swindonseagull
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Thanks but we prefer city breaks BUT the hotel must have a pool.
[Travel] Holiday suggestions Marrakesh or Athens.....
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Thanks but we prefer city breaks BUT the hotel must have a pool.
crookie
Well-known member
That hotel does, but as my earlier post, it is very small, and there aren't many sunbeds
Thunder Bolt
Silly old bat
I've just checked the hotel we stayed at in Glyfada. It was the Emmantina. I can recommend it.
swindonseagull
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Thanks nice to hear from someones whos actually stayed at the hotel.
Pretty pink fairy
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The Spanish
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Stayed there many times and it’s friendly and reasonable. Right on the main road and a cat had been totalled by the traffic outside last time I checked in, but it’s got a great rooftop bar.
Athens is tatty chaotic dirty and amazing. In any straight choice of one or another European city it would have to be something pretty special to trump Athens if that was one option.
Thessaloniki is lovely but if you were going to the UK for a one off holiday you wouldn’t go to Newcastle instead of London would you.
Skaville
Well-known member
I booked myself a spur of the moment trip to Marrakech and I am running out of time for research. I fly first thing on Monday and I’m going on my todd to mark finding a job after redundancy.
Any recommendations welcome, specifically
- food/drink to try
- restaurants (nothing fancy, I’m on my Todd)
- good hammam’s. Authentic ones please.
- anything souk/medina related
- getting around
- watching the football with the locals. They have a World Cup qualifier on Tuesday but in Casablanca. Anyone got any tips on where to watch like a local?
Thanks in advance NSC
Any recommendations welcome, specifically
- food/drink to try
- restaurants (nothing fancy, I’m on my Todd)
- good hammam’s. Authentic ones please.
- anything souk/medina related
- getting around
- watching the football with the locals. They have a World Cup qualifier on Tuesday but in Casablanca. Anyone got any tips on where to watch like a local?
Thanks in advance NSC
I went there a long time ago - an amazing place.
You can eat street food in the main square and be entertained by various forms of entertainment.
I wish I still had the mobile number of the taxi driver I used because he was amazing - got us alcohol on NYE at very short notice.
The souk near the main square is absolutely incredible - the further you go in the less touristy it is and you get left alone to take in what is like a scene from Ali Baba...
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Gabbafella
Well-known member
- Aug 22, 2012
- 5,058
Another vote for Athens.
Went there last year with the Mrs and loved it, the food was superb in every single restaurant we went in, people were lovely too.
Went there last year with the Mrs and loved it, the food was superb in every single restaurant we went in, people were lovely too.
I loved Athens too, other than the tear gas!
North of Robertsbridge
Well-known member
Flying there tomorrow morning assuming BA Heathrow flight is on and we can navigate around the M25 closure
One thing the missus is keen on and we have pre-booked online is a visit of Jardin Majorelle (reknowned gardens restored by Yves St-Laurent). Trip is for her birthday so she gets to decide; if it was me it would probably be a dune safari
I’m assuming I’d watch the footie at the hotel, not sure what the situation is with beers in the Medina
This thread 
Santorini: want to a wedding there seventeen years ago, a lovely island, hired a car, went all over. No yobs, no football shirts, a lovely peaceful island.
It was just what me an my wife needed as a fourth course of IVF had recently failed and our adoption process wasn’t going too well.
However after one night of me overdosing on Mythos and Tzatziki I erm… got her up the duff as Sargent Jones would say on Minder.
Athens: went there about eighteen months ago for a reason that escapes my memory!
What a city! Stayed a few nights, took the wife (and the result of our holiday in Santorini) we went to a few back street restaurants and bars and we fell in love with the place despite a good tear gassing.
Marrakesh: went last March, stayed right near the square in Jamaa El Fna, this is probably my favourite place on Earth at the moment, the markets, the street life, the food, the beer (it’s over a fiver a bottle but it’s lovely) can’t wait to go back later this year.
Santorini: want to a wedding there seventeen years ago, a lovely island, hired a car, went all over. No yobs, no football shirts, a lovely peaceful island.
It was just what me an my wife needed as a fourth course of IVF had recently failed and our adoption process wasn’t going too well.
However after one night of me overdosing on Mythos and Tzatziki I erm… got her up the duff as Sargent Jones would say on Minder.
Athens: went there about eighteen months ago for a reason that escapes my memory!
What a city! Stayed a few nights, took the wife (and the result of our holiday in Santorini) we went to a few back street restaurants and bars and we fell in love with the place despite a good tear gassing.
Marrakesh: went last March, stayed right near the square in Jamaa El Fna, this is probably my favourite place on Earth at the moment, the markets, the street life, the food, the beer (it’s over a fiver a bottle but it’s lovely) can’t wait to go back later this year.
Gabbafella
Well-known member
- Aug 22, 2012
- 5,058
You can’t drink pitchside AKA street level, there isn’t a mass of bars, there’s a lot of French style cafes with outside seats but you can’t get a beer. To sit in the sun you’ll need a rooftop bar, a Google search will sort you. For TV football, there are “Irish pubs” away from the old town.
Professor Plum
Well-known member
- Jul 27, 2024
- 1,242
Well done on the job. Redundancy is usually a blessing in disguise.
Marrakesh is amazing. It’s a while since I was there but I suspect it won’t have changed too much. The only unpleasant thing for us was the number and persistence of the touts and trinket salesmen who were very difficult to shake off. But the Souk is incredible as is that massive square. You can entertain yourself for endless hours there but keep a tight grip on your valuables as there are dodgy people about. When we were there, about 7 years ago, the mid-range restaurants were very good value and you could buy cheap French plonk to wash down the food. Take a day trip or two out of the city. Most hotels will advertise tours. I can’t recall now where we went but I know it was a fascinating trip to see some ancient places. Great mountain scenery too. Enjoy.
Sirnormangall
Well-known member
- Sep 21, 2017
- 3,488
I think if you’re staying in the centre of Marrakesh you’ll find all that you want to find on your list. It’s a wonderful place. Just go with the flow. There are plenty of great restaurants and many sell alcohol. Not sure about a place to watch football, but the locals are mad keen on it: our taxi driver was watching a match on his phone whilst driving us (the driving standards are bonkers)
The Maharajah of Sydney
Well-known member
I like visiting beautiful gardens too but we both found Jardin Majorelle quite underwhelming - smaller garden than we'd imagined too.
Wanted to do that Dune Safari - it looked fantastic ! But being August with daytime desert temperatures well over 45C they don't operate at that time of year.
Amazing how every evening how Jemaa El Fna is transformed from an open square to a heaving throng of open air dining areas - the souk with it's maze of alleyways and shops sits just behind it. I have a very good sense of direction but had to pay a bunch of kids a few euros to guide us to a restaurant we were looking for one day.
The riads are absolutely stunning to stay in and not at all expensive for a decent one.
We stayed here, inside the walls of the Kasbah ; https://www.dar14marrakech.com/
There were some restrictions regarding alcohol - not allowed to be consumed in full view of the public. Drinking at an upstairs balcony was fine.
The local Moroccan wine, both red and white, were surprisingly very good !
A day trip to the Atlas Mountains, visiting the Berber villages was well worth doing - very enjoyable.
Att : @Skaville
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