Can you drink alcohol in public in Morocco?

Let me be straight with you, because this trips a lot of people up. Alcohol is perfectly legal in Morocco and you can buy it as a tourist — there are bars, wine on restaurant lists, supermarket sections, and even a small Moroccan wine industry I genuinely rate. But this is a Muslim country, drinking is not part of the public culture, and cracking open a beer on a street corner or in a public square is simply not done. It reads as disrespectful, and in practice it is not allowed in public spaces.

What this means on the ground is that you drink in licensed, private-ish settings: hotel bars, restaurant terraces, riad rooftops, beach clubs, nightclubs in Marrakech and Agadir, and your own room. Nobody bats an eyelid at a glass of wine with dinner or sundowners on a hotel terrace — I arrange exactly that for guests all the time. What you avoid is the public street, the medina, public beaches and parks, and anywhere near a mosque. I have seen tourists politely told to put a drink away on a public beach, and that is the usual outcome rather than anything dramatic.

A few honest practicalities. Supermarkets like Carrefour and Marjane have alcohol sections, but they often close during religious holidays and Fridays can be patchy, and during Ramadan sales to anyone who looks Moroccan are restricted. Carry your purchase discreetly in a bag, not swinging from your hand down the street. Smaller, conservative towns and rural areas may have nowhere at all to buy or drink, so do not assume availability outside the cities and tourist hubs. Tangier, Marrakech, Casablanca, Rabat, Essaouira and Agadir are the easiest.

My rule of thumb for guests is simple: enjoy a drink, do it where it belongs, and stay discreet. Public drunkenness is genuinely frowned upon and can attract police attention, so keep it civilised. If you want a proper bar scene, base yourself in Marrakech, Casablanca or a coastal resort; if you are heading into the desert, mountain villages or deeply traditional towns, expect dry days and pack your expectations accordingly. Treat it as a private pleasure rather than a public one and you will never have a problem.