Marrakech is an interesting city, so close to Europe and yet so different in many ways. The contrast is particularly evident in the Medina, the old walled city, where motorbikes, donkeys and carts and cars jostle for right of way on the narrow dirty streets. I have just returned from a few days staying in the Medina.

We flew with Atlas Blue, from London Gatwick for a mid-afternoon arrival, although Easy jet also has a flight early in the morning.

We took a taxi to our hotel from the airport and agreed, perhaps a little too easily, on a price of 150DH (£12) it turned out not to be very far, in an old unsafe looking car with no air conditioning or seat belts. We were probably ripped off a little, although the return journey in a slightly safer car booked from the hotel was the same price.

It is also possible to rent a horse drawn carriage from near Place Jemaa-el-Fna, the main square. Haggling starts at about 200DH per person for an hour but it should be possible to negotiate down a lot from there depending on the journey etc. to, for instance 200DH for a carriage for up to four people. There is plenty of competition. In an hour you get a good overview of the main sites inside the Medina walls including the Royal Palace, tombs, mosques lots of busy back streets and markets and various other palaces.

There are a variety of different types of accommodation in Marrakech from simple bed and breakfast places to grand hotels, but the most traditional type is the Riyad or Riad, which is a word now generally assumed to mean guesthouse, but in fact refers to the traditional architecture, arranged around a central courtyard with four flowerbeds.

Outside the Medina there are some international hotels such as the Meridien, not far from the old city walls, which, while lacking Moroccan character does provide an oasis of calm, cool air-conditioned refuge. This is more of a business hotel and I would not recommend it for a holiday.

The Medina has a lot of restaurants providing French, Arabic or international cuisine and many bars, although not all serving alcoholic drinks. We were already staying in the Medina so we booked a table with the Riad hostess, at a nearby hotel restaurant, la Maison Arabe.

Restaurant Pavilion near Riad Altaire is another excellent place for dinner. This is a wonderful restaurant in a riyad style with big open courtyard and excellent French food for about 1000DH (£70) for two courses and wine.

We ventured out to Gueliz, the new town outside the Medina walls and tried two restaurants there, with rather less success. We had Lunch at the Queen Atlantic restaurant where we sat and ate outside with constant jets of mist to cool us down. This is a modern, fairly characterless restaurant selling reasonable western food at fairly high prices and beer served disguised as orange juice in opaque glasses. We also had dinner at Jakarta Restaurant, which had good reviews, but served terrible food at prices similar to the excellent restaurants in the Medina.

Place Jemaa-el-Fna, the main square, was walking distance from our riyad and in fact from everywhere else in the Medina. It is good place to stop for coffee and watch the various activities going on there. The square is a busy place with plenty to tempt tourists, including the entrance to the souk markets, snake charmers and people with unhappy looking monkeys in cages. We went too close to a snake charmer who tried to put a snake on my shoulder just as it did something very unpleasant all over my arm. We didn't pay a tip and made hasty trip back to the hotel for a shower and change of clothing. Later we went looking for an alcoholic drink in Place Jemaa-el-Fna, but none was to be found and even the options for dinner in the many restaurants around the square looked pretty low quality.

New town: Gueliz