19 Best things to do in Marrakech
In November 2022, we made a 16-day Road trip in Morocco going all around and driving over 2 500 km (in a Fiat 500! What an adventure).
Our trip started and ended in Fes, and we made a loop in order to visit this magnificent country. Our itinerary went through the main cities, the Sahara Desert, the seaside and the mountains of Morocco.
We personally rented a car at the airport and did the following: Fes, Chefchaouen, Rabat, Casablanca, Essaouira, Marrakech, Imlil, Telouet, Ait Ben Haddou, Ouarzazate, Tinghir, Merzouga, Ifrane. However, you don’t need to follow it by the dot, you can use it to make your own plan.
Marrakech was our 6th stop in Morocco. We left Essaouira and drove to Marrakech, we then spent 2 nights there to discover the most visited place of Morocco. Marrakesh it without a doubt the most touristic city there is and one for some good reasons. The city gave you an unique insight of Morocco, plus it is located near the sea, mountain and desert. Making it the perfect spot for tourist.
Marrakech is a former imperial city and is a major economic center as well as home to lots of historical parts. The medina is a densely packed, walled medieval city dating to the Berber Empire, with mazelike alleys where thriving souks (marketplaces) sell traditional textiles, pottery and jewelry. A symbol of the city, and visible for miles, is the Moorish minaret of 12th-century Koutoubia Mosque
In this article, we will tell our story going around all the best things to do in Marrakech. So, if you too are planning a trip to Morocco and to Marrakech, then let ‘s dive in these best things to do in Marrakech.
Here is our complete video from this trip :
Table of Contents
Mapping the day
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Getting there
Getting to Marrakech is quite easy, you can fly directly to its international airport. Most of the main European cities have direct connection to Marrakech.
If you are coming from outside the EU, you can fly to one of EU’s main airports and connect to Marrakech. Or fly to Rabat or Casablanca where most of the international flights arrived and then connect to a local flight to Marrakech.
From the airport, you can either rent a car or take a taxi. But you can also use the shuttle bus L19 that goes to Hivernage, Bab Doukkala, Marrakech Railway Station, Jemaa el-Fna, Gueliz and so on… This shuttle runs from 06h to 23h30 every 20min and takes 40min. A round trip cost 30 dh and are bough onboard.
Moving Around
Once you are in the old city center, everything can be reach by walking. If you want to get to further destination you can always use city buses or even, consider renting a car if you want to get a adventure and travel to other cities than Marrakech.
But of course, you could also consider booking a tour for a hassle-free voyage.
When to Visit
You can visit Marrakech all year round but be aware that temperature varies from the extreme 37°C in summer to fresh 6°C in winter. Marrakech has a maximum of 3 days a month of rain making it a super dry destination.
The touristic season runs from May until October usually, yet since covid-19, November is also more and more visited. That’s when we were there, and the weather was quite pleasant. In beginning of November, it was still warm to be in short and end of November was colder, especially at night.
The best time then to visit Marrakech is then from May to June and then September to November. July and August being super-hot as well as the peak season for local.
Where to Stay
- (€): Riad Tahyra
- (€€): Riad Helen
- (€€€): La Sultana
Those are for a unique stay in the old city center. But you could also consider renting an apartment in the new modern city center of Marrakech: Sweet Jacob’s Appartment
What to Eat
Morocco has lots of traditional dishes and quite the tasteful cuisine. Our go-to dishes are:
- Tajine: Named after the earthenware pot in which it is cooked. This dish is basically mixed vegetables cooked for 1h or more inside the tajine pot. It can be only vegetable or with meat.
- Couscous: Made with a base of steamed wheat semolina, topped with vegetables, chickpeas, dry fruits and sauce. Plus, in option meat.
- Harira: soup of tomato, lentils, and chickpeas
- Moroccan Salad: There are lots of recipes. But it mostly includes rice, tomatoes, carrots, green peas…
Those can be found anywhere. So, be ready to go for them for the whole trip 😊
Alcohol cannot be found easily in Morocco, and it can only be drunken in a licensed restaurant or bar (which isn’t many). But you will be able to enjoy the most traditional drink of all: Teas. Mostly Mint tea mixed with green tea. Moroccans drink it at any time and everywhere. It is even for some a real ritual.
We mostly took breakfast and dinner in our accommodations. This was the easiest especially that in November, night would come early. But a good place we would recommend is:
- Mandala Society
- Restaurant AYASO Gueliz
Best things to do in Marrakech
Introduction
We started our adventure to Marrakech on our day 7 from Essaouira. This morning Tina had a sinus infection due to the dry weather. That’s something she has been struggling with for few years now. But after a good breakfast it was much better.
We left our accommodation around 10h and went straight for Marrakech.
On the way, we saw the goat on the trees. There are actually 4 on the left and 1 on the right. But those are just tourist attractions. The goats are not there naturally and if you stop, you can notice that they are not eating. It’s actually banned by law for the goats to be in the trees, as those are argan tree and are quite hard to manage. A fine of 150 euro per goat or 500e per camel is given to the farmer who leave his animals going on the trees.
Later, we didn’t notice and didn’t reduce our speed quick enough while entering a town and got controlled by the police. 71 instead of 60 km/h. The police officer stopped us, ask my documents (driver license, passport, and card ID). He then asked me to get out of the car and show me my speed. I didn’t say anything just that I didn’t brake enough. He asked for 150 dh, but I ask if he can do something. He then brought me behind his car. I gave him 100 and he said that it is fine. He took picture of my document and let me go.
We arrived around 13h40 in Marrakech. Went to our accommodation, dropped the car, and went for lunch.
As we are staying in Gueliz district, they are lots of choice for food. We opted for AYASO and the food was very good. I had the AYASO salad with their tea, Tina the soup of the day with a ginger shot. It cost 147 Mad, and 3 tips.
Jardin Majorelle-Yves Saint Laurent Mansion
Once done we walked to the Marjorelle garden. Boy, it is super touristic, and you need a ticket to enter the garden. If you didn’t buy it online, there is a long line to wait.
The garden entrance is 120 dh per person, only for the garden without the museum in it. The garden that can be visited is quite small and not worth the price asked.
The garden is nice and one of the best in Marrakech, but we would recommend Anima garden instead. Or to visit this one if you have time to spare.
Gueliz Plaza
After that we walked to Gueliz main square and then stopped at Carrefour for grocery. It costed us 211.97dh. It was huge and had everything.
We then walked back and chilled the evening.
Gueliz is the modern district of Marrakech. It is filled with stores, shopping malls and restaurants
Bab Agnaou
Now on our 8th day, we started by taking a taxi for Bad Agnaou. The taxi costed 100dh but it could have been negotiable I suppose.
Bab Agnaou is one of the best-known gates of Marrakesh. Its construction is attributed to the Almohad caliph Abu Yusuf Ya’qub al-Mansur and was completed around 1188 or 1190. The gate was the main public entrance to the royal kasbah in the southern part of the medina of Marrakesh.
Saadien's Tombs
From there we visited the Saadien’s tomb. It cost 70 dh per person. It is a nice complex but also quite small. The Saadian Tombs are a historic royal necropolis located on the south side of the Kasbah Mosque, inside the royal kasbah district of the city.
Place des Ferblantiers
From there we got lost looking for the Badi palace and ended up walking around the place des Ferblentiers. A Scenic, palm-lined square in the Mellah with artisans selling handcrafted tin lamps & housewares.
El Mellah (Jewish Quarter)
We then kept looking for Badi Palace. When a men told us that it was closed (which was not true). So, he insisted on showing us what was supposed to be a spice market in the Jewish quarter. We followed him a bit and then stopped. Those are actually not dangerous, and we did it a lot in Fes. But here it was a bit much. The Jewish quarter is OK to see but on your own.
Bahia Palace
We then went to Bahia Palace. It was also quite challenging to find it. There the entrance fee is 70 dh. The palace is beautiful and quite huge. Only downside was the crowd, there are huge herd of people swarming in with a guide.
The Bahia Palace is a mid to late 19th-century palace and was started by Si Musa, grand vizier of Alaouite sultan Muhammad ibn Abd al-Rahman, in 1859 and then continued and expanded by his son Si Ba Ahmed ibn Musa, grand vizier of Sultan Moulay Abdelaziz between 1894 and 1900.
Jemaa el-Fna
From there we walked in the Medina, stopped at Jemaa El Fna, the main square of the old town. It is a huge square mostly known for its flea market that is a beauty at night from one of the restaurants around (unfortunately there do not have that great comments).
Jemaa el-Fna is on most of the best things to do in Marrakech guide as the center of the old city. The name Jemaa el-Fna appeared in the XVI century text as a mosque that fall to ruin during the plague. Later, the square welcome custom service and became the center of trading. And in the XX century, the postal service and Moroccan bank were built.
Koutoubia
Next was the Koutoubia Mosque which is just 5min walking distance from the main square. It is the biggest one in Marrakesh and is splendid.
Médina Marrakech
From there, we headed back into the Medina and just hang around it and its zouks. The Marrakech medina was actually less a hassle than Fes and people were not trying to talk with us every 2min. But scooters are quite annoying in it. Yet it is a quite huge medina with lots of small streets to explore.
Of course, you can also get more of it by taking a private tour of Marrakech.
Ibn Youssef School
Once we reached north, we visited the Ibn Youssef School. Which was much bigger than the one we visited in Fes. It is a huge complex with 2 level and is the best place to admire traditional architecture. This is one of the best things to do in Marrakech that you don’t want to miss.
The Ben Youssef Madrasa is an Islamic madrasa (school) functioning today as a historical site. It was the largest Islamic college in Morocco at its height. The madrasa is named after the adjacent Ben Youssef Mosque founded by the Almoravid Sultan Ali ibn Yusuf. Wikipedia
Almoravid Koubba
Next to the school is the Almoravid Qubba, a small monument erected by the Almoravid dynasty in the early 12th century. It is notable for its decoration and for being one of the only remnants of Almoravid architecture in Marrakech. You can only check it from outside or visit it.
Lunch
Time for lunch, we went to Mandala Society, a cool place with non-traditional food. We had the ocean bowl and the Moroccan fusion with 2 teas. The food was nice but the portions maybe a bit small for the price of 220dh.
We then kept on strolling around toward south this time. We stopped at a cool shop store Naturom. There we bought 3 soaps, 1 towel, 2 perfume for 440dh.
Badi Palace
And as we weren’t too far, we visited the Badi Palace. Also, 70dh per person. But it wasn’t crowded and was huge. We really loved it. This is for us one of the best things to do in Marrakech. We took our time. Even sat on a bench to enjoy the view. There was a terrace with 360 view, photo expositions, a TV room with a movie on the Palace, toilets…
Badi’ Palace is a ruined palace commissioned by the sultan Ahmad al-Mansur of the Saadian dynasty a few months after his accession in 1578, with construction and embellishment continuing throughout most of his reign.
End of the day
From there some more strolling north in the Medina. Until we finally walked back to Gueliz. Went back to Carrefour and bought some more grocery for 179.75dh and biscuit for 99.30dh.
We were at our accommodation around 19h. It was a long day, but we saw most of Marrakesh
Anima (André Heller Garden)
One of our favorite things to do in Marrakech is the Anima Garden (we visited it on our way from Imlil to the desert). It is a huge garden made by artist Andrée Geller. Completely worth the 120dh entry fee per person. You can get there by car or using their free shuttle
More things to do in Marrakech
If you want more things to do in Marrakech, you can consider:
- Dar Si Said
- Le Jardin Secret
- House of Photography in Marrakech
- Royal Theatre
- Ouzoud waterfall
- Palm groove tour
Things to do in Marrakech (Around)
Essaouira
Now those best things to do in Marrakech are actually best things to do around Marrakech. They are other cities.
Essouira is the city where we came from to reach Marrakech. It is a seaside and port city that we really loved. It is the perfect place to escape the hassle of Marrakech and get some fresh air from the sea.
If you don’t want to organize it on your own, you can get the Essaouira day tour
Imlil
Imlil was our next stop after Marrakech. It was such a beautiful place to visit small berber villages and enjoy some hiking. It will be our next article.
If you are not on a road trip you can get there with a tour : Imlil Village and Kik Plateau Day Trip or if you are more adventurous and want to summit : Mount Toubkal 2-day Trekking Tour
Ouarzazate
Ouarzazate was our destination after Imlil. We only spent a day there and wished for more. It was super cool to discover old, fortified town as well as the Atlas cinema studio.
Here also, if you do not have a car, one of the best options could be the Ouarzazate day tour.
Merzouga
And of course, our most and unique experience was to enjoy the desert of Merzouga. And sleep in a luxurious tent in the middle of the dunes. Far from Marrakech, you will need a few days to do it.
You can get a combine experience with the 4 Day Merzouga Desert Trip that brings you to Marrakesh – Aït Benhaddou – Valley of the Roses – Dadès Gorges – Todgha Gorges – Merzouga – Rissani-Alnif-Tazarine – Tizi N’Tfrkhin – Ouarzazate
Or even a shorter version with only a 3-Day Sahara Desert Tour
Fes
And if you want to complete a loop and get away from Marrakech, Fes is a great destination and was our entry point in Morocco. From Marrakech the most common way to get there is by the 4-Day Trip from Marrakech to Fez
But if you are adventurous, a road trip in Morocco is quite nice.
An amazing 6-day Marrakech Itinerary
This is a bit modified compared to what we personally did. But it incorporate most of our best things to do in Marrakech. And of course you can make so many variation of it.
Day 1:
- Arrive in Marrakech
- Get to your accommodation
- Walk a bit around and enjoy a Moroccan dinner
Day 2:
- Bab Agnaou
- Saadien’s Tombs
- Badi Palace
- Place des Ferblantiers
- Bahia Palace
- El Mellah (antiguo barrio judío)
- Jemaa el-Fna
- Koutoubia
- Médina Marrakech
- Almoravid Koubba
- Ibn Youssef School
Day 3
- Gueliz Plaza
- Jardin Majorelle-Yves Saint Laurent Mansion
- Anima (André Heller Garden)
Day 4 :
- Day trip to Essouira
Day 5 :
- Day trip to Imlil
Day 6
- Ouarzazate
ضرب الحديد ماحدو سخون Strike the iron while it’s still hot. (Take advantage of the opportunity before it passes you by)
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Why pin one by one when you can get them all at once? With this map, you get all our pins, destinations, things to see, where to eat and sleep, and so much more in one time.
