6 Places You Ought to Visit in Marrakech, Morocco

Marrakech is a city of salmon pink color and unforgettable experiences. Every corner of the Red City is a history to rediscover and a story to retell. If you are interested in either of these, you absolutely must visit these six places that make Marrakech a place people all over the world flock to.

^{Last updated: December 5, 2024}

Marrakech: A Fairytale Destination with No Direct Flights

Have you ever dreamed of visiting a place so badly that you looked for any possibility to make your dream come true? Marrakech was that fairytale destination for me. I wanted to explore and walk down the streets of this African city for years.

Yet paying on average from $1100 to $1500 for an off-season round ticket from Los Angeles to Marrakech with no direct flights didn’t look that appealing. The solution knocked on the door unexpectedly.

While booking our trip to Europe, I decided to check flights to Morocco from European cities we were going to visit. It was a steal of a deal, too good to pass on.

Finally in Marrakech

The Red City is one of four Imperial cities of Morocco. Located in the shadow of the Atlas Mountains, every year Marrakesh attracts millions of visitors from all corners of the world. Not surprisingly, in 2015 this Moroccan national treasure was named the best destination in the world.

Everything from a flawless blend of new and old to rich cultural traditions and glimpses of modern customs urge you to visit Marrakech. Once in the city, you long to explore every ancient mosque and palace open to visitors and discover every safe corner.

Getting lost in the maze of souks while shopping for Moroccan beauty potion or authentic rug is also quite an experience, certainly one for the books. And it’s definitely one of those places that you absolutely must visit in Marrakech.

6 PLACES YOU OUGHT TO VISIT IN MARRAKECH

1. Medina of Marrakech

The Medina of Marrakech is the oldest part of the city, nestled right in the heart of Marrakech. Once a political and cultural center of the western Muslim world, the Medina area was added to the UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1985.

The Medina is one of the must-visit places in Marrakech for a reason. Its maze-like streets, busy souks, and ancient looking houses take you back in time and teach valuable history lessons. Its lavish riads impress with extraordinary details and ancient customs.

As soon as you approach a massive gate to the Old City, you get a strange sensation that the time has frozen. Modern multistory buildings get replaced by older structures. Wide roads squeeze into narrow one-lane paths accessible only by motorcycles and wagons drawn by donkeys.

The 11th-century town seems to live according to its own, centuries-old rules, unbothered by any new innovations from the “outside” world.

2. Jemaa El Fna

The busiest place in Marrakech, Jemaa El Fna is a large public square located in the center of the Medina. The place is filled with entertainers, fortune tellers, dancers, snake charmers, herbalists, and water sellers during the day.

At night it turns into a giant outdoor food market. A place where grilled meat, hot couscous, vegetables, and traditional Moroccan mint tea and sweets await visitors and locals of Marrakech.

TIP: If you ask for one advice before visiting Marrakech, remember the following. Bargaining is a part of the Moroccan trade culture. Never settle for the original price. Vigorously arguing and praising their products, most vendors in Marrakech will eventually lower their prices. Yet don’t waste your time and energy on stubborn merchants unwilling to negotiate. You can always find similar items for a lower price just around the corner.

READ MORE: Things to Know before Traveling to Marrakech

3. Koutoubia Mosque

Within a short walk from Jemaa El Fna sits the Koutoubia Mosque, one of the most recognizable and prominent sites of Marrakech. The mosque entices with its exquisite architecture with beautiful arches, curved windows, and splendid tilework. Like most structures in the city, the Koutoubia Mosque was erected in the 12th century as a place where devotees could offer prayers.

Although the most famous religious edifice, the mosque was the second of the two almost identical structures. After a series of wars and changes of power, the Koutoubia Mosque underwent some reconstructions that reflected religious preferences of the ruling dynasty. With time, the first mosque deteriorated, leaving only its slightly younger version with an imposing 253 feet high minaret to rise above all other buildings in the city.

Need to Know: Non-Muslims are not allowed inside the Koutoubia Mosque. Yet you can get a glimpse of the imposing minaret and garden every Friday when the doors are open for prayers.

4. Bahia Palace

Another must-visit jewel of Marrakech is a much younger sibling of all iconic city structures. The Bahia Palace was constructed in the late 19th century. Unlike the Koutoubia Mosque, everybody including non-Muslims can visit this exquisite site of Marrakech. Despite its relatively young age, the Bahia Palace, which literally means the beautiful or the brilliant, quickly became one of the most cherished monuments in the country.

Established as a place of residence of the royal family and Moroccan aristocracy, the palace embodies luxurious lifestyle of the country’s elite. When visiting the place, you can’t help but notice its stained glass windows, and rounded entryways.

Dazzling mosaic tilework, awe-inspiring carvings and paintings on beech and cedar wood attract many artists that visit Marrakech for inspiration. Palace’s many verdant, courtyards, and gardens provide numerous photo opportunities for all other visitors.

5. Majorelle Garden (Jardin Majorelle)

The Majorelle Garden is one of the most vibrant places to visit in Marrakech. Like a breeze of fresh air, it breaks the traditional color gamut with a bright combination of cobalt blue and tropical green tones.

Cobalt blue, one of the dominant colors in the garden, was the favorite shade of French painter Jacques Majorelle. The artist moved to Marrakech in an attempt to cure his heart problems. For the next 40 years, he ceaselessly worked on creating a unique garden that was named after its creator.

In spite of its magnificence, the Majorelle Garden didn’t receive recognition until later when Yves Saint-Laurent bought the property. In 1997 the designer featured the garden in the 1997 Chelsea Flower Show in London. Today the Majorelle Garden is one of the must-visit attractions in Marrakech and Morocco.

6. City Walls and Gates

19-foot-high walls with approximately 20 gates and 200 towers extended over 12 miles separate the Medina from the New Town of Marrakech. For centuries they protected the medieval city from attacks of various barber tribes. With time the walls retired from their military duties. Today they are symbols of the long and glorious history of Marrakech.

Although seemingly strong and indestructible, the city walls are not without flaws. Small holes cover the surface of the walls. And hundreds of legends and stories attempt to explain the purpose and origins of these signature marks.

One of these tales says that the holes were used in constructions of the walls. Unable to reach higher levels, the builders drilled the openings, inserted logs – small, but strong enough to hold a man – and continued on working. As soon as one level was conquered, a new upper hole appeared, giving the workers another opportunity to move further up.

Today, nobody really cares if these stories are true or not. Yet they are still an essential part of Marrakech’s history, culture, and customs.