Riad Elizabeth

Forty steps down Derb el Baroud from Marrakech's Rue Mouassine, Riad Elizabeth keeps its original cedar-beam ceilings and zellige courtyard fountain behind an unmarked medina door. Rooms open onto the central patio rather than a corridor, so light and birdsong reach every doorway.

Breakfast is served rooftop, msemen and amlou set out beside a view over the Koutoubia minaret. Staff will walk guests to Jemaa el-Fnaa, roughly ten minutes on foot through narrow, easily missed turns.

The riad suits travellers who want a quiet courtyard base within the old city walls rather than a hotel on its edge.