What are the best things to buy in Marrakech?

Marrakech is the great shopping city, a labyrinth of specialised souks where whole alleys are devoted to one craft — you'll hear the metalworkers before you see them, smell the tanned leather and the spice pyramids around the next corner. Souk Semmarine is the grand spine; branch off it and you tumble into the dyers' souk, the babouche souk, the lantern souk. Give yourself a full morning to get happily lost.

My Marrakech buy-list: babouche slippers in every colour (the city is famous for them), leather bags and poufs, and the pierced-metal and coloured-glass lanterns that are practically the city's emblem. Raffia and woven palm-leaf baskets and bags have become a Marrakech signature — light, cheap, beautiful, and brilliant for carrying everything else you buy. Rugs and kilims abound, though for the very finest weaving some travellers prefer the Atlas villages or Fes.

Don't miss the Mellah spice and apothecary market near the old Jewish quarter — saffron, ras el hanout, dried rosebuds, cumin, and the herbalists' stalls selling argan oil, prickly-pear seed oil, ghassoul clay, rose water and savon noir (black soap) for the hammam. These cosmetics are featherweight, pack flat, and make gorgeous gifts. Ceramics from the Marrakech and Safi traditions — tagines, bowls, the cobalt-and-white plates — round out a perfect haul.

Two insider tips. For a calmer, fixed-price taste of the same crafts, the Ensemble Artisanal (a government-backed artisan complex near the Koutoubia) lets you see fair prices without haggling — a great first stop to learn what things should cost. And if you fall for a rug or a heavy lantern, most reputable Marrakech shops will arrange international shipping; get it in writing, photograph the piece, and keep the receipt. I can recommend the trustworthy ones.