Marrakesh Shopping

  1. Abdelatif Instruments

    Musicians make pilgrimages to the lute-maker's souq to watch beautiful music in the making, and here you can glimpse maâlem (master craftsman) Sidi Abdelatif carving lutes, tambourines, ginbris (two-stringed banjos), and ribabs (single-stringed fiddles). Since you're buying straight from the artisan himself, you can customize yours and get a better deal, too - music to every starving musician's ears.

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  2. Acima Supermarket

    When you're homesick for modern convenience, here you have it: all the picnic fixings and trekking snacks you could want, when you want them, in an air-conditioned, tidy supermarket. Offers a vast selection of foods, household goods, wine and beer.

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  3. Acr Librairie D'art

    Marrakesh's best selection of coffee-table books, including handsome ones on Moroccan arts and architecture, cookbooks, and how-to guides on tadelakt (polished plaster), zellij (mosaic) and other local crafts. There are some locally published and English-language books too. Ask the savvy staff about upcoming art openings, and local artists who offer classes. The shop is at the end of a pedestrian passageway.

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  4. African Lodge

    Before you hanker after camel-saddle coffee tables and henna-painted orb table lamps at this ultramod African design showcase, look into shipping at the DHL office around the corner. The ingenious chandelier made out of vintage crystals and twisted industrial wire looks like something an itsy glitzy spider might have made, and is certain to make design aficionados curse carry-on restrictions.

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  5. Aimad Roi Des Babouches

    Quicker to catch on to new fashion trends than many other clothing shops in the souqs, Aimad also has a much more easygoing sales pitch. Recent styles include linen tunics edged with a crenulation motif you'll recognize from Koutoubia Minaret and well-lined sabra (cactus silk) slippers without the recently-tanned scent you'll find in shops closer to the tanneries.

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  7. Alrazal

    No abracadabra is necessary to turn little ones into fairy-tale princes and princesses: a handmade, embroidered outfit from Alrazal should do the trick. For the price of what you'd pay for off-the-rack back home, you can get kiddie couture dresses and swashbuckling velvet pant sets - and yes, those silk tunics come in women's sizes right upstairs. Alterations and made-to-measure are also possible.

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  8. Association Al Kawtar

    Bring some baraka (good vibes) to your table with hand-embroidered table linens in spare, striking designs, all made at a nonprofit vocational training and daycare centre for disabled women and their children. Exquisitely edged pillow cases, hand towels and napkins make lovely feel-good gifts at perfectly reasonable fixed prices.

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  9. Assouss Cooperative D'argane

    Argan oil is both a effective cosmetic and a tasty gourmet treat and the speciality of this women's cooperative. Get yours at this women-run shop, and reward artisanal producers for tough work sorting argan pits from goat dung, cracking the rock-hard pits open, and pressing oil from the nut. The richly emollient end product has long protected skin, and now European cosmetics companies use it as the secret botanical ingredient in high-end creams.

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  10. Aya's

    Deluxe, hand-embroidered designer fashions worthy of a royal reception are offered here, from chocolate brown linen tunics with geometric, sky-blue embroidery to striped-silk kaftans in jewel tones with wide black silk borders straight out of a Matisse painting. They're not cheap, but not a king's ransom, either - and unlike the chunky jewellery and leather slippers, you won't find similar designs elsewhere.

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  11. Bab Doukkala Food Souq

    Less touristy than the central souqs and easier to navigate, this neighbourhood market is a prime spot to pick up spices, preserved lemons, earthenware tagines and other gourmet goodies, plus fresh fruit and baked goods.

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  13. Bab El-Khemis Market

    Wonder where riads get all those old wooden doors, funky 1960s lawn chairs and Art Deco stained-glass windows? Follow the stampede of riad owners early Thursday morning to outside Bab el-Khemis (Thursday Gate), where a weekly market surfaces architectural salvage and other finds.

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  14. Ben Rahal Carpets

    For quality carpets without the usual rounds of mint tea, haggling and ceremonious hoopla, ditch the Medina and head for the fixed prices and easygoing attitudes of Ben Rahal. Don't be fooled by the size of the place: the small, careful selection may leave you spoiled for choice. Get informed about antique Berber rugs and realistic carpet prices here first, and avoid buyer's remorse in the souqs later.

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  15. Bijouterie El-Yasmine

    Yasmin's simplified takes on traditional motifs look (and cost) like adornments instead of dowry payments. Check out hammered silver teaspoons with striped ebony and enamel handles, lucky turquoise enamel hand of Fatima earrings, and Tuareg-inspired cocktail rings that look like hypnotist's props with concentric circles in dark wood and bright orange enamel.

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  16. Bini Ou Binek

    Work that riad-relaxed look with breezy, comfortable local designs in groovy paisleys, upbeat orange and blue polka dots, and other splashy prints. Snap up a dress for the price of a T-shirt back home, and be the toast of cocktail hour at Kechmara around the corner. The shop is in the entryway of Hotel Toulousain.

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  17. Bob Music

    In case you hadn't noticed the Bob Marley posters and music throughout the souqs, this store makes the Marrakesh-Jamaica connection even more obvious. Gnaoua musicians are quick to point out the similarity in some rhythmic patterns and tunes, but you can put this ethonomusicology theory to the test yourself: pick up some Gnaoua castanets or a drum in this shop, and try your own Gnaoua rendition of 'Redemption Song'. No matter how badly you play it, you're bound to make their day at Bob Music.

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  19. Boutique Noir D'ivoire

    Sure, you could spend days digging in the souqs for elusive treasures, wired on mint tea - or you could just head directly to this boutique, where style trendsetter Jill Fechtman has thoughtfully done all the footwork for you. Find sought-after botanical Sens de Marrakesh products, as well as custom cloaks and eveningwear by Mohammed Rida ben Zouine in the riad's trademark black and ivory. You can even enjoy a cocktail in the courtyard afterward.

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  20. Cabinet Populaire

    Stop and taste the rosewater, anoint yourself with healing essential oils and, on hot days, kindly Sidi Aboubida will pour a little cooling orange-flower water on your head. This is a full-service Berber pharmacy and cosmetics counter, with roots, powders and lotions in folk-art packaging for any conceivable complaint, from spots to shyness. Prices are set, and very popular indeed.

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  21. Chay Abdelhadi

    If you wish a genie would add some magic to your home décor - poof! - here's your dream pouf, in a range of shapes, colours and prices. The traditional round ones come embroidered, embossed and gilded, and the funky square ones are available outstitched, high-gloss and in rich natural shades. Prices vary by leather quality; the best is thick, durable and carefully tanned so the dye won't fade or rub off.

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  22. Chez Azzedine

    For small gifts, this place has all the trimmings. Passimenterie is the art of trim, including tassels, braiding and ingenious knotting, and here the Moroccan tradition is turned into snazzy silk necklaces, knotted key rings, and grand curtain ties finished with two-foot-long tassels.

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  23. Chez Les Nomades

    A wide selection of antique and modern Berber carpets, reasonable prices, and a pleasant all-around carpet-shopping experience. Salah will explain (in perfect English) key differences in motifs, regions and quality with a variety of carpet types, then pull out carpets in whatever style and size appeals to you. Enjoy the tea and the education, without the usual hustle; here the selection speaks for itself.

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  25. Chez Mahfoud

    Tucked away behind the florists and butchers at the farmers market is this unexpected silver jewellery boutique. As at any Marrakshi jeweller, about half of Mahfoud's selection is imported, but the other half is worth a look: designs range from auspicious enamelled hands of Fatima to chic silver-inlaid wood earrings. Mahfoud doesn't bargain much, because he knows what you'd pay for that onyx cocktail ring on nearby Rue de la Liberté.

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  26. Cooperative Artisanale Femmes De Marrakech

    Fair trade never looked so stylish. When Souad and nine Marrakshi women artisans wound up with overstock and design ideas from a big American order for snappy, linen-cotton blend tunics, they realized they could skip the middleman and sell their own modern designs right in Marrakesh. With a small grant, they've set up this boutique and made connections with other cooperatives whose work they sell at low, fixed prices in a small annex.

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  27. Côté Sud

    The best-priced of the design shops along Rue de la Liberté, and the friendliest too. Downstairs, you'll discover hand-painted tea glasses, red glass chandeliers and tasselled table linens. Upstairs, you'll feel a powerful temptation to throw yourself into the embankments of pillows in white cotton cases gone wild with embroidered red flowers.

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  28. Couleurs Orientales Marrakesh

    Your one-stop shop for snazzy Marrakesh mementos, including clever tasselled silk necklaces, striped silk flip-flops, and Tigmi cooperative placemats in deep orange with an embroidered zigzag edge. The fixed prices are less than what you'd pay for similar items along Rue de la Liberté.

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  29. Couleurs Primaires

    Why let Matisse hog all the glory for painting vacations in Morocco? Find your inspiration in the streets of Marrakesh, and your raw materials at Couleurs Primaires. If you think impasto sounds like something you'd have for dinner, you can find a teacher here too. Chat up the staff and they'll hook you up with artist studio visits and Arabic calligraphy lessons.

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