Book one thing now: Jardin Majorelle (and the YSL Museum next door), which sell timed tickets online only and are often full days ahead. Check live availability; if it is full, here is what still works. Everything else can wait until you are here.
Palaces & monuments
1. Bahia Palace
The most visited palace in the Medina: 19th-century courtyards of Carrara marble and zellige under painted cedar ceilings, built for a grand vizier and his harem. 100 MAD, pay at the gate, 9:00–17:00. Be there at opening: by 10:30 the groups arrive. Bahia Palace guide →
2. El Badi Palace
The opposite of Bahia: the huge ruined shell of the Saadian sultans' 16th-century palace, with sunken orange groves, a vast pool, storks nesting on the walls and a rooftop view over the Medina. 100 MAD at the gate, rarely crowded. El Badi guide →
3. Saadian Tombs
The royal necropolis of Ahmad al-Mansur, sealed for two centuries and rediscovered in 1917. The Chamber of the Twelve Columns is the finest Saadian decoration in Morocco, seen from a single doorway with a queue. 100 MAD; come at 9:00 or after 16:00. Saadian Tombs guide →
4. Ben Youssef Medersa
A 16th-century Koranic college around a marble courtyard, with carved cedar, stucco and tilework up to the roof; the most photographed interior in the city. 50 MAD, cash at the gate, open until 19:00. Ben Youssef guide →
5. Koutoubia Mosque
The 12th-century minaret that every view of Marrakech is built around. The mosque is closed to non-Muslims, but the exterior and the rose gardens behind it are free and best at sunset. Koutoubia & Medina guide →
6. Bab Agnaou and the ramparts
Nineteen kilometres of red pisé walls ring the Medina; Bab Agnaou, the carved Almohad gate to the Kasbah, is the finest of the gates and on your way to the Saadian Tombs. Free. A calèche loop of the walls (see no. 22) is the lazy way to see them.
Gardens
7. Jardin Majorelle
Jacques Majorelle's cactus and bamboo garden with the electric-blue villa, saved by Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Bergé; it includes the Berber Museum. 170 MAD, online only, timed slots, 8:00–17:30. The 8:00 slot is the one to get. Majorelle tickets guide →
8. Le Jardin Secret
A restored riad garden hidden behind a door in the souks, with an Islamic garden, an exotic garden and a tower with the best view in the Medina. 100 MAD (+40 MAD tower), walk in, never sold out: the best plan B when Majorelle is full. Jardin Secret guide → · Majorelle vs Jardin Secret
9. Menara Gardens
A 12th-century olive orchard around a great basin, with a green-roofed pavilion and, on a clear winter day, the snowy Atlas behind it. The garden is free; the pavilion is 60 MAD. Go for a late-afternoon walk or sunset, ideally before an evening flight. Menara Gardens guide →
10. Le Jardin Anima
André Heller's surreal garden of sculptures, colour and palms in the Ourika foothills, 27 km south of the city. 140 MAD, with a free shuttle from the Koutoubia car park that is worth reserving online. Half a day; open 9:00–18:00.
11. Cyber Park
An old royal olive and orange garden between the Koutoubia and Gueliz, with shade, fountains and benches. Free. Not a sight in itself, but the best place to rest your feet or let children run.
Museums
12. YSL Museum
The Musée Yves Saint Laurent, next to Majorelle: a terracotta building by Studio KO with a rotating selection of the designer's couture and sketches. About 150 MAD (combo with Majorelle ~300–330 MAD), online only, closed Wednesdays. YSL Museum guide →
13. Dar El Bacha & Bacha Coffee
The 1910s palace of the pasha Thami El Glaoui, now the Musée des Confluences, with one of the city's most beautiful riad gardens and the famous Bacha Coffee house inside. 60 MAD, closed Mondays; the café queue runs 1–2.5 hours unless you arrive before 10:00. Dar El Bacha guide →
14. Maison de la Photographie
Thousands of photographs of Morocco from the 1870s to the mid-20th century in a restored house near Ben Youssef, with a rooftop café that is one of the calmest in the Medina. 80 MAD, free under 15, 9:30–19:00 daily.
15. Musée de Marrakech
A late-19th-century palace, Dar Menebhi, with a vast tiled and covered courtyard and a giant brass chandelier, next to Ben Youssef. Exhibitions of Moroccan art vary. Around 50–70 MAD; check the price and what is on at the door.
16. Dar Si Said
The national museum of weaving and carpets, in a 19th-century house near Bahia. 30 MAD, closed Mondays. It was damaged in the 2023 earthquake; check it is open before you walk over.
Experiences
17. Jemaa el-Fna at night
The square fills with musicians, storytellers and a hundred smoking food stalls from late afternoon. Free to wander; dinner at the stalls is 30–80 MAD a plate. Watch the sunset from a terrace first, then go down and eat. Jemaa el-Fna guide →
18. Get lost in the souks
The covered markets north of the square: lanterns in Souk Haddadine, leather, babouches, spices, carpets. Free, roughly 9:00–21:00, calmest at opening. Bargain with a smile, and ignore anyone who offers to show you the way. The souk hustles →
19. A hammam
The steam-and-scrub ritual Moroccans do weekly. A public neighbourhood hammam costs 10–20 MAD plus 50–100 MAD for a scrub; a tourist hammam with massage 250–600 MAD. Best at the end of a day of walking. Hammam guide →
20. The Mellah and Lazama Synagogue
The old Jewish quarter next to the Kasbah, with its spice market, covered fabric market and the 16th-century Lazama Synagogue (a small donation, about 10–20 MAD; reduced visiting on Fridays, Saturdays and Jewish holidays). Ten minutes from Bahia.
21. A cooking class
Shop at a souk, then cook a tajine, salads and bread with a local cook. Typically €30–60 per person for a half day, lunch included; a good rainy-day or second-visit activity. Compare cooking classes →
22. A calèche ride round the walls
The green horse carriages wait by the Koutoubia. About 150–200 MAD per carriage for an hour round the ramparts; agree price, duration and route before you climb in, and choose a driver whose horse looks well kept. Children love it.
23. Sunset dinner in the Agafay desert
A stone desert 40 minutes from the city with views to the Atlas: camel or quad at sunset, dinner in a camp, back by 22:00. Shared from €20–40. The easiest "desert" from Marrakech without a 9-hour drive. Agafay guide →
24. A sunrise hot-air balloon flight
Pickup around 5:00, 40–60 minutes in the air over the villages and palm groves, Berber breakfast after. Shared baskets from about €120–220. Choose a licensed operator: the guide explains what that means. Balloon guide →
Day trips
25. Atlas Mountains & Imlil
Amazigh villages and walnut terraces under Toubkal, North Africa's highest peak, 1.5 hours away. Shared Three Valleys tours from €15–30; an Imlil hike with guide and lunch €25–60. Atlas Mountains day trip guide →
26. Ourika Valley & Setti Fatma waterfalls
The nearest green valley, with river terraces and seven waterfalls at the end of the road; the first is a 30-minute scramble. Shared tours €15–40. Avoid it when storms are forecast in the mountains. Ourika Valley guide →
27. Ouzoud waterfalls
The highest falls in North Africa, with Barbary macaques and boat rides at the bottom, 2.5–3 hours each way. Shared tours €15–30; a long but spectacular day. Ouzoud guide →
28. Essaouira
A walled port town on the Atlantic: blue boats, ramparts, grilled fish and wind. 2.5–3 hours each way; shared tours €20–30 or the Supratours/CTM bus. Essaouira day trip guide →
Plan your trip
- Itineraries: Marrakech in 1 day · in 2 days · in 3 days.
- Every price and opening hour on one page: Marrakech attraction prices & hours 2026.
- When to go: best time to visit Marrakech, month by month.
- Arriving: airport to the Medina, fares and transfers.
- Staying safe: Is Marrakech safe? and the 10 common scams.
- Travelling with children: Marrakech with kids.
- Majorelle full? Live availability · What to do when it is sold out.
Things to do in Marrakech: frequently asked questions
What is the number one thing to do in Marrakech?
Jemaa el-Fna at dusk: watch the food stalls go up from a rooftop, then eat in the middle of the square. For a sight with a ticket, Jardin Majorelle is the most famous, and the only one you must book days in advance.
How many days do you need in Marrakech?
What can you do in Marrakech for free?
Jemaa el-Fna, the souks, the Koutoubia gardens, the Mellah streets, the Kasbah Mosque and Bab Agnaou gate from outside, Cyber Park and the Menara olive grove. You could spend a full, good day without buying a ticket.
What should I book in advance in Marrakech?
Jardin Majorelle and the YSL Museum (online only, timed slots, often sold out). Also book day trips, the hot-air balloon and any hammam spa a day or two ahead. Every palace and museum in the Medina sells tickets at the gate. Full list: attraction prices & opening hours.
What is there to do in Marrakech at night?
Dinner at the Jemaa el-Fna stalls, a sunset drink on a terrace above the square, a hammam after a day of walking, a desert dinner in Agafay, or the bars and restaurants of Gueliz and Hivernage. The souks close around 21:00.
What is there to do in Marrakech with kids?
The storks at El Badi, a calèche ride round the walls, Jemaa el-Fna in the early evening, the Ourika waterfalls, a camel ride in Agafay and Cyber Park for a run-around. More ideas and what bores them in Marrakech with kids.
More Marrakech guides
Also useful: Majorelle vs Jardin Secret · Hammam in Marrakech · Dar El Bacha · Atlas Mountains · Hot-air balloon · Is Marrakech safe?