Morocco: The Complete Marrakech Travel Guide

HOW LONG YOU’LL NEED in marrakech

2-4 Days (5 nights)

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february in marrakech

Sunny days and mild temperatures

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WHERE TO STAY in marrakech

Unique experiences at the beautiful Moroccan riads

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The best THINGS TO DO in marrakech

Souks, Museums, and Historical Sights to See in Marrakech

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where to eat in marrakech

Where we ate in Marrakech

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getting around marrakech

Walking through the medina of Marrakech and what to do when you need a driver

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Bonjour

If this is your first time on The Weithouse - welcome! My name is Taylor and I’m the girl behind the screen and camera bringing you resources to help you plan the trip of your dreams.

In January of 2022, my husband and I left our home in Atlanta, packed our bags and moved to Paris! Every day we wake up in disbelief that we get to call this incredible city our home, a city full of rich history, world-renowned food, and beauty hidden around every corner.

In this Marrakech Travel Guide, we’re sharing the details from our first time in Africa, exploring the capital of Morocco. This guide includes everything to do, see, eat and know before visiting Marrakech for the first time!

Marrakech nor Morocco were destinations on my radar prior to living in Paris. Before living in France, we spent the majority of our vacation days trying to see as much as the European continent as possible.

As my husband’s 30th birthday approached, I wanted us to travel somewhere that felt “big.” Somewhere that would feel as big as a 30th birthday is. I started my search by looking at places like Scandinavia and Switzerland, but they still felt too European. Too familiar to our daily life in Paris.

As I was deep in the travel planning abyss, I remember a passing comment of my husband sharing that the French often vacation in Morocco. Neither of us had ever been to Africa, and going to Africa has always been a dream for him, which was selling point number one. The weather in Morocco in February is 70F and sunny, whereas the weather in Paris in February is 40F and sunless, so that was selling point number two. Selling point number three was the fact that the flight from Paris to Marrakech is only around three hours, shorter than flying from the East to West coast in the US. And the last selling point was how affordable traveling to Marrakech is.

HOW LONG YOU’LL NEED in marrakech

We started planning this trip as a weekend getaway, which ultimately turned into a long weekend.

Our total itinerary was five nights, with the first three being in the old medina of Marrakech and the last two roughly 30-minutes outside of the city.

The old medina of Marrakech is quite stimulating (more on this later), so I would recommend giving yourself at least two full days to feel comfortable with the environment. For example, on our first day walking through the medina, we wandered around somewhat starry-eyed and somewhat overwhelmed, simply taking in all that our eyes possible could.

On day one, I was in no state to look seriously at anything I might want to bring back home. My senses were in overdrive and I felt too anxious to actually make any decisions amongst the vendors of the souks.

By day two, I felt a little more comfortable walking through the winding streets, and allowed myself to re-explore some of my favorite areas in order to start scouting out things I might want to purchase. But even on day two I didn’t fully feel ready to make any purchases. I was mostly just taking mental notes of the places I might want to come back to or of the things I might want to purchase.

On the morning of our third day, with the pressure of our immediate departure from the medina, I felt ready to bargain with the souk owners to purchase some souvenirs to bring home.

Apart from adjusting to the souk culture, I think a minimum of two days gives you enough time to see all of the highlights of Marrakech, without staying too long and becoming burnt out. Because again, the old medina of Marrakech is the textbook definition of sensory overload, and after a few strolls through the streets you find yourself wanting a little reprieve (which you can usually find behind the hidden walls of whatever riad you’re staying in).

After our time in the old medina, we headed outside of Marrakech to enjoy a few days of nature. Spending time in nature has always been a priority for us and is especially important now that we live in a city.

february in marrakech

One of the main reasons we opted to visit Marrakech in February was the weather. After a few long months of winter in Paris, we were ready for the sun to show her face and for the warmth of her to touch our incredibly pale skin.

The weather during our travels to Marrakech in February was warm during the day and cool in the evening. Of course the temperatures in Marrakech can vary year by year, but its likely that you’ll get day temperatures in the mid-70s (23 Celsius) and night temperatures in the 50s (10 Celsius).

If you’re lucky like we were the final day of our trip, you can easily have a day warm enough and sunny enough for sun-bathing and soaking up all of the vitamin D your body is lacking.

WHERE TO STAY in marrakech

If you’re planning your trip to Marrakech, one of the first things you’ll want to do is book your accommodations. In Marrakech, you’ll get the unique opportunity to stay in one of the city’s stunning riads.

What exactly is a riad?

According to dictionary.com, a riad is: (in Morocco) a large traditional house built around a central courtyard, often converted into a hotel.

Marrakech is a city made up of riads, currently boasting a whopping estimate of around 1500 of these traditional Moroccan homes. The majority of these homes have now been converted to hotels or Airbnb rentals to book for your travels to Marrakech.

With so many riads in Marrakech, you won’t have any issue finding one within your budget and that fits your travel needs. Whether you’re looking for a luxury oasis or a more affordable accommodation, Marrakech has a riad to offer.

We’ve rounded up all of the most beautiful riads in Marrakech in this post, and below is where we stayed during our time in the medina.

Riad L’Atelier

While inside the medina of Marrakech, we stayed at Riad L'Atelier and it hands down deserves the perfect reviews it has. It was one of the best hotel experiences we’ve had to date, it is perfectly located in a quiet street off from the medina, and the riad hosts went above and beyond to make our stay spectacular.

We booked Room 1 which was on the ground floor and opened up directly into the central courtyard and pool. During our stay at Riad L’Atelier, we ate some of the best food from our entire time in Marrakech, and especially enjoyed the breakfast from the rooftop each morning.

The riad is located around a short ten-minute walk from all of the main action and the souks in the medina, and the route to get from the riad to the medina is one of my favorite areas from everything we saw in Marrakech.

Similar to most riads in Marrakech, the Riad L’Atelier arranged for a driver to meet us at the airport, who then drove us to a meeting point where one of the hotel staff met us and carried our bags. If it’s your first time to Marrakech, this service is beneficial as it can be a bit overwhelming to navigate the medina once inside its walls.

berber Lodge

In addition to staying in the medina of Marrakech at Riad L’Atelier, we booked a two-night stay outside of Marrakech at architect-designed Berber Lodge. The property is inspired by traditional Berber architecture and is built on an an old Olive Garden, with pink buildings scattered across the property set against a backdrop of striking mountains.

The Berber Lodge is a true oasis, if you’re looking for a bit more nature and peace and quiet to enjoy your sunshine. We thoroughly enjoyed our massive suite, outfitted with king-sized bed, beautiful bathroom, fireplace (that was lit for us each evening) and terrace.

The property has a luscious grounds, outfitted with a pool, garden and outdoor dining area. There is also a common room onsite where you can read the many beautiful coffee table books, or simply lounge by the fire.

As the property is remote, you’ll enjoy all of your meals onsite, and we greatly enjoyed the intimate dinner atmosphere each evening.

Best Things to do and see in Marrakech

Marrakech has no shortage of things to see and do, and you can easily access most destinations listed below simply by walking through the central part of old Marrakech, known as the medina. This is where you will find the majority of the riads, souks, restaurants, and historical sights we’ve included below.

Souks

Discovering the souks of Marrakech is an adventure unlike any other. As you first walk through the winding streets, crammed vendor to vendor, you might feel a bit overwhelmed. The vendors will most definitely try to sell things to you as you stroll by, but you don’t need to feel pressured to purchase from any of them. They will likely say “Bonjour” to which you can reply “Bonjour” and keep walking.

My biggest piece of advice for the souks is to walk through as many times as you need to feel confident of what you’re going to purchase. Speaking of purchasing, here are the types of items you can find at the souks that are worth considering to bring back as souvenirs.

What to Buy at the Souks of Marrakech:

• Handmade Wooden Objects: We purchased a few tiny wooden camels for all the nieces and nephews in our family.

• Moroccan Rugs: You likely already know what a Moroccan rug looks like, as they have been trending for the past few years. There are a plethora of rug vendors in the souks, and if you are looking to purchase, they will be overwhelming helpful in pulling out rugs for you.

• Moroccan Glasses: During your stay in Marrakech, you will drink an immeasurable amount of Moroccan tea from the cutest little glasses. You can actually purchase these glasses from a vendor in the souk, and we purchased a case of 8 glasses for the equivalent of 8 euros.

• Ceramics: Throughout the souks you’ll find beautiful handmade pottery, and we purchased two vases from a vendor in the souk selling simple and modern vases made by he and his family.

The majority of the souk vendors are cash only, so be sure to have cash on hand when you’re ready to make a purchase.

Le Jardin Secret

If you’re in need of a reprieve after the chaos of the souks, find a breath of fresh air at Le Jardin Secret. Le Jardin Secret is as described, a secret garden hidden behind a wall of the medina of Marrakech. Once inside, you’ll be greeted by a curated garden, featuring traditional Moroccan architecture and tranquil fountains.

Within Le Jardin Secret, you can find a handful of benches to relax on (we saw many people laying across these benches and taking naps in the sun). There’s also a small cafe that overlooks the garden if you need a coffee or a bite to eat. Just note that you cannot bring your own food to consume within the gardens.

You can purchase your tickets to the gardens onsite, and credit cards are accepted.

Le Jardin Marjorelle (and Musée Yves Saint Laurent)

Located outside of the medina in the Ville Nouvelle (new town) is Le Jardin Marjorelle. According to Lonely Planet, the garden, started in 1924 by Jacques Majorelle was purchased in 1980 by Yves Saint Laurent and his partner Pierre Bergé to preserve the vision of its original owner.

The garden, now Morocco’s largest tourist attraction, is less of an oasis and more of a pushing through of tourists. However, its still a beautiful example of over 300 plant species from five continents and is worth visting if you’re already planning to make the trip out to the Musée Yves Saint Laurent.

Musée Yves Saint Laurent (which was unfortunately under renovation during our visit), showcases 40 years of creative work by French fashion designer, Yves Saint Laurent. If you don’t love fashion, you should still plan to visit the museum to appreciate its impressively modern architecture, made from bricks to mimic the weft and warp of fabric.

You can now book tickets online for both Le Jardin Marjorelle and Musée Yves Saint Laurent here. To access both the museums and gardens, you will need to get a taxi. Your riad should be able to book a taxi for you, and our taxi driver gave us his information so we could call him when we were done at the gardens.

Bahia Palace

To experience an example of historical Moroccan architecture, you’ll want to spend some time exploring the stunning Bahia Palace. The palace is located within the medina (near El Badi Palace - you can easily combine the two), and features breathtaking courtyards, halls lined with tiles and mosaics and tranquil gardens.

We personally walked through the palace on our own (without a guide) and enjoyed wandering through all of the spaces at our own speed. However, if you’re interested in learning more about the history of the palace, you can book a full-day guided tour of Marrakech, like this one, that would include an hour tour at Bahia Palace.

El Badi Palace

Built in 1578 by Sultan Ahmad al-Mansur, the ruler of the Saadian Dynasty (BadiPalace.com), the palace, now a ruin, is still an example of Moroccan and European architecture from the 16th century. The grounds of the palace are quite large, with a long pool in its center, and the walls are the soft pink found throughout Marrakech.

You can purchase tickets for the palace on site and walk through the grounds at your own speed. Be sure to look for the storks that often build their nests along the palace walls.

Maison de la Photographie de Marrakech

Whether you’re a photographer yourself, a lover of photography or simply interested in seeing historical images of Morocco, set aside an hour of your Marrakech itinerary to walk through the Maison de la Photographie de Marrakech. Located a short walking distance from the souks, you can purchase tickets for the small exhibit onsite. The permanent collection of images spans across multiple floors and once you’re done discovering the images, head to the top floor of the museum to grab a coffee or tea from the rooftop cafe onsite.

Koutoubia Mosque

If you find yourself on any rooftop in Marrakech, you’re likely to see the Koutoubia Mosque standing tall from the roofs of the city. The Koutoubia Mosque is the most important mosque in Marrakech and was one of the largest in the Islamic world at the end of its construction in 1158 (Marrakech.fr/koutoubia).

To see the mosque up close, you can walk to it if you find yourself near Jemaa el-Fna Square, however, as is true with all of Marrakech’s mosque, entry is prohibited to non-muslims. However, you can walk around the grounds of the mosque and enjoy the long fountain that stands in the front.

Medersa Ben Youssef

In my opinion, Medersa Ben Youssef, the largest madrassah (Islamic school) in Morocco, is the most impactful piece of Moroccan architecture we discovered during our travels through Marrakech. No longer in operation, the once school is covered in beautiful tiles and mosaics, carved wood and endless rooms where the students lived.

You can purchase tickets onsite, and if you want to experience the spaces with less crowds, head to Medersa Ben Youssef near opening.

Jemaa el-Fna Square

The most famous square in Marrakech, Jemaa El-Fna Square, this is the heart of the medina in Marrakech and where each day and night you’ll discover the bustle of the city. Within the square, you will find a food market, selling traditional Moroccan dishes (where the market vendors will try to convince you to eat from their stand), endless juice and spice stands, monkey trainers, snake charmers and in the evening, Moroccan story tellers gathered around fires.

where to eat in marrakech

Marrakech is a city bursting with as much flavor as its exciting souks, with many of the restaurants set within either a beautiful courtyard or on a rooftop offering views of the city. Every meal we ate in the city was absolutely delicious, and other than eating at our riad, here are the restaurants we had time for during our visit. I would recommend making reservations at all of the restaurants, just in case, which you can either do online, by calling or having your riad reserve for you.

• Le Jardin Marrakech: Set within a stunning courtyard of green tiles and luscious plants, the perfect spot for a sun-filled lunch and a break from the hustle and bustle of the city.

• L’Mida Marrakech: A rooftop restaurant claiming to have the highest rooftop in the medina, grab a lunch or dinner here for views over Marrakech and delicious modern-Moroccan cuisine.

• Nomad Marrakech: Another rooftop restaurant, overlooking Rahba Kedima Square where the famous Marrakech spice market sits, we came here for dinner and had a lovely sunset overlooking Marrakech.

(Pictured below: Food and atmosphere at Le Jardin Marrakech)

getting around marrakech

Within the medina

If you’re staying within the medina of Marrakech, you won’t need any mode of transportation other than your feet. We personally loved wandering through the streets and souks, turning down a small side street and anticipating where we might end up. If that sounds more stressful than exciting to you, your riad hosts will be more than happy to route you to your destinations, and you can also use Google maps or iMaps within the medina (although it still might not work perfectly).

If you plan to explore outside the medina, you can easily and affordable get a taxi or transport. If you want to find a taxi on your own, you can pick them up at Jemaa El-Fna Square. However, we personally always had our riad book a transport for us, which we would then contact again when we needed to head back to the medina.

Getting from the airport to the medina

To get from the airport to your riad, you can book a transfer in advance with your riad, and they will pick you up at the airport. This is incredibly helpful, especially if its your first time in Marrakech, as they transport you as closely as possible to your riad, then a host from your riad will likely meet you, help carry your luggage, and guide you to the riad within the medina.

In our case, our transport dropped us off on a street market where our riad host met us, and we were instantly immersed in the bustle of the city, taking in the vendors selling meat and whole chickens, the sound and sight of endless motorbikes zooming past us, and children running around the dirt street. We were so thankful to have someone guiding us along the way!

QUESTIONS

Still have questions about Marrakech? Ask away! There is a comment box at the bottom of this page to ask any and all questions you might still have about your travels to Marrakech.

STICK AROUND FOR A WHILE

Need help planning the rest of your trip?

If you still need to book a place to stay in Marrakech, be sure to check out our curated list of the best riad hotels and airbnbs in the medina. If you’re flying from Paris to Marrakech, you can find all of our Paris guides here.

FOLLOW ALONG

For all of our live travel content and BTS, be sure to follow us on social media. You’ll get to see what our life looks like as expats in Paris and get to virtually come along with us whenever we are exploring somewhere new.