Morocco

Morocco would be my first trip to Africa. That’s a big one for me: it (or Egypt) would mean I’ve been to every continent except Antarctica.

The markets

The souks are the big draw. I want to wander the medina in Marrakech, through alleys of spices, leather, lanterns and rugs, and then end up in Jemaa el-Fnaa as the sun goes down and the square fills with food stalls, musicians and storytellers. I’m told haggling is part of the fun, over plenty of mint tea.

Marrakech

Beyond the souks: the Majorelle Garden and its famous blue, the Bahia Palace, and a proper hammam. Plus as many tagines as I can manage.

Fes

Fes el-Bali, the old medina, is one of the largest car-free urban areas in the world, a maze of more than 9,000 lanes where donkeys still do the deliveries. The leather tanneries, with their vats of colour, look incredible from the rooftops. And the University of al-Qarawiyyin, founded in 859 by a woman, Fatima al-Fihri, is often called the oldest university in the world still running.

The Sahara

I’d love a night in the desert: a camel ride into the dunes of Erg Chebbi near Merzouga at sunset, a night in a desert camp, and the stars. On the way, the road crosses the Atlas Mountains and passes Aït Benhaddou, the old fortified village you’ll recognise from Gladiator and Game of Thrones.

And if there’s time

• Chefchaouen, the blue town in the Rif Mountains.
• Essaouira, on the Atlantic coast: the wind, the fishing port and the old ramparts.
• Casablanca, for the Hassan II Mosque, built partly out over the ocean.

The colours and the people are what I’m most looking forward to.