner table by the banana trees.

A couples' hammam session with black soap, a gommage scrub and rose-water mist. Book a private room and expect about ninety unhurried minutes.

Nineteenth-century cedar ceilings, painted doors and orange-tree courtyards. Arrive at opening, before the tour groups, and go straight to the Petite Cour.

An olive grove around a great basin, with the Atlas peaks behind the little pavilion. The light at golden hour is the whole point.

Candle-lit courtyards and a set menu of ten small Moroccan salads, then pastilla and lamb. Wine is poured generously, so the bill is a splurge.

A restored Saadian-era riad with Andalusian gardens. Climb the tower for a view over the medina rooftops, then sit by the water.

Marrakech's grandest coffee house in the Dar el Bacha palace, with a menu of single-origin beans. The queue is shortest before noon.