Taroudannt Things to Do

Taroudant has two main souks in town that are open everyday and full of excellent things as per the talents and craftsmanship that Taroudant and Morocco is well known for - leatherwork such as shoes and bags, jewellery such as silver, textiles, basketmaking and limestone carvings. ie the Berber Souk or marche Municipal on the south side of Place an-Nasr and the Arabic Souk which is also known as the grand or main souq which is east of Place Al-Alaouyine

But on Sunday out of town the people of Taroudant and outlying areas bring all sorts of produce, livestock, household stuff to sell on a huge area just outside Bab al-Khemis across and across the bridge

Well worth going to if you are in town then.

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Only a small outfit but Taroudant is well known for its quality leather goods and it can be worth while to at least go see and take a few photos....they dont really compare with the ancient and very busy and photogenic sites at Fes or Marrakech but there are a few shops housed at the Tannery with quite good prices for a nice range of goods.

A couple of shops had straight out lower prices than in the souks cool and calmly without any haggling and the last shop we visited just before the entrance he asked huge prices and then haggled down - sometimes that is tiresome if youre done with all that carry on already by then!

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About 36km/30-45 minutes drive away is the small village area of Tioute with its kasbah on its hill above, half of it converted into a restaurant for tour groups, and the huge oasis pool below in the shade of the oasis palm trees.

Looked very clean - and a number of foreigners were there at the same time greatly enjoyig themselves - a great respite from the summer heat which can be really stifling heat!

There is a bar serving cold drinks - non alcoholic only!- but a nice place to sit or roam around the flower and plant beds in the shade with a cool drink and good company away from the stresses of travelling during the hot months.

Since been back to Tioute this April - didnt revisit the pool but did walk through the palmeraie with beautiful spring flowers everywhere, all the way up the hillslopes to the kasbah, and drove on up to the kasbah and enjoyed the views just before sunset. The restaurant closes about 5pm so was closed when we were there but was fine to enjoy views from the terrace.

Then revisited the carpet shop - still in its place since my previous visit 7 years ago - had stayed the night in it on my first visit around Southern Morocco! - for posterity and a quiet look around but found a particularly special carpet there from a tribe famed for beautiful designs but not making them any more so drove away with another 3 lovely rugs....

Get a caleche round the old walls. It's bliss. If you don't know where to go after going round the walls, just tell your driver to take you wherever he thinks. It's best to get some idea of the price (from the hotel, say) and to establish it with your driver (at so much for a couple of hours or whatever) before you set off. The hotel will summon a caleche for you if you want.

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Taroudannt is a walled city. Its walls were built in the sixteenth century by the Saadians, when it was briefly made the capital of Morroco. They obviously expected a great future for the city, as the walls are 6km long: even longer than Marrakech's.

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Taroudannt's tannery is a dirty, smelly place, just outside the city walls, where you can see men scraping bits of fat off of goat, sheep, cow and camel skin, and leather being cured in pigeons' droppings. Probably best not to visit just before lunch. The workers there are friendly though, and, of course, they have a touristy shop full of leather goods.

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Place Assarag is Taroudant's main square. Most of the city's hotels and restaurants are located here. I think it must have been laid out during the French colonial era, as when you are sitting at one of its' outdoor cafes, you can almost imagine you are in France.

There are several Banks and ATM machines in Taroudant, and almost all the credit cards are accepted by these ATM machines like Visa, Master Card, Electron, Cirrus, Maestro and Plus.
You can draw cash with foreign debit cards and major credit cards. However, keeping some cash on you is recommended.
The maximum amount you can withdraw from a cash machine is 4,000 dirham. That's about 400 euros(400USD). Credit cards are not widely accepted for payments, although you can use them at travel agents and many upmarket hotels, restaurants and shops. American Express and Diners Club cards are rarely accepted. If you want to exchange money, there are many agencies in taroudant where you can exchange your money into Moroccan Dirhams. These Agencies may charge a commission.