Tangier, Casablanca, Marrakesh...just the names of these cities stir a hint of spice in the nostrils. Jostling crowds, the piquant tension of debate, space in perpetual motion - the minute you set foot in the country you know you've arrived somewhere very different.

Spend a weekend in a luxury riad in Marrakesh, Fe`s or Rabat, exorcise your shopping demons in some of the most colourful markets in the world, or indulge in some off-piste desert driving over sugar-soft dunes... And this fantastically varied destination is barely three hours flying time from Europe.