What are the best things to do in Morocco at night?

Let me set expectations honestly first: Morocco is a Muslim country and most of it is not a nightlife-and-bars destination. If you're after big clubs, only Marrakech, Casablanca and a couple of coastal resorts really deliver that, and it's a small scene. But if 'things to do at night' means atmosphere, food and beauty after dark — then the country is wonderful, and the evenings are often my guests' favourite part of the day.

Jemaa el-Fna in Marrakech is the headline act. By day it's a fairly ordinary square; after sunset it becomes pure theatre — rows of food stalls firing up grills and steaming snail-soup pots, storytellers and Gnaoua musicians drawing circles, henna artists, the whole place lit and smoking and roaring with life. Eat at the stalls (point at what looks busy and fresh), then climb to a rooftop café on the edge for a mint tea and the bird's-eye view of the chaos. It's one of the great night-time spectacles anywhere.

Out in the Sahara, night is the whole point. At a desert camp the evening unfolds slowly — a tagine dinner, then Berber drumming and singing around a fire, then everyone falls silent as the stars come out in numbers you won't believe, the Milky Way clear overhead. I tell people to walk a little way from the camp lights, lie back on the cool sand, and just look up. On the coast, Essaouira's ramparts at sunset and the lit-up port are lovely for an evening stroll, and the seafront cafés stay lively. In the cities, the real evening culture is the café — sitting out with a mint tea or coffee, watching the world pass, is the genuinely Moroccan way to spend a night.

For something more lively, Marrakech has rooftop bars and a few good clubs around the Hivernage district, and Casablanca has the country's most cosmopolitan bar-and-music scene, including the gorgeous Art Deco quarter and the famous Rick's Café. Tangier, too, has a long bohemian café tradition worth tasting. But my honest steer for most travellers is to lean into the Moroccan version of a great night out — a rooftop dinner, a square full of life, a fire under the stars — rather than chase a nightlife the country wasn't really built for.