What is there to do at night in Morocco?

The first thing I tell guests is that Moroccan evenings are warm and social rather than loud. Nights here revolve around food, music and people. In Marrakech the great square Jemaa el-Fna transforms after sunset into a sprawling open-air kitchen, with snail vendors, grilled-meat stalls, orange-juice carts and circles of storytellers and musicians. You eat standing or perched on a bench, elbow to elbow with Moroccan families, and that is the most authentic "night out" the country offers.

Music is everywhere if you know where to look. I send people to riad courtyards and small venues for Gnawa, Andalusian and Chaabi sets, and to seaside terraces in Essaouira where Gnawa rhythms drift out of the medina until late. A rooftop dinner with the call to prayer echoing over the rooftops, lanterns lit, tagine arriving slowly, is the kind of evening that stays with you far longer than any club.

For travellers who want a proper drink, the bar scene is concentrated. Marrakech's Hivernage and Gueliz districts have hotel bars, lounges and a handful of nightclubs; Casablanca is the genuinely cosmopolitan night city; Essaouira and Tangier have relaxed bohemian spots. In the medinas themselves, alcohol is rare, so I always plan around the licensed neighbourhoods.

My honest advice: don't come to Morocco for clubbing, come for the texture. The best nights I arrange are a slow hammam at dusk, then dinner on a rooftop, then a wander through lamplit alleys for fresh mint tea and pastries. In smaller towns and the desert, evenings end early and quietly, often around a shared meal and a fire under the stars, which most guests find more memorable than any nightclub.