An inside guide on things to do in Marrakech..
Morocco’s the kind of place you visit once—and immediately know you’ll be back. With labyrinthine souks, fragrant gardens, and sumptuous riads all set against the backdrop of the Atlas mountains, Marrakech has intoxicated visitors such as Yves Saint Laurent.
To explore the Red City is to travel back in time, navigating centuries of history imbued with a myriad of influences. For a thousand years, each dynasty of Moroccan sovereigns has left its mark on the medina, evident in the plethora of ancient monuments in the city's heart.
Beyond the medieval walls extends a contrastingly modern metropolis called the Ville Nouvelle, revealing wide avenues, contemporary buildings, and futuristic shopping malls
Stay in a Riad
There’s no shortage of palatial hotels in Marrakech — the biggest question to ask yourself is whether you prefer a stay in the heart of the city-center medina—in a riad, or renovated historic home—or a resort-style property a short cab ride away from always-buzzing Jemaa el-Fna square.
Originating from Middle Eastern architecture, Morocco’s riads are typically defined as traditional houses built around an interior garden or courtyard. Over the years many have been transformed into guest house stays, with private rooms and wonderfully serene shared common areas – often with picture-perfect courtyard swimming pools or roof terrace gardens.
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Get a taste of luxury..
From beautiful architecture, incredible villas and poolsides set in Moorish gardens. You’ll be spoiled by the incredible luxury experiences this Morocacan city has to offer.
There are a cluster of big-name players scattered across Marrakech – The Oberoi, Four Seasons and Mandarin Oriental among them – as well as smaller, independently owned hangouts offering a fresh take on this frenetic metropolis.
From palaces owned by the royal family to pretty riads that host local creatives for months at a time, here are four of our current favourite hotels in Marrakech – in no particular order.
Amanjena
Designed in a traditional style, Amanjena’s architecture features arches, courtyards and gardens. Guests are accommodated in regal pavilions and maisons, with carved wooden doors, zellij tilework and Berber carpets. All have a private garden or courtyard, some have private pools.
There are several dining options, including one by the pool and there’s a cigar bar. Amanjena has a strong focus on wellness and attracts experts from across the globe who lead retreats.
The spa offers a range of therapies inspired by Moroccan traditions, a hammam, and a yoga studio. Other leisure amenities include a heated outdoor pool and two clay tennis courts, with an academy for coaching.
Nobu
Occupying a spot in the city’s Golden Triangle, Nobu brings its trendy vibe to the heart of Morocco. Its 71 suites bring together the best of local craftsmanship and new-style Japanese flair.
The brand’s famous restaurant concept has a venue onsite (serving the famed black cod) and there’s a stunning Rooftop Garden with a circular pool deck, a bar and a 360-degree terrace with far-reaching views over the rooftops and onto the Atlas Mountain range. There are three swimming pools onsite and a 2,000-square-metre spa and gym hidden in the basement.
Royal Mansour
Here’s a hotel dripping with luxury where you can enjoy the stunning La Jardin with its verdant olive and palm groves providing pleasant shade and seclusion in and around the pool area and bespoke pavilions.
Guests may also enjoy exclusive spa treatments that promise to rejuvenate the skin and prepare it for an enviable tan under the Moroccan sun.
Nighttime dining is a delight, too, and you have 3 restaurants from which to choose your gourmet dining experience. The Royal Mansour truly has a touch of oriental magic to it that you will not forget in a hurry.
The Fairmont Royal Palm Marrakech
Nestled in a vast estate of 231 hectares of palm, olive and orange trees with the Atlas Mountains offering a postcard backdrop, the Fairmont Royal Palm Marrakech is an oasis of luxury only 20 minutes from the heart of the city.
The sprawling resort and country club offers anything a guest could desire, with an 18-hole golf course, a choice of six restaurants and bars, a huge lake-like swimming pool, and an incredible spa plus a kid’s club and fitness centre, you won’t ever need to leave the hotel!
Enjoy a visit to the Hammam (spa)
Spas here are a totally different experience. You’ll either love it or it will be shocking. Visit a very local one like Places des épices (156-157, Derb Aârjane Rahba Lakdima) across from Nomad restaurant. There’s a whole ritual of a hammam.
Make sure you take your towel, clean clothes, some shampoo, soaps, a pair of plastic slippers — you might also want to pack a small bucket you can wash yourself with. The most important thing to take is savon beldi, the Moroccan black soap.
When you go in, there’s three rooms. You go into the first room, which is the hot room, and sit there for maybe 5, 10, 15 minutes — whatever you can take — and then you put the black soap on you. You leave it for five minutes, wash it off, then you get the person who works there to scrub you with this glove.
That gets all the dead skin and dirt off you. After you do that, they can stretch you out — it’s different than a massage. Then, you go into the next room and wash yourself. And then you go into the third room, which is the cooler one, and relax for a few minutes. And then you go out to a little salon to recline for 10 to 20 minutes because the whole process can be overwhelming and really tire you out.
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Discover the gem of Marrakech, The Agafay desert.
The Agafay desert is located thirty kilometers in the South of Marrakech and extends over several hundred acres. This rocky desert, can be likened to a sand desert. Indeed, its white dunes stand and landscape are similar to the Sahara dunes.
In the middle of the desert, is a surprising oasis, a haven of peace and tranquility, where the fauna and flora can easily develop. In this paradise, frogs and turtles live peacefully in the oueds, surrounded by water and rocks. Lost in the dunes are still some Berber villages that continue to exist in this austere but sublime nature.
Maison de la Photographie
Founded by Patrick Menac’h and Hamid Mergani, Maison de la Photographie houses more than 10,000 photographs of Morocco taken from the late 19th-century onward. Browse the oldest collection of glass negatives taken in the High Atlas mountains before watching a screening of a rare full-colour documentary shot around the country in 1957.
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Visit Bahia Palace
Built in the 19th-Century by the Grand Vizier of the Sultan, Bahia Palace includes more than 150 rooms decorated in the traditional Moroccan style; think zellig-tiled fireplaces and stained-glass windows. Read Edith Wharton’s account of visiting the palace before you go for a sense of how it looked during the Protectorate Years.
It’s also more than worthwhile making a pilgrimage to the nearby Ali Ben Youssef Medersa. Originally the largest Islamic school in North Africa, this 16th-Century Quranic centre is still a must-see thanks to its magnificent courtyard and peaceful dormitories, which used to house more than 900 students.
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Take a stroll around the Medina
With its Berber musicians, henna artists, and Gnaoua troupes, Djemaa El Fna can be a touch overwhelming - but it’s more than worth braving the chaos to experience the main square around sunset. The halqa - or street theatre - here has been going on since 1050 AD. Head for the roof terrace at the Café du Grand Balcon on the northwest corner to observe the spectacle over a glass of mint tea.
Visit Musée Yves Saint Laurent
(Rue Yves Saint Laurent) is a classic. It’s the No. 1 tourist destination in Marrakech, but well worth the trip. The French painter Jacques Majorelle opened up his private garden to the public in 1947. Then in 1980, Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Bergé bought and restored it. It’s a very beautiful, very big garden.
Walk around there and then go to Café Majorelle and the boutique, which has handmade Moroccan artisan goods, that are on the property.
The Musée Yves Saint Laurent (Rue Yves Saint Laurent), which is right next door to the garden, is quite new and definitely worth checking out. It’s only a few years old, done by two French architects, Karl Fournier and Olivier Marty. The museum has a permanent retrospective of Yves Saint Laurent’s work as well as rotating exhibits on fashion, art, and design.