No need to book. Pay 100 MAD at the gate, or buy the same ticket on the Ministry of Culture e-ticket site. What decides your visit is the time you arrive: at 9:00 the main chamber has no queue; at 11:00 it has 20 minutes of one.
Ticket prices 2026
| Visitor | Price |
|---|---|
| Foreign adult | 100 MAD (~€9.50) |
| Foreign child, 7–13 | 50 MAD |
| Moroccan citizen or resident (with card) | 30 MAD · child 7–13: 10 MAD |
| Under 7, visitors with reduced mobility | Free |
| Moroccan nationals on Fridays and the first day of national/religious holidays | Free |
| Guided Kasbah tour incl. entry (platforms) | €20–45 per person |
Prices from the Ministry of Culture's official e-ticket page, checked October 2026. The tombs, Bahia and El Badi all moved to 100 MAD for foreign adults; guidebooks printed before the increase still say 70 MAD. Bring cash in dirhams: the gate's card machine is not reliable.
Opening hours
- Every day: 9:00 – 17:00, last entry around 16:30. No weekly closing day.
- Ramadan: shorter, roughly to 16:00. Check at the gate the day before.
- Restoration: the site was damaged in the September 2023 earthquake and reopened a month later. Visitors in 2026 have reported scaffolding and roped-off rooms on some days; the main chamber has stayed visible.
The queue for the Chamber of the Twelve Columns
This is the only queue that matters, and buying a ticket online does not skip it. The chamber holding Ahmad al-Mansur's tomb is viewed from a single doorway, four or five people at a time, with a guard keeping the line moving.
| Arrival | Typical wait at the doorway |
|---|---|
| 9:00 – 9:45 | 0 – 5 min |
| 10:00 – 15:00 (Oct – Apr) | 20 – 30 min |
| 10:00 – 15:00 (summer) | 10 – 20 min |
| After 16:00 | 0 – 10 min |
Tour groups arrive in waves, usually after El Badi or Bahia. If you walk in and see a group of 25 lined up, do the garden and the Lalla Mas'uda mausoleum first and come back in ten minutes.
What you see
- The passage. A narrow corridor squeezed between the Kasbah Mosque and the houses next door. The tombs were sealed off by Sultan Moulay Ismail in the late 17th century and forgotten until the French heritage service found them in 1917; this passage was cut to let visitors in.
- The garden. Roses, palms and dozens of tiled graves of courtiers, soldiers and servants. Quiet even when the doorway is busy.
- The Chamber of the Twelve Columns. The western mausoleum built by Ahmad al-Mansur (reigned 1578–1603) for himself: twelve Carrara marble columns, carved stucco, a gilded cedar dome, and the tombs of al-Mansur and his family. This is the photo.
- The Mihrab room and the Room of the Three Niches in the same building, seen from doorways.
- The Qubba of Lalla Mas'uda. The older eastern mausoleum, begun under Sultan Abdallah al-Ghalib in 1557 and enlarged by al-Mansur for his mother. Less decorated, no queue.
There are almost no signs. A guide or audio guide turns "beautiful ceiling" into the story of the dynasty that built El Badi with the gold of the Songhai empire. If you want a guide, book a licensed one in advance or through your riad and agree the price first; never accept one who approaches you in the street.
Getting there
- On foot from Jemaa el-Fna: 15–20 minutes south along Rue Bab Agnaou to the Bab Agnaou gate, then left past the Kasbah Mosque. The entrance is a small sign at the end of an alley beside the mosque.
- Taxi: ask for "Tombeaux Saadiens" or "Bab Agnaou". 20–30 MAD from Gueliz on the meter.
- Calèche: the horse carriages from the Koutoubia can drop you at Bab Agnaou, but agree the price first.
How to combine it: the Kasbah morning
The tombs, El Badi and Bahia are within 15 minutes' walk of each other and make the classic half day. Two orders work:
- Queue-free order: Saadian Tombs at 9:00 → El Badi Palace (8 minutes, via the Kasbah Mosque and Place des Ferblantiers) → lunch at Place des Ferblantiers → Bahia Palace at 14:30. Total: 300 MAD in tickets.
- Afternoon order: Bahia at 9:00 → El Badi → lunch → Saadian Tombs at 16:00, when the doorway queue has gone.
The 2-day itinerary slots all three into day one, after Majorelle. For every ticket price in the city on one page, see Marrakech attraction prices.
Things nobody tells you
- Ignore "closed today". The alley to the tombs is a favourite spot for men telling you it is closed and offering another route. It is open every day. See Marrakech scams.
- Phone, not big camera. The doorway is dim and the guard moves you on quickly; a phone in night mode does better than a lens you have to change.
- It is a cemetery. Shoulders covered is not required but appreciated; keep voices down.
- Little shade, few benches. In summer, 9:00 is not just about the queue.
- Toilets: none worth mentioning. Use the cafés on Place des Ferblantiers.
Saadian Tombs: frequently asked questions
How much are Saadian Tombs tickets?
100 MAD for foreign adults and 50 MAD for foreign children aged 7–13. Moroccans and foreign residents with a residence card pay 30 MAD (10 MAD for children). Under 7s and visitors with reduced mobility go free. These are the Ministry of Culture prices, the same at the gate and on its official e-ticket site.
Do I need to book the Saadian Tombs in advance?
No. The tombs never sell out and the ticket desk at the gate is the normal way in. Booking online on the Ministry of Culture site saves you the ticket queue (a few minutes at most) but not the queue for the Chamber of the Twelve Columns, which everyone shares.
What are the Saadian Tombs opening hours?
Every day, 9:00 – 17:00, last entry around 16:30. Hours are shorter during Ramadan (roughly 9:00 or 10:00 to 16:00). Older guidebooks list split hours with a lunch closure; that schedule no longer applies.
How long does the visit take?
30 to 45 minutes. The site is small: a walled garden with two mausoleums. Most of the time is spent waiting your turn at the doorway of the main chamber.
Why is there a queue at the Saadian Tombs?
You cannot walk into the Chamber of the Twelve Columns. You look in from a single doorway that fits four or five people at once, and a line forms in front of it. Between about 10:00 and 15:00 in high season (October to April) that line takes 20–30 minutes. At 9:00 or after 16:00 it is a few minutes.
Are the Saadian Tombs worth it?
Yes, if you are already in the Kasbah for El Badi and Bahia: the carved cedar, stucco and Carrara marble of the main chamber are among the finest Saadian work in Morocco. If you only have one morning and hate queues, prioritise Bahia and Ben Youssef, and come here at 16:00 instead.
Can I visit the Saadian Tombs and the Kasbah Mosque together?
You can see the Kasbah Mosque (Moulay al-Yazid Mosque) from outside on the way: the tombs are reached by a narrow passage running along its wall. Like the Koutoubia, the mosque itself is closed to non-Muslims.
More Marrakech guides
Ouzoud Waterfalls
Koutoubia & Medina
Jardin Majorelle
YSL Museum
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