13 Best Things to Do in Marrakech: A Complete Guide to Morocco’s Red City
Marrakech is a city that refuses to sit still. One minute you’re weaving through a quiet, sun-bleached alley lined with shuttered doors; the next you’ve stumbled into a square thick with smoke, music, and motorbike horns. That collision of old and new, calm and chaos, is exactly what makes narrowing down the best things to do in Marrakech so difficult — there’s simply too much worth seeing, smelling, and getting lost in. Get your private day trip
Founded nearly a thousand years ago as one of Morocco’s four imperial capitals, Marrakech still carries the weight of that history in its palaces, mosques, gardens, and the endless tangle of its medina. Empires rose and fell here, sultans poured fortunes into building projects meant to outlast them, and centuries later, travelers still wander through the results. Our reviws in tripadvisor
Whether you have two days or two weeks, this guide rounds up the best things to do in Marrakech, along with the practical details — opening hours, ticket prices, where to stay, and timing tips — you’ll want before you go.
Where Is Marrakech?
Marrakech sits at the foot of the Atlas Mountains in southwestern Morocco, roughly 320 kilometers south of the capital, Rabat, in the Marrakech-Safi region. It’s nicknamed the “Red City” for the rust-colored sandstone used throughout its old town, a color that seems to glow even more intensely at sunset. Our reviews in tripadvisor
Beyond its own attractions, Marrakech also functions as the main gateway for trips into both the Sahara Desert and the High Atlas mountain range, which is part of why it draws such a steady stream of travelers chasing culture, food, and adventure all in one place. Souks, rooftop restaurants, centuries-old monuments, and desert excursions all sit within easy reach of one another, making it one of the more efficient cities in North Africa to explore on foot.
Where to Stay in Marrakech
Accommodation in Marrakech ranges from simple guesthouses to some of the most photogenic hotels in North Africa, and the choice you make will shape your whole trip.
Riads — traditional courtyard houses tucked behind unmarked medina doors — are the most atmospheric option and, for many travelers, one of the best things to do in Marrakech in their own right. Expect carved plaster, zellige tilework, plunge pools, and rooftop terraces with views over the rooftops of the old town.
If you’d rather not deal with the medina’s narrow, car-free lanes, the Gueliz district (the modern part of the city) and the Palmeraie on the outskirts offer boutique hotels and resorts with easier access by car, larger pools, and a quieter pace. Budget travelers will find no shortage of simple guesthouses throughout the medina as well, often at a fraction of the cost of a name-brand riad.
Whichever you choose, book ahead during peak shoulder-season months — the best properties fill up quickly.
Safety and Travel Insurance
Marrakech is generally a safe city for travelers, though like any major tourist destination, it has its share of petty scams, overly persistent vendors, and pickpockets in crowded areas like the souks and Jemaa el-Fnaa. Common sense — keeping valuables secure, agreeing on prices before accepting any service, and politely but firmly declining unwanted “guides” — goes a long way. Get your private day trip
It’s still worth traveling with comprehensive travel insurance that covers medical expenses, theft, and trip interruption. Morocco’s healthcare system is solid in major cities, but having coverage in place means one less thing to worry about if plans go sideways.
13 Best Things to Do in Marrakech
1. Wander the Medina
No list of the best things to do in Marrakech would be honest without starting here. The medina — Marrakech’s walled old city — is a sprawling knot of covered souks, hidden courtyards, and unmarked passageways that seem almost designed to get you lost on purpose.
Spice stalls give way to leather workshops, which give way to lantern shops glowing gold in the afternoon light, which give way, eventually, to a quiet residential alley where laundry hangs overhead and the noise of the souks fades to nothing. It’s disorienting at first, particularly for first-time visitors, but that disorientation is part of the charm. Every wrong turn tends to lead somewhere interesting.
Going in without a fixed plan is genuinely part of the experience here. If the idea of navigating it solo feels daunting, a guided walking tour with a local can help you get your bearings before you strike out on your own later in the trip.
Tip: Carry small bills, and expect some good-natured haggling if you’re buying anything — it’s part of the transaction, not a sign of rudeness.
2. Marvel at the Ben Youssef Madrasa
Once the largest Islamic college in North Africa, housing hundreds of students at its peak, the Ben Youssef Madrasa is a masterclass in Moroccan craftsmanship. Carved cedar beams, intricate stucco work, and dense zellige tilework wrap around a central courtyard built for quiet study and reflection.
It’s quieter than the streets outside, and the detail rewards slow looking — corners and ceilings reveal new patterns the longer you stay. Despite its popularity with photographers, it remains a place of genuine religious and historical weight.
- Hours: Daily, 9:00 am–7:00 pm
- Entry: Around 50 MAD (roughly €4.70)
3. Stand Beneath the Koutoubia Mosque
Visible from nearly every corner of the city, the 12th-century Koutoubia Mosque and its 77-meter minaret act as a natural compass point in Marrakech. Whenever the medina’s alleys get disorienting, a glance toward the minaret usually points you back toward familiar ground.
Non-Muslims can’t enter the mosque itself, but the surrounding gardens and walkways make for an easy, atmospheric stop, particularly in the early evening when the call to prayer drifts out over the square.
4. Sleep in a Traditional Riad
A riad is arguably the most authentic way to experience Marrakech after dark. Many are tucked behind unmarked medina doors that give little hint of what’s inside — open-air courtyards, fountains, plunge pools, and rooftop terraces that feel a world away from the noise outside.
Spending even a single night in one is consistently ranked among the best things to do in Marrakech by travelers who’ve tried both riads and standard hotels, if only for the contrast between the chaos of the streets and the calm waiting behind the door. Breakfast is often served on the rooftop, with views over a patchwork of satellite dishes, minarets, and the Atlas Mountains in the distance on a clear day.
5. Step Into Maison de la Photographie
This small private museum, opened in 2009 inside a converted riad, houses a remarkable archive of Moroccan photography spanning 1860 to 1960. It’s an intimate, low-key way to understand the country’s recent history through portraits, street scenes, and desert landscapes captured well before mass tourism reshaped the city.
Berber portraiture and early street photography of the medina are particular highlights. The rooftop café is a nice place to pause with a coffee or fresh juice afterward, with views back over the rooftops you’ve just been wandering beneath.
- Hours: Daily, 9:30 am–7:00 pm
- Entry: Around 60 MAD (roughly €5.65)
6. Have Coffee Somewhere Historic
Marrakech’s café culture deserves its own entry on any list of the best things to do in Marrakech. Several historic coffeehouses around the medina, often set inside restored 19th-century mansions, serve elaborate single-origin blends alongside French pastries in interiors dripping with brass, velvet, and tilework.
Expect a queue if you’re visiting one of the more famous spots — arriving close to opening time or in the late afternoon tends to be the easiest way around the crowds. Many also sell their own beans, which make for a better souvenir than most of what you’ll find in the souks.
7. Explore the Ruins of El Badi Palace
Built in the 16th century by Sultan Ahmad al-Mansur to broadcast his wealth and power, El Badi Palace — whose name translates roughly to “the Incomparable” — was once covered in Italian marble, Sudanese gold, and elaborate tilework.
Most of those materials were stripped away centuries ago and redistributed to palaces elsewhere in Morocco, but the sheer scale of the ruins still makes an impression. Storks now nest along the crumbling walls, and the empty reflecting pools give a sense of just how grand the original complex must have been.
- Hours: Daily, 9:00 am–5:00 pm
- Entry: Around 100 MAD (roughly €9.35)
8. Visit the Saadian Tombs
Sealed off after the fall of the Saadian dynasty and rediscovered only in 1917, the Saadian Tombs are the final resting place of Sultan Ahmad al-Mansur and dozens of his relatives. The Chamber of the Twelve Columns is the architectural showstopper — a small, densely decorated room widely considered one of the finest examples of Moroccan craftsmanship anywhere in the country.
The surrounding garden, dotted with over a hundred more modest graves, is just as worth a slow walk through. Expect crowds during peak hours, given the site’s limited size and steady popularity.
- Hours: Daily, 9:00 am–5:00 pm
- Entry: Around 110 MAD (roughly €10.20)
9. Roam the Bahia Palace
Built in the late 19th century and later expanded by Grand Vizier Bou Ahmed, the Bahia Palace covers more than 8,000 square meters and contains around 160 rooms connected by courtyards, gardens, and shaded corridors lined with carved cedar doors.
Its scale alone makes it one of the best things to do in Marrakech for visitors who want to understand just how elaborate Moroccan palace architecture could get. The central courtyard, with its marble flooring and central fountain, tends to be the highlight, but it’s the smaller side rooms and quiet passageways that give the strongest sense of what daily life inside might have looked like.
- Hours: Daily, 9:00 am–5:00 pm
- Entry: Around 110 MAD (roughly €10.20)
10. Experience Jemaa el-Fnaa — Carefully
Marrakech’s main square is famous, chaotic, and not without controversy. Between performing animals, persistent scammers, and the general intensity of the crowds after dark, it’s a place to approach with your guard up rather than your phone out.
Even so, it holds real cultural and historical weight as the city’s beating heart for centuries, and it would be a stretch to call any guide to the best things to do in Marrakech complete without mentioning it. Many visitors prefer to take it in from a café terrace overlooking the square, mint tea in hand, rather than diving straight into the crowd below — a far more comfortable way to appreciate the spectacle without becoming part of it.
11. Walk Jardin Majorelle and the Musée Yves Saint Laurent
Originally planted in the 1920s and ’30s by French painter Jacques Majorelle and later restored by Yves Saint Laurent and his partner Pierre Bergé, this garden is instantly recognizable for its cobalt-blue buildings and dense collection of exotic plants gathered from five continents.
The designer’s ashes were later scattered in the garden, making it both a botanical attraction and a quiet memorial. Next door, the Musée Yves Saint Laurent traces the designer’s lifelong relationship with Marrakech through sketches, garments, and archival film. Expect crowds — this is one of the most visited sites in the city — so book tickets in advance where possible.
- Garden hours: Daily, 8:00 am–6:30 pm | Entry: Around 170 MAD (roughly €15.75)
- Museum hours: Daily, 10:00 am–6:00 pm | Entry: Around 140 MAD (roughly €13)
12. Sample Marrakech’s Restaurant Scene
From courtyard restaurants hidden behind plain medina doors to rooftop spots overlooking the old town at sunset, Marrakech’s dining scene rewards a little exploring. Traditional tagines and couscous share menu space with more contemporary, internationally inflected takes on Moroccan cuisine, and the presentation is often as memorable as the flavor itself.
Reservations are recommended at the more popular rooftop restaurants, particularly around sunset, when tables with a clear view over the medina fill up fast. For something more low-key, smaller family-run spots scattered throughout the souks often serve some of the best, and most affordable, food in the city.
13. Spend a Night in the Agafay Desert
Skip the long drive to the Sahara and head instead to Agafay, a rocky, moon-like desert just an hour outside Marrakech. Luxury desert camps here offer dinner under the stars, quad biking through the dunes, camel rides, and infinity pools with sweeping views of the Atlas Mountains — making it an easy, time-efficient way to add a desert night to a short trip.
For travelers without the extra time for an overnight stay, several day-tour operators run shorter excursions that combine a quad ride, a camel ride, and a sunset dinner before returning to Marrakech the same evening.
Practical Essentials
Best Time to Visit
Summer in Marrakech routinely climbs past 40°C, which makes it a genuinely tough season for sightseeing on foot. The sweet spot falls in the shoulder months — March to May and September to November — when daytime temperatures sit comfortably in the mid-20s to low-30s Celsius, ideal conditions for long walks through the medina without overheating by midday.
Winter brings mild, pleasant daytime temperatures, but nights can get noticeably chilly, which matters if you’re planning a rooftop dinner or an overnight stay in the desert. Pack layers regardless of when you visit.
Getting to Marrakech
Most travelers arrive through Marrakech Menara International Airport, located just a short drive from the city center. From there, a private transfer — often arranged through your riad or booked independently in advance — is the simplest option, especially for first-time visitors, since the medina itself is car-free and you’ll need someone to meet you at the nearest drop-off point.
Taxis are readily available just outside the airport and typically operate on a fixed rate, so confirm the price before getting in. Budget travelers can also hop on city bus line 19 into the center for a fraction of the cost, with departures roughly every twenty minutes.
Marrakech rewards travelers who balance a checklist with a willingness to simply wander. Hit the major sights, but leave room in your schedule for the unplanned detours — they’re often what stick with you longest after the trip is over. Hopefully this rundown of the best things to do in Marrakech gives you a solid framework to build the rest of your itinerary around, whether you’re visiting for a long weekend or folding it into a wider Morocco trip.
