“There are certain places on the surface of the earth that possess more magic than others,” said Paul Bowles, the American writer who lived in Morocco for 52 years. “And one of those places is Marrakesh.” He wasn’t wrong.

Say Marrakesh and a world of souks, snake-charmers, and storytellers unfolds like the unrolling of a luxurious Moroccan carpet. Gardens filled with exotic cacti and palm trees rub shoulders with bustling markets  awash with colors and smells that have scarcely changed in centuries. The beautiful Jardin Majorelle, one of the biggest palm and cactus collections in the country, is only a few minutes from the city walls.

Marrakesh, known as the “Red Rose City”, was once one of North Africa’s most prominent trading posts. Camel caravans up to 12,000 strong would cross the Sahara to get here with cargoes of gold, spices, and salt from the ancient metropolis of Timbuktu, 1,900 miles to the south.

North Africa’s most vibrant and exotic square, Jmaa el Fna, is the ancient heart of Marrakesh. Known centuries ago as The Place of the Dead, it was here the heads of criminals would be spiked on poles as a warning to others.

During daylight hours, you’ll see fresh orange juice vendors and red-robed water sellers, purveyors of powders and potions to heal all ills, and henna artists creating intricate designs. Nut and dried-fruit merchants display their wares next to snake charmers and acrobats. As night approaches, the square transforms into the largest open-air restaurant in the world. The air is perfumed with the exotic scents of grilled meats, slowly cooking tajines (meat stews infused with fruit and vegetables) and the subtle scent of simmering snails.

With such tempting aromas, you can’t pass up the opportunity to eat in Jmaa el Fna. To lunch like a local, try one of the tiny cupboard-sized cafés in the streets that radiate off the square where single-portion tajines are cooked on a gas burner while the cook flips battered fish, deep-fried in a blackened old frying pan. Dine royally on a lamb tajine for one, four merguez, the wonderful Moroccan lamb sausage, a salad and a complementary bowl of olives. However, you may want to leave the sliced camel’s head or bowl of sheep’s testicles to the locals.

As good as the food is, even more delights await you in the souks where arms-width Aladdin’s caves full of soft leather babouches (gorgeously colored), sumptuous carpets, brightly decorated ceramics and exquisite pierced metal lamps entice you into mysterious alleyways. There are delights to suit every pocket but unless you have a guide to search out your specific requirements, just wander at will and be dazzled by what you see.

You barter for everything in the souks, whether it’s a single candle or a luxurious carpet. There is a Moroccan saying that goes “You eat, I eat, we all eat,” which basically means don’t try to cut someone’s throat just to save a few dirhams and get one over on the salesman. He won’t sell it if he can’t make a profit. If it’s something large you have set your eye and heart on, a Moroccan rug for example, you will be offered mint tea and invited to admire the vendor’s stock. Set the price you are prepared to pay in your head, offer about one-third and work your way to a compromise – and do it with a smile.

For an elegant saunter around the city take yourself to the more-than 800-year-old minaret of the Koutoubia Mosque. At 253 feet tall, it’s the second-highest minaret in the Islamic world; no building in Marrakesh is allowed to be higher. In its shadow, green-painted caleches, the horse-drawn carriages with their glowing burnished brass, invite you to take a romantic ride around the city walls – all 12 kilometres of them – and onwards into the Palmeraie. If you are tempted to try a ride on a camel, a creature with the charm and good manners of a troll, you can do it in the Palmeraie. But a few things to bear in mind; don’t go during the rush hour – for which read ‘gridlock’ – or you’ll see the same stretch of city wall while your hour passes, always negotiate the price before you get in, and make sure the price you agree on isn’t per person but for the whole caleche. Don’t make your caleche wait in the Palmeraie if you decide to take a camel ride or you will run up a healthy bill; get a taxi back into the city instead. And again, you need good bargaining skills to get a decent price.

As you look back on your time here, take a mint tea (the glue that holds Moroccan society together) and think beyond the gilt and gaudiness. The same sense of awe, bedazzlement, and bewilderment that you feel has been felt by visitors to the Red City for almost a thousand years.