18. november 2026 – 25. november 2026
Magical Marrakech with Maria Wittendorff
Marrakech is not just a destination – it is an experience that settles in your body and keeps calling you back. Since Annas Højskole first opened the doors to a folk high school course in the red city in 2024, we have run eight courses here. Each time with new participants, new conversations and new layers of the city unfolding. Because you never finish with Marrakech.
The city is a living meeting between past and present. Here centuries-old palaces, mosques and city gates stand side by side with contemporary art, music scenes and modern life. In the narrow alleys of the medina you feel the rush of history, while in squares, gardens and on roof terraces you experience a pulsing city life full of sounds, scents and colours. Marrakech is architecture, craftsmanship, music and stories – but also people.
One of the things that strikes us most strongly is the encounter with the city's people. Kind, curious and open people who gladly share their culture, their history and their everyday life. It is in the conversations, in the music, in the meals and in the small moments that understanding grows – and it is precisely here that the folk high school makes sense.
Our courses in Marrakech are grounded in immersion and community. We dive into the city's history, its architecture and art, its musical traditions and its role in the Arab and North African world. At the same time we make room for the senses: the tastes, the atmosphere, the tempo and the unpredictability that make Marrakech so alive and enticing.
We run folk high school in Marrakech because we cannot help ourselves, because we want to share our knowledge and enthusiasm for the city with others. Because the city has something on its heart. And because it deserves to be experienced – together.
The course is led by Maria Wittendorff – one of Denmark's most knowledgeable communicators about Marrakech. Also on the course is Anna Katrin Nørgaard, who by now has run 8 courses in Marrakech. She is a guarantee of folk high school atmosphere, and of the practical things during the week.
Payments
On registration we ask for a deposit of kr. 3000,- The balance is due 2 months before departure.
Alle kan være med
Du bestemmer selv dit tempo, og programmet tilpasses holdet. Er du i tvivl om noget, så ring til os — så tager vi den sammen.
Magical Marrakech with Maria Wittendorff
Day 1. Wednesday 18 November: Travel day, the labyrinthine souk, and dinner at the riad
7.55 Departure from Copenhagen Airport. Make sure to bring food for the flight / eat lunch on the flight.
12.25 Arrival in Marrakech. We travel by bus to our folk high school/riad.
15.00 Arrival at the folk high school. Tea/coffee/sandwich/cake. Maria and Anna tell us about the intentions of the course and go through the broad plans for the week.
Allocation of rooms.
17.30 We split you into two groups – one takes a short walk with Maria and one with Anna, because now we are just going to get a first taste of the souk, and withdraw money / show where the nearest cash machine is.
19.00 We eat dinner at the folk high school and do a "who's who round" + a song.
Day 2. Thursday 19 November: Marrakech comes into being – the city's significance then and now
8.00 Morning exercises and singing. We do a little gentle exercise while the sun rises.
8.30 - 9.15 Breakfast on the folk high school's roof terrace. We go through the do's and don'ts in the medina/souk. How do you haggle over the price, what about tipping, and so on.
9.30 - 10.30 Maria tells us about the city's history and the places we are to visit today. And about their significance today and in the past. We will see the city's landmark, the Koutoubia mosque, which dates all the way back to the first century after the city's founding in 1070, and whose architecture has formed the basis for many mosques since.
Then we head around Jamaa el Fna. The square, which for centuries has been a setting for diversion and entertainment and today houses one of the world's largest pop-up kitchens, boiling and frying every single evening 365 days a year. We also pass Souk Ablouh, where olives and all sorts of pickled delicacies, such as the well-known Moroccan salt-preserved lemons, are lined up for sale.
13.00 - 14.00 We eat lunch at the folk high school.
Free time on your own
18.00: On the folk high school's / riad's roof terrace, Maria gives her talk: "Me and Marrakech" – Maria's path to Morocco and Marrakech.
19.00 Dinner at our folk high school.
Day 3. Friday 20 November: Architecture in Marrakech – palaces and oases
8.00 Morning exercises and singing. We do a little gentle exercise while the sun rises.
8.30 - 9.15 Breakfast on the roof terrace.
9.30 10.30 Maria tells us about the places we are to visit today, which show snapshots of three periods of architecture in the city. We start by walking past the Qoubba Almoravide, which is unique in being the only free-standing building in Morocco from the time of the Almoravids – the clan that founded Marrakech. The little domed building has only been preserved because for 800-900 years it lay hidden under many layers of earth.
A few steps from there we arrive at the old Koranic school Medersa Ben Youssef, which is one of the city's highlights because of its fantastic architecture. It represents the finest of the Saadian building style, which dates from the late 1500s, when Marrakech experienced its golden age. We go in together, but once you have entered, we walk around separately.
13.00 Lunch at the cosy restaurant Dar Tazi, where Maria knows the family that owns it.
15.00 We visit the Dar El Bacha palace, which is a beautiful example of architecture from the early 1900s, built by the famous and infamous pasha El Glaoui. The palace probably has the most beautiful collection of colourful mosaic tiles in the city and shows in every way the finest of Moroccan craftsmanship and building art.
19.00 Dinner at the folk high school – we talk a little about what you can do on your day off the day after tomorrow.
20.00 - 21.00 We are visited by a storyteller who, in English, tells old traditional stories in the style of those told at Jamaa El Fna. The storytellers in Morocco have a very special significance, and in recent years the old craft has had a revival with many new, young storytellers. Our guest tells us about then and now and about the structure of the stories.
Day 4. Saturday 21 November: from hidden garden to Moroccan music – and musical traditions
8.00 - 8.40 Breakfast on the roof terrace.
8.40 Departure towards "The Secret Garden", or Jardin Secret, as it is called here.
9.00 We get exclusive entry to the Jardin Secret half an hour before everyone else. This garden is a magnificent oasis in the middle of the city with a very distinctive history. The garden provides a guide for us, who tells us about how the garden was created, and we are invited for coffee or tea. There is also the chance to go up into the garden's tower and see the city from above; it is a fine sight and gives a sense of the city as a whole. The tower is accessed in smaller groups, so we go up in several turns.
Morocco's musical tradition: We are going to a music museum located close to the Secret Garden. Both to look at the architecture of the museum, but also to talk about the Moroccan musical tradition
13.00 Lunch at your own expense. Free afternoon – shopping, hammam, museum visits etc.
17.45 We walk to Cafe Clock, where we have a bite to eat before the concert. Cafe Clock is a very young and artistic place, a so-called 'cross culture cafe', where people meet from all walks of life, and where at the same time they do a lot to convey the original culture through concerts etc.
19.00 Concert with the Houariyat Ladies, a very special group of middle-aged women who play drums and sing traditional songs typically used at celebrations such as weddings and the like. Many young locals come to experience them, and you can expect lively dancing in the house.
Day 5. Sunday 22 November: Morocco's cuisine, own time, Maria and Marrakech
8.00 Morning exercises and singing. We do a little gentle exercise while the sun rises.
8.30 - 9.15 Breakfast on the roof terrace.
10 - 13.00 Cooking school. Moroccan cuisine – a talk about the food, the spices etc.
We are now to try our own hand at Moroccan cuisine together with the local women who normally work at the folk high school's riad.
We make our own lunch.
14.00 Free afternoon. Some may want to go to the Majorelle garden – an iconic botanical garden, known for its intense blue colours and exotic plants, and lovingly restored by the fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent. You can also spend a couple of hours on a lovely session of spa/hammam (we know good places). Some may want to go shopping, or others may want to try their hand at an afternoon bike ride with a guide.
20.00 We have a table at a lovely restaurant: Pepe Nero, which is housed in a smaller historic palace that 100 years ago was owned by the same pasha who built the Dar El Basha palace. We are to sit in the Moorish courtyard with fine mosaic tiles and a fountain in the middle.
On the way home we cross Jamaa El Fna to see how the square looks when the many kitchens are in full swing.
Day 6. Monday 23 November: A trip a little out of the city to Anima Garden
8.00 Morning exercises and morning song with Anna. We do a little gentle exercise while the sun rises.
8.30 - 9.15 Breakfast on the roof terrace.
9.30 We drive about 45 minutes out of the city to the loveliest garden, Anima, created by the Swiss André Heller, a fantastic all-round genius who has made his mark in every corner of the artistic world. The garden is utterly paradisiacal and lies like a lush green island on bare plain in the Ourika valley. Via many small paths the garden is divided into small areas with different themes, and the combination of nature and art runs throughout. We bring a snack packed lunch.
10.30 - 12.00 We move around the garden on our own.
13.00 Lunch at the folk high school.
Free time on your own.
Dinner on your own and at your own expense.
Day 7. Tuesday 24 November: Art in Gueliz
8.00 Morning exercises and morning song with Anna. We do a little gentle exercise while the sun rises.
8.30 - 9.15 Breakfast on the roof terrace.
Maria tells us about the Gueliz district, which was laid out by the French 100 years ago, when Morocco was a French protectorate. And then about the many art experiences Marrakech has to offer, not least in Gueliz.
Departure to Gueliz, where we are to visit an exciting museum spanning the entire period of painting in Morocco from the 1800s to today, as well as two modern galleries that really have their finger on the pulse. On the way we also look at French architecture and take in the atmosphere of the wide boulevards.
We take a coffee + cake stop at the Petanque Social Club, which has a lovely courtyard garden and very interesting and different interior decoration in the rooms inside.
13.30 Lunch at the folk high school.
In the afternoon we visit Riad Yima, which is owned by Morocco's answer to Andy Warhol, Hassan Hajjaj, a very colourful experience.
After the visit there is still a chance to do some last shopping, for example at Place des Epices, which lies a few steps from Riad Yima.
19.00 Closing dinner at the folk high school. We eat, sing and do a round on what we got out of the course.
Day 8. Wednesday 25 November: Departure day
8.00 Breakfast + morning song.
9.00 Check-out + departure towards the airport.
13.10 Departure with Norwegian.
17.35 Arrival at Copenhagen Airport.
We reserve the right to make changes.
Programme
Magical Marrakech with Maria Wittendorff
Day 1. Wednesday 18 November: Travel day, the labyrinthine souk, and dinner at the riad
7.55 Departure from Copenhagen Airport. Make sure to bring food for the flight / eat lunch on the flight.
12.25 Arrival in Marrakech. We travel by bus to our folk high school/riad.
15.00 Arrival at the folk high school. Tea/coffee/sandwich/cake. Maria and Anna tell us about the intentions of the course and go through the broad plans for the week.
Allocation of rooms.
17.30 We split you into two groups – one takes a short walk with Maria and one with Anna, because now we are just going to get a first taste of the souk, and withdraw money / show where the nearest cash machine is.
19.00 We eat dinner at the folk high school and do a "who's who round" + a song.
Day 2. Thursday 19 November: Marrakech comes into being – the city's significance then and now
8.00 Morning exercises and singing. We do a little gentle exercise while the sun rises.
8.30 - 9.15 Breakfast on the folk high school's roof terrace. We go through the do's and don'ts in the medina/souk. How do you haggle over the price, what about tipping, and so on.
9.30 - 10.30 Maria tells us about the city's history and the places we are to visit today. And about their significance today and in the past. We will see the city's landmark, the Koutoubia mosque, which dates all the way back to the first century after the city's founding in 1070, and whose architecture has formed the basis for many mosques since.
Then we head around Jamaa el Fna. The square, which for centuries has been a setting for diversion and entertainment and today houses one of the world's largest pop-up kitchens, boiling and frying every single evening 365 days a year. We also pass Souk Ablouh, where olives and all sorts of pickled delicacies, such as the well-known Moroccan salt-preserved lemons, are lined up for sale.
13.00 - 14.00 We eat lunch at the folk high school.
Free time on your own
18.00: On the folk high school's / riad's roof terrace, Maria gives her talk: "Me and Marrakech" – Maria's path to Morocco and Marrakech.
19.00 Dinner at our folk high school.
Day 3. Friday 20 November: Architecture in Marrakech – palaces and oases
8.00 Morning exercises and singing. We do a little gentle exercise while the sun rises.
8.30 - 9.15 Breakfast on the roof terrace.
9.30 10.30 Maria tells us about the places we are to visit today, which show snapshots of three periods of architecture in the city. We start by walking past the Qoubba Almoravide, which is unique in being the only free-standing building in Morocco from the time of the Almoravids – the clan that founded Marrakech. The little domed building has only been preserved because for 800-900 years it lay hidden under many layers of earth.
A few steps from there we arrive at the old Koranic school Medersa Ben Youssef, which is one of the city's highlights because of its fantastic architecture. It represents the finest of the Saadian building style, which dates from the late 1500s, when Marrakech experienced its golden age. We go in together, but once you have entered, we walk around separately.
13.00 Lunch at the cosy restaurant Dar Tazi, where Maria knows the family that owns it.
15.00 We visit the Dar El Bacha palace, which is a beautiful example of architecture from the early 1900s, built by the famous and infamous pasha El Glaoui. The palace probably has the most beautiful collection of colourful mosaic tiles in the city and shows in every way the finest of Moroccan craftsmanship and building art.
19.00 Dinner at the folk high school – we talk a little about what you can do on your day off the day after tomorrow.
20.00 - 21.00 We are visited by a storyteller who, in English, tells old traditional stories in the style of those told at Jamaa El Fna. The storytellers in Morocco have a very special significance, and in recent years the old craft has had a revival with many new, young storytellers. Our guest tells us about then and now and about the structure of the stories.
Day 4. Saturday 21 November: from hidden garden to Moroccan music – and musical traditions
8.00 - 8.40 Breakfast on the roof terrace.
8.40 Departure towards "The Secret Garden", or Jardin Secret, as it is called here.
9.00 We get exclusive entry to the Jardin Secret half an hour before everyone else. This garden is a magnificent oasis in the middle of the city with a very distinctive history. The garden provides a guide for us, who tells us about how the garden was created, and we are invited for coffee or tea. There is also the chance to go up into the garden's tower and see the city from above; it is a fine sight and gives a sense of the city as a whole. The tower is accessed in smaller groups, so we go up in several turns.
Morocco's musical tradition: We are going to a music museum located close to the Secret Garden. Both to look at the architecture of the museum, but also to talk about the Moroccan musical tradition
13.00 Lunch at your own expense. Free afternoon – shopping, hammam, museum visits etc.
17.45 We walk to Cafe Clock, where we have a bite to eat before the concert. Cafe Clock is a very young and artistic place, a so-called 'cross culture cafe', where people meet from all walks of life, and where at the same time they do a lot to convey the original culture through concerts etc.
19.00 Concert with the Houariyat Ladies, a very special group of middle-aged women who play drums and sing traditional songs typically used at celebrations such as weddings and the like. Many young locals come to experience them, and you can expect lively dancing in the house.
Day 5. Sunday 22 November: Morocco's cuisine, own time, Maria and Marrakech
8.00 Morning exercises and singing. We do a little gentle exercise while the sun rises.
8.30 - 9.15 Breakfast on the roof terrace.
10 - 13.00 Cooking school. Moroccan cuisine – a talk about the food, the spices etc.
We are now to try our own hand at Moroccan cuisine together with the local women who normally work at the folk high school's riad.
We make our own lunch.
14.00 Free afternoon. Some may want to go to the Majorelle garden – an iconic botanical garden, known for its intense blue colours and exotic plants, and lovingly restored by the fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent. You can also spend a couple of hours on a lovely session of spa/hammam (we know good places). Some may want to go shopping, or others may want to try their hand at an afternoon bike ride with a guide.
20.00 We have a table at a lovely restaurant: Pepe Nero, which is housed in a smaller historic palace that 100 years ago was owned by the same pasha who built the Dar El Basha palace. We are to sit in the Moorish courtyard with fine mosaic tiles and a fountain in the middle.
On the way home we cross Jamaa El Fna to see how the square looks when the many kitchens are in full swing.
Day 6. Monday 23 November: A trip a little out of the city to Anima Garden
8.00 Morning exercises and morning song with Anna. We do a little gentle exercise while the sun rises.
8.30 - 9.15 Breakfast on the roof terrace.
9.30 We drive about 45 minutes out of the city to the loveliest garden, Anima, created by the Swiss André Heller, a fantastic all-round genius who has made his mark in every corner of the artistic world. The garden is utterly paradisiacal and lies like a lush green island on bare plain in the Ourika valley. Via many small paths the garden is divided into small areas with different themes, and the combination of nature and art runs throughout. We bring a snack packed lunch.
10.30 - 12.00 We move around the garden on our own.
13.00 Lunch at the folk high school.
Free time on your own.
Dinner on your own and at your own expense.
Day 7. Tuesday 24 November: Art in Gueliz
8.00 Morning exercises and morning song with Anna. We do a little gentle exercise while the sun rises.
8.30 - 9.15 Breakfast on the roof terrace.
Maria tells us about the Gueliz district, which was laid out by the French 100 years ago, when Morocco was a French protectorate. And then about the many art experiences Marrakech has to offer, not least in Gueliz.
Departure to Gueliz, where we are to visit an exciting museum spanning the entire period of painting in Morocco from the 1800s to today, as well as two modern galleries that really have their finger on the pulse. On the way we also look at French architecture and take in the atmosphere of the wide boulevards.
We take a coffee + cake stop at the Petanque Social Club, which has a lovely courtyard garden and very interesting and different interior decoration in the rooms inside.
13.30 Lunch at the folk high school.
In the afternoon we visit Riad Yima, which is owned by Morocco's answer to Andy Warhol, Hassan Hajjaj, a very colourful experience.
After the visit there is still a chance to do some last shopping, for example at Place des Epices, which lies a few steps from Riad Yima.
19.00 Closing dinner at the folk high school. We eat, sing and do a round on what we got out of the course.
Day 8. Wednesday 25 November: Departure day
8.00 Breakfast + morning song.
9.00 Check-out + departure towards the airport.
13.10 Departure with Norwegian.
17.35 Arrival at Copenhagen Airport.
We reserve the right to make changes.
Meet your instructors
Maria Wittendorff:
In my day-to-day work I am an editor at a book publisher, while my books about Marrakech are a hobby project driven by passion. Since my early youth I have been interested in the history, language and culture of the Arab world, and I therefore also became an exam.art. in Semitic philology (Arabic) from the University of Copenhagen, and for more than 40 years I have travelled in North Africa – of which the last 10 years in Morocco with a focus on Marrakech.
When I first arrived in Marrakech, I felt a strong fascination and immediately had the feeling that this city has so much of the wondrous to offer that it must be shared with others. It has become three books about the red city: Marrakech – smag, steder og stemning (2017), Din guide til Marrakech (2019) and the newly updated new version of the guidebook (2025).
At the same time I run the Instagram page @marrakechguidebook, where I regularly post pictures, share news or dive into some of all that the city offers: historic sights, museums, gardens, architecture, food, riads, craftsmanship, art, music and much more.
Marrakech is a city that is in constant movement, and that you never finish with. That is why I keep returning to experience new layers of the city and to meet up with the many friends I have made over the years.
I am really looking forward to sharing my passion for magical Marrakech with you!
Anna Katrin Nørgaard:
Founder and principal of Annas Højskole. Former journalist at DR.
I have travelled a lot in southern Africa and been to Tunisia, but when Ditte Ingemann and Anne Hjernøe took me to Marrakech in 2022, I was swept off my feet. What a beautiful city, what delicious cuisine – but most importantly, what a wonderful people.
Marrakech is full of kind, welcoming and curious people who are interested in you and your culture. I have now run courses in Marrakech 8 times, and I have also travelled around the country – and I am not at all finished with this lovely and super contrast-filled place.
So I keep developing courses in Morocco and looking for new collaborators, and when the very mrs. guidebook author Maria Wittendorff said "yes" to being course leader together with me in Marrakech, I was simply so happy. If anyone knows something about "the red city" it is Maria!
Praktisk & pris
Departure: 18 November 2026
7.55 Departure Copenhagen Airport with Norwegian – A connecting flight from Aalborg, return, can be purchased at the day's price.
12.25 Arrival in Marrakech
Return: 25 November 2026
13.10 Departure from Marrakech with Norwegian
17.35 Arrival at Copenhagen Airport
*We reserve the right to make changes
Price includes
- 2 Danish course leaders
- Return flights direct Copenhagen – Marrakech
- All bus transport
- All shared excursions and entrance fees
- All talks
- All meals at the folk high school as per the programme (excluding drinks)
- 2 * Dinner at a restaurant (excluding drinks)
- Local guides
- Contribution to the Travel Guarantee Fund
Price excludes
- Drinks
- Meals on your own: 2 * lunch, 1 * dinner
- Tips for local staff at the folk high school – we collect this together.
- Tips at restaurants
- Payment:
- On registration we ask for a deposit of kr. 3000,- The balance must be transferred 2 months before departure.
- In special cases it is possible to pay by Mastercard; please write on the registration if this is desired.
Billeder
What our guests say
“Tak for en fantastisk oplevelse, ikke mindst takket være Anna og dig. Du var en inspirerende rejseleder, der gjorde turen til meget mere end bare en pilgrimsvandring.”
“Skøn tur som puttes i rygsækken med fantastiske oplevelser, smukke fotos og den bedste kursusleder Michael Birkkjær Lauritsen. Elsker oplevelser med Annas Højskole.”
“Jeg har netop været på strikkehøjskole på Læsø ved Annette Danielsen. Uanset hvor hårdt jeg anstrenger mig, kan jeg simpelthen ikke finde noget negativt at sige. Annette Danielsen er en fuldstændig fantastisk inspirerende og forrygende formidler. Østergaard B&B er et skønt sted med lækre lejligheder, dejlig og velsmagende mad, og en meget sympatisk og underholdende vært. Vi mødte skønne og inspirerende fortællere i huset og på ture på Læsø. Vi startede dagene med morgensang sammen med Jens Christian, som fint fortalte lidt om de sange, vi sang. Dejlig start på nogle vidunderlige dage. Det har bare været helt igennem en skøn, pragtfuld og fantastisk uge. Føler mig meget beriget.”
Ofte stillede spørgsmål
Kan jeg rejse med, hvis jeg rejser alene?
Ja — rigtig mange af vores kursister rejser alene. Du bliver en del af fællesskabet fra første dag, og du kan vælge eget værelse, hvis du vil have ro omkring dig.
Hvor god en form skal jeg være i?
Alle kan være med! Programmet tilpasses holdet, og du bestemmer selv dit tempo. Er du i tvivl, så ring til os — så tager vi den sammen.
Hvordan foregår betalingen?
Du reserverer din plads med et depositum og modtager en faktura pr. e-mail. Restbeløbet betales senest 60 dage før afrejse — også via faktura og bankoverførsel.
Hvad hvis jeg bliver nødt til at aflyse?
Vores afbestillingsregler står i rejsereglerne for pakkerejser, og vi er medlem af Rejsegarantifonden (reg.nr. 3122). Kontakt os hurtigst muligt, hvis noget kommer i vejen — vi finder altid en løsning sammen.
Kan I tage hensyn til allergier og særlige behov?
Ja. Når du reserverer, spørger vi ind til kost, allergier og særlige behov, og vi giver besked videre til køkkenet og værterne på destinationen.
Er der dansktalende værter med på rejsen?
Ja, altid. Der er dansktalende kursusledere og værter med på alle vores ophold.
Join the waitlist
This course is sold out — get notified if a spot opens up.