Rabat – Travel magazine Conde Nast Traveller featured Morocco’s red city, Marrakech, in the top 10 Friendliest Cities in the World, with the magazine ranking the iconic Moroccan city in third place.
Describing Marrakech as one of the more accessible cities enjoying a “mix of traditional” and modern ways of life, Conde Nast Traveler noted that the city is home to several absorbing spice markets, a labyrinthine medina (old city), as well as many world-class luxury hotels, and the world-grade Yves Saint Laurent Museum.
With Morocco being a gateway to Africa and the Arab world, the magazine said, it is only natural for Marrakech, the most popular Moroccan city among global travelers, to have earned a “recent reputation for being a hub for Africa’s diasporic art world.”
In addition to the Yves Saint Laurent Museum, art-loving visitors of the Moroccan city can “stop by the Museum of Contemporary African Art Al Maaden to sample some of the best works of modern African art,” the magazine said.
Marrakech, which had been receiving millions of tourists annually before the COVID-19 crisis hit, has repeatedly featured in different international travel magazines’ rankings of the world’s best and must-visit cities for their unique appeal to tourists and their unparalleled blending of modern and traditional ways of life and being.
Tourism experts are expecting a tourism revival in Morocco following the reopening of the country’s air borders on February 7.
Recently, the Netflix television series “Inventing Anna” put the spotlight on Marrakech and its unique tourist attractions, including the world-class La Mamounia hotel where Anna Sorokin alias Anna Delvey stayed with friends.
Conde Nast Traveler also ranked Kralendijk, the capital of Dutch Caribbean island of Bonaire, as the first friendliest city; in second place is the Mexican city of San Miguel de Allende. Bangkok, Lisbon, Dublin, Copenhagen, Istanbul, Singapore, and Edinburg are all on the list.
