Morocco Guide
Marrakesh
Drinking
1 Café-Bar de l'Escale Rue Mauretania, just off Av Mohammed V Opening time: Open 11am–10.30pmThis place has been going since 1947 and specializes in good bar snacks, such as fried fish or spicy merguez sausages – you could even come here for lunch or dinner (there's a dining area at the back), but it isn't recommended for unaccompanied women.
2 Chesterfield Pub 119 Av Mohammed V Opening time: Daily 10am– midnightNext to the Nassim Hôtel, this supposedly English pub – it's nothing of the sort – is one of Marrakesh's more sophisticated watering holes, with a comfortable if rather smoky bar area, all soft seats and muted lighting. There's also a more relaxed, open-air poolside terrace to lounge about on with your draught beer or cocktail of a summer evening.
3 Grand Hôtel Tazi Corner of Rue Bab Agnaou and Rue el Mouahidine, Medina Once, this was the only place in the Medina where you could get a drink, and it's still the cheapest (beers from 25dh). There's nothing fancy about the bar area – squeezed in-between the restaurant and the lobby, and frequently spilling over into the latter – but it manages to be neither rough nor pretentious (a rare feat among Marrakesh drinking dens) and women should have no worries about drinking here.
4 Hôtel Agdal 1 Bd Mohammed Zerktouni Opening time: Open till 12.30amPretty cosy as Moroccan bars go, and one where women should feel reasonably comfortable.
5 Samovar 145 Rue Mohammed el Bekal, next to the Hôtel Oudaya Opening time: Daily 10am–11pmAn old-school, low-life drinking den, a male hangout with bar girls in attendance. The customers get increasingly wasted as the evening progresses – if you want to see the underbelly of Morocco's drinking culture, this is where to come. Definitely not recommended for women visitors, however.