Travel Dispatch: 5 Marrakech Musts

By Susan Cernek

Chalk it up to a few too many viewings of Casablanca and The Man Who Knew Too Much, but a trip to Morocco has topped our fantasy getaway list for some time—notably, the palm-tree-dotted city of Marrakech.

And so, with visions of long lazy lunches of steaming tagines and trips to the souk to find tooled leather bags and vibrant woven rugs in mind, we packed up and headed south to shoot a story for our spring style issue. 

Should you too be inspired to book a trip to soak up the vibrant bustling city, here are five places to put at the top of your must-see list. Think of it as your very own Marrakech black book, courtesy of Madewell. Bon voyage!

MARRAKECH

1. The cool boutique hotel: Riad El Fenn

The brainchild of Vanessa Branson, Sir Richard Branson’s sister, this beautifully appointed riad is perfectly placed in the medina—meaning it’s 30 easy paces to a taxi stand. However, the restaurant and bar are so inviting (and kitted out with great art and a tasty menu) that you may spend every night in.

2. The fashion favorite: YSL’s Jardin Majorelle

The famously lush retreat of late designer Yves Saint Laurent will have you loving and living in cobalt blue. Don’t miss the Berber mini-museum and the gift shop—the latter is loaded up with YSL books that you can’t get stateside.

3. For a fancy nightcap: Hotel La Mamounia

It’s frequently ranked the best hotel in the world and you can see why; the grounds are gorgeously manicured, from the orange groves to the sod tennis courts. All four restaurants are a dream, but the stately Churchill Bar is a favorite. It has potent, perfectly made drinks and fantastic live jazz every night—similar to New York’s Carlyle Hotel or Le Meurice in Paris, but in sun-dipped Marrakech.

4. The photo op: Palais Bahia

One of the most picturesque tourist stops in a gorgeous city. Go late in the day when the crowds have thinned and you get golden-hour light.

5. Round-the-clock shopping stop: Place Jemaa El-Fna + the souks

Behind the big square (where there’s produce for sale during the day and food stands pop up at sundown, along with snake charmers and fire breathers) sits a maze of souks selling everything you can imagine. Prepare to haggle and be sure to pick up a pair (or eight) of leather babouche slippers, some argan oil and all the Berber rugs you can carry. (Hint: You may want to bring or buy an extra bag so you can tote home all your Marrakech treasures.)

Travel Dispatch: Jessica’s Berlin

A chat with Jessica Taylor, a performance maker and curator, confirmed a travel fact we had long suspected: Berlin just may be one of the coolest European capitals, period. Expat Taylor, whose next project is conceptualizing the menu for a weekend pop-up eatery at Sing Blackbird, a spot local to Berlin, shared some of her favorite places in the city she now calls home.

Avant-Garde Haven: Volksbühne, Linienstraße 227, +49 30 24065 ext. 5

What I love about the Berlin theater scene is that even the state-run theater is experimental and innovative. I’ve seen incredible productions at Volksbühne, from the great Laurie Anderson to an epic 11-hour marathon adaptation of Ibsen’s John Gabriel Borkman.

Artsy Haunt: Hamburger Bahnhof, Invalidenstraße 50, +49 30 3987 3411

A former railway station, Hamburger Bahnhof houses permanent pieces by Cy Twombly and Joseph Beuys along with a fantastic rotation of exhibitions. My favorite: a Carsten Höller exhibition with twelve live reindeer in which (a few lucky) visitors were invited to spend the night on an elevated mushroom above the reindeer pen and wake up to breakfast in bed!

Locavore Gem: Little Otik, Graefestrasse 71, +49 30 5036 2301

I used to live around the corner from this gem that specializes in farm-to-table fare.

Fashionable Café: Sing Blackbird, Sanderstraße 11, +49 30 5484 5051

My girls Tasha and Diana run this sweet little cafe/vintage shop. In the three years it has been open it’s quickly turned into a Berlin institution, serving delicious treats and hosting the most fly vintage-clothing flea market in town.

Daily Destination: Hudson’s Cakes, Boppstraße 1, +49 157 7682 7829

Sometimes you wanna go where everybody knows your name. Many a late morning have been spent here enjoying a fine English breakfast that languidly eases into afternoon scones, and suddenly it’s half past six and you’re ordering a pitcher of Pimms.

Indie Movie House: Babylon Kino, Rosa-Luxemburg-Straße 30, +49 30 242 5969 

A great place for film buffs! My favorite Babylon moment was watching a live orchestra perform during a screening of Charlie Chaplin’s Modern Times.

Vintage Treasure Trove: Das Neue Schwarz, Mulackstrasse 38, +49 30 2787 4467 

A superstore of beautiful fashion! Sometimes I get dizzy just thinking about the impeccable selection of accessories.

Singular Bookshop: Dialogue Books, Schönleinstraße 31, +49 30 6273 5111 

A haven for expats looking for great literature. Dialogue’s expert team of book geeks will actually sit down with you to recommend their favorite reads and take special orders. I always leave with something unexpected.

Round-the-clock Hangout: Tempelhof Feld, Künnekeweg 1, +49 30 9170 0700

When the city of Berlin decided to turn one of Europe’s most iconic airports into the city’s largest public park, Berliners went berserk. And rightfully so. Now you can spend the day barbecuing, gardening in your vegetable plot, going to trade shows or dancing in the hangar to Diplo.

Palatial Escape: Sanssouci, Schloss Sanssouci - Potsdam, +03 3 1969 4202

Germany’s very own Versailles! If you’re looking to escape the DDR architecture of the city, take the train 30 minutes outside of the city and explore Sanssouci’s verdant gardens and majestic palaces.

Buzzy Boutique Hotel: Michelberger Hotel, Warschauer Straße 39/40, +49 30  2977 ext. 8590

Hotel Michelberger knows how to throw a shindig. For their opening party three years ago, they invited guests to party all night and stay the entire weekend in their rooms to party some more. Classic Berlin!

A Band Tour of Williamsburg, Brooklyn

Photos by Olivia Malone.

From the Go-Go’s to Bikini Kill, The Pointer Sisters to Sleater-Kinney (and, in turn, Wild Flag), we love us an all-girl band. Add to our already healthy roster of women-only bands who rock the Brooklyn-based group Bad Girlfriend. Besides their name, which we think, it should be said, is pretty awesome, we can also get behind the cheery garage-punk tunes they are churning out. Not to mention they happen to be big fans of, well, us—check out how killer they all look on stage in our Veda x Madewell leather jackets.

Yup, these are Veda x Madewell denim and leather jackets—they drop Jan. 29, so keep a lookout. 

Since the girls spend the majority of their time working (and playing) in their Williamsburg neighborhood, we asked them to share some of their favorite local haunts.

Favorite Tattoo Parlor: 
Flyrite Tattoo
492 Metropolitan Ave.

Favorite Music Venue:
Glasslands
289 Kent Ave.

Favorite Vintage Store:
Stella Dallas
285 N. 6th St.
 
Favorite Diner:
Champs (vegan diner)
176 Ainslie St.
 
Favorite Record Store:
Academy Record Annex
96 N. 6th St.
 
Favorite Bookstore:
Spoonbill & Sugartown
218 Bedford Ave.

Favorite Juice Bar:
Lodge General Store
318 Grand St.
 
Favorite Sweet Treat Spot:
Momofuku Milk Bar
382 Metropolitan Ave.

Favorite Restaurant:
La Superior
295 Berry St.
 
Favorite Brunch Spot:
Cafe Mogador
133 Wythe Ave.

Travel Dispatch: Giulia’s Italy

To craft our luxe Italian leather boots, we spend quite a bit of time in Italy searching high and low for the best materials. And while we have our own top picks for places to see and things to do, we were really eager to get a fresh perspective on the place from a native. So we asked art assistant/photographer/model Giulia Venturini to hip us to her favorite Italian spots. Check them out below:

1. LA BALERA DI PORTA VENEZIA, MILANO

Who doesn’t love an antique ballroom where you can have dinner and then dance away the night with lovely older people?

2. CIMITERO DEL VERANO, ROME

This 19^th-century cemetery is one of the largest in Italy and has an amazing romantic look. Take a walk there to see its beautiful statues—and don’t miss the secret tunnel.

3. DUOMO OF MILANO

Climbing onto the roof of this iconic Italian cathedral is a must-do. You get to see the gargoyles and statues up close, not to mention have a great view of the city.

4.  IL VITTORIALE DEGLI ITALIANI, LAKE OF GARDA, LOMBARDY

This hillside estate is definitely my favorite spot in Italy. Take a walk in the park and be sure to visit the house-turned-museum, which is full of unique treasures.

Travel Dispatch: Los Angeles

As you may know, we’re opening a brand-new Madewell store in LA next week at The Grove—and to get into the City of Angels spirit, we asked our friend and in-the-know filmmaker Michelle Peerali to weigh in on her top must-see spots in Los Angeles. Check them out below.

ART: KK Gallery LA, LACMA, THIS Los Angeles

FOOD: Osteria La Buca, Black Market Liquor Bar, Superba Snack Bar

NIGHTSPOT: Bootleg Theater, Pattern Bar

MOVIE THEATER: Downtown Independent

COFFEE SHOP: Handsome Coffee Roasters

VINTAGE SHOP: The Way We Wore

BEAUTY: Chris Petroff (for color) and Kristie Streicher (for eyebrows) at Warren-Tricomi

INTERIORS AND HOME: Tobi Tobin Design

SEMILOCAL GETAWAY DESTINATION: Leo Carrillo State Park and Oxnard (LA’s version of Montauk)

Travel Dispatch: Amsterdam

Notice a worldly feel at madewell.com lately? It’s probably because we’re currently featuring Dutch style blogger extraordinaire Sabrina Meijer. Click here to see the gorgeous shoot—photographed on a houseboat by The Selby.

P.S. Headed to Amsterdam anytime soon? Sabrina maps out her must-visit spots below.

MUSEUM: Foam International Photography Museum (Psst: Foam magazine is an absolute favorite among us Madewell ladies. If you can’t make it across the pond, order a copy here.)

RESTAURANT: Café Toussaint

NIGHTSPOT: Chicago Social Club

COFFEE SHOP: Screaming Beans

VINTAGE STORE: Episode

GO-TO BOUTIQUE: Friday Next

Dutch blogger Sabrina Meijer’s go-to boutique in Amsterdam, Friday Next.

Travel Dispatch: Folegandros, Greece

When our stylist extraordinaire Christina revealed to us her lifelong goal—to visit all 200+ habitable Greek islands—we knew she’d be an amazing resource for travel tips (hey, we’re practical ladies!). So on her most recent trip to Greece, this time to the tiny island of Folegandros, she made sure to take notes. Here are her top three tips for a rich weekend on the island:

1. Rent a scooter: It’s the best way to discover the coves and beaches (where cars are prohibited!).

2. Take a long walk up the main hill to look across the Aegean Sea. On a clear day, you can see several neighboring islands, like the famous Santorini.

3. Be sure to enjoy the fresh fish, vegetables and local cheese. (And a handy restaurant tip: “Cheers” in Greek is sthn ygia sou [pronounced stin-eeyah-su].)