Marrakech in 3 days
The medina in the morning, gardens at midday and the square only after dark — three days that respect the heat and the city's rhythm.
- How long
- 3 days for the city
- Getting around
- On foot in the medina
- Rhythm
- Souks in the morning
Marrakesh is planned around two things: heat and dark. The medina is walked in the morning while the lanes are shaded, midday goes to gardens and palaces with shade, and Jemaa el-Fna only makes sense after sunset, when it turns into an open-air kitchen.
The medina, the souks and a first night on the square
The souks while the lanes are shaded and traders are still opening. In the morning the pressure is lower and prices more realistic — many consider the first sale of the day lucky.
The Ben Youssef Madrasa — a fourteenth-century Quranic college with a courtyard of zellij tilework and carved cedar. Reopened after restoration, and the finest interior in the medina.
Lunch on a terrace above the souks; for the shade and the break from the crush, not for the food.
The Bahia Palace — a hundred and fifty rooms, courtyards and nineteenth-century ceilings. Afternoon, because it is cool inside.
Jemaa el-Fna after dark. By day it is an empty square with a few stalls; at night some eighty kitchens are set up, and that is the only hour the square looks like its reputation.
Gardens, the new town and a hammam
The Majorelle Garden at opening, before the first coach. The blue Jacques Majorelle invented in 1937 for his own studio is the reason to come; the Yves Saint Laurent museum is next door on a separate ticket.
Guéliz, the French quarter — wide streets, cafés, and the break from the medina you need after two days.
The Saadian Tombs or El Badi, the ruins of a sixteenth-century palace where storks now walk.
A hammam. The public ones are cheap and local, and you bring your own kit; hotel ones cost more and are gentler. Either beats a third day in the souks.
A trip out, or slower
For a trip out: Essaouira is three hours to the ocean and an entirely different Morocco — wind, gulls, and a town where nobody chases you.
If you stay: the Palmeraie and the Menara garden, then an afternoon in the riad. On day three Marrakesh asks for slower, not more.
A last evening on the square, or dinner on a roof terrace with the Koutoubia in view and, on a clear night, the Atlas behind it.
Three first-day mistakes
- The square at midday. You walk into a baking plaza with not one food stall out — they all arrive after seven in the evening.
- A guide who offers himself on the street. He will take you to a shop he has an arrangement with. Guides are arranged through your riad or an agency.
- No offline map. The medina has no straight street and no name on the corner; without your riad saved, you lose an hour every time.
Before you go
Short answers to what people ask most before setting out.
When should I go to Jemaa el-Fna?
After sunset. By day the square is empty and hot; at night some eighty kitchens are set up and it looks like its reputation.
How many days does Marrakesh need?
Three. Two cover the medina and the gardens; the third is for a slower pace or a trip out — Essaouira, Ouzoud or the Atlas.
How do I avoid getting lost in the medina?
You will get lost, and that is part of it — the medina is the one place it genuinely happens. Save your riad's location in an offline map before you go in, and if you tangle, walk downhill and towards the noise: every lane comes out on the square or a boulevard.
Ready for Marrakech?
Where to next
Where to stay in Marrakech
→A riad in the medina changes the trip, but the suitcase gets carried — a hotel in Guéliz has a pool and a…
Ait Ben Haddou · 105 km
→A mud-and-straw village with more film credits than most actors
How well does Marrakech suit you?
→Six questions: a score for this place and others like it.
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