Marrakesh

Prepare for your senses to be slapped. Marrakesh's heady sights and sounds will dazzle, frazzle and enchant. Put on your babouches (leather slippers) and dive right in.

Artisan Heritage

Bahia Palace and the Dar Si Said are a riot of tilework and intricate floral painted-wood ceilings, the Saadian Tombs are enriched by an opulent bounty of marble, while the Musée de Mouassine and Musée de Marrakech are a showcase of swirling stucco and carved-wood design. And if you choose to bed down for a night in a riad, you'll be able to sleep amid some of this splendour too. Marrakesh is a city steeped in ancient artistry that continues to thrive, kept alive by the modern craftspeople of the souqs and the contemporary art and design scene of the Ville Nouvelle.

Faith & Culture

You’ll understand how religion permeates the rhythms of daily life when you hear the sonorous call to prayer echo out from the mosques. As an old imperial capital, Marrakesh is home to some beautiful examples of Islamic architecture, most impressively the Ali Ben Youssef Medersa and the Koutoubia minaret. The city also holds on to a heritage of the other religious communities that once helped it become a vibrant caravan town. Head to the old Jewish district of the mellah to visit the Lazama Synagogue and the Miaara Jewish cemetery to gain a greater understanding of Marrakesh's cosmopolitan past.

Souq Shopping

Think of the medina's souqs as a shopping mall, but laid out according to a labyrinthine medieval-era plan. Whether you want to spice up your pantry with North African flavours or buy a carpet to add Moroccan-wow to your house, this magpie's nest of treasures is manna for shop-til-you-drop fanatics.

The main market streets are Souq Semmarine and Souq El Kebir. If you see something you really like there, fine – but understand prices will be higher. Smaller souqs and souqs dedicated to artisan workshops such as Souq Haddadine (Blacksmith’s Souq), where you can buy direct from the producer, generally have the best deals.

The Medina

Got your map ready? Well, it's probably of little use to you here. Wrapped within the 19 kilometres of powder-pink rammed-earth ramparts, the medina is Marrakesh's show-stopping sight of crowded souqs, where sheep carcasses swing from hooks next door to twinkling lamps, and narrow, doodling ochre-dusted lanes lead to nowhere. The main artery into this mazy muddle is the vast square of Djemaa El Fna, where it's carnival night every night. Stroll between snail vendors, soothsayers, acrobats and conjurers, musicians and slapstick acting troupes to discover the old city's frenetic pulse. The party doesn't end until the lights go out.

Must see in
Marrakesh

  • Djemaa El Fna

    If all the world's a stage, then Djemaa El Fna is the grand finale. Every night, once the smoke from the restaurant grills begins to plume into the air, the plaza thrums and shimmies to its own unique soundtrack. Gnaoua troupes beat their drums in competition with whiny snake charmer flutes, Berber musicians battle to be heard, and food stall touts and henna-ladies yell over the top. It's a colourful mash-up of the good, the bad and the completely bizarre, bewitching in all its crazy, colourful chaos.

  • Bahia Palace

    Inside this prime piece of medina real estate, Marrakshi artisans really went to town in a furious frenzy of zellige (colourful geometric mosaic tilework), carved plasterwork and zouak (painted wood) detailing. Crane your neck to soak up the statement ceilings, swirling with intricate and delicately coloured motifs and designs, in the palace salons where pashas once posed. Leave the bustle and throb of the medina behind to hide out amid lush, shaded inner courtyards and stroll through the extravagantly marbled grand court.

  • Jardin Majorelle

    Take a time out from monuments and medina dust in Jardin Majorelle, brought to life by French painter Jacques Majorelle and later nurtured under the patronage of French fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent. Walk beneath the lush canopy along candy-coloured pathways that thread through bamboo groves and cacti gardens. While fashionistas strike a pose in front of the electric-blue studio where Majorelle once painted, inside you'll find the phenomenal collection of the Musée Berbère. Here, the wide-arcing culture of Morocco's Berber peoples is represented in dazzling displays of jewellery and artefacts.

  • Private Museums

    Dig a bit deeper into Moroccan culture within the medina's many private museums. The Maison de la Photographie showcases a vision of Morocco now consigned to history; the Musée de Mouassine allows a window into Marrakshi life in the Saadian era. Berber artefacts and crafts take prime position at Maison Tiskiwin, which hosts anthropologist Bert Flint's collection of indigenous crafts, while Musée Boucherouite offers a view of Berber boucharouites (rag rugs made from recycled cloth) as art. And for a lowdown on the scope of Moroccan art and culture, head to the Heritage Museum.

  • Saadian Tombs

    Modesty obviously didn't feature much in Sultan Ahmed Al Mansour's vocabulary. In the Chamber of 12 Pillars, Al Mansour created the ritziest last resting place in town, where the dead were watched over by swag loads of marble and gild-edged stucco. Sealed off from the world by a jealous Sultan Moulay Ismail who preferred to keep prior ruling empires out of sight and mind, the monumental tombs of Al Mansour and his entourage only reclaimed its fame and glory on rediscovery in 1919.

  • Medina Mansions

    Take a peek at how the other half lived, swaddled in opulent luxury behind high walls, inside these mansions that have thrown open their doors to the public. Head to the Musée de Marrakech, where the grandiose inner-courtyard of Minister Mnebhi's old palace is a vision of zellige (colourful geometric mosaic tilework) and intricate carved wood. Stroll on to the Dar Si Said, where Moroccan craftsmanship abounds in the show-stopping zouak (painted wood) ceilings upstairs, and then head to Le Jardin Secret and sit within its gardens, soaking up the grand past of Marrakshi's long-gone high society.

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