How do I find a pharmacy, and what is open late in Morocco?

Pharmacies are everywhere in Morocco and they are a real asset to travellers — far more so than in some countries, because Moroccan pharmacists are highly trained, dispense many things over the counter that would need a prescription back home, and very often speak good French and some English. Look for the illuminated green cross; you will find one on most commercial streets and certainly in any town. For minor ailments — an upset stomach, a sunburn, a cold, blisters from the medina cobbles — the pharmacist is your first and best stop, no doctor required.

The thing every visitor needs to understand is the "pharmacie de garde" system. Pharmacies do not all stay open at night, so they take turns: at any given time there is a designated on-duty (de garde) pharmacy covering nights, Sundays and public holidays for each district. Crucially, every pharmacy posts the current de garde rota in its window or on its door, so even at a closed pharmacy you can read which one is open and where. It is a quietly brilliant system once you know to look.

To find the on-duty pharmacy fast, you have three easy routes. Ask your riad or hotel reception — they know the local rotation and will often phone ahead. Search online for "pharmacie de garde" plus the city name, which pulls up current listings. Or simply walk to the nearest pharmacy and read the notice in the window. In a real emergency the de garde pharmacy is sometimes attended through a small night hatch rather than an open door, so do not assume a dark shopfront means no one is there.

My practical packing advice removes most of the need to search at all: bring your own small kit of the essentials — rehydration salts, an anti-diarrhoeal, painkillers, antihistamines, plasters and any prescription medication in its original box with a copy of the prescription. Morocco's pharmacies can resupply almost anything, but you do not want to be hunting for a de garde at 2am in Merzouga. Carry the basics, know the green cross and the de garde system, and you are genuinely well covered anywhere in the country.