Hey, travel FAM! Winter is coming! I know you don’t like the cold and the rain? We have this in common! So, you want to escape winter? Change your pullovers against swimsuits and let’s fly away to Marrakech in Morrocco! It’s time for our top 10 things to do in Marrakech! If you are ready to plan your next trip, let’s go 😉
Before starting, you can also read our complete Marrakech travel guide for all the tips and tricks about Marrakech!
What are the best things to do in Marrakech?
1. Explore the Souks
The souks are amazing to visit, there are many traditional and local shops: local spices, pretty lights, argan oil, carpets, traditional bred or potteries. You can walk into the souks to just feel the ambiance and watch the pretty shops! You can start your itinerary from the Jemaa el Fna place because it’s the entrance of the souks. Also, if you wish to buy something, you can negotiate absolutely everything!
2. Visit the Badi Palace
The Badi palace is one of the most beautiful places to visit in Marrakech! This palace is made of the ruins of the ancient palace. The “Marrakech du Rire”, which is a famous humor show, is filmed there. To enter there, you can count 2$ per person.
3. Go to the Majorelle garden
The Majorelle garden was created by Majorelle and was saved by YSL from building construction. This garden, made of cactus and blue walls is really pretty to see. It’s really relaxing and original. To enter you can count 7$ per person. It’s better to visit this place in the morning because in the afternoon there are many tourists.
4. Sleep in a riad
Sleep in a riad is also an amazing experience! The riads in Marrakech are the traditional houses. The term ‘riad’ means garden but it is applied to townhouses built around a central courtyard. Technically it should have some plants in four planting beds and a central fountain. We have been to the riad Yasmine, the riad BE and the riad La Sultan, a member of the small luxury hotels of the world. La Sultana is composed of 5 riads with 5 amazing atmospheres. It was the most beautiful riad where we have been.
You can also read our post about the best riads in Marrakech to stay at!
5. Visit the Madersa Ben Youssef
This ancient school is also a must to visit in Marrakech! Because of the beautiful architecture and mosaics. But unfortunately, this place is closed until 2020 because of renovations. So if you want to visit this place you will have to wait a little bit!
6. Walk to Jemaa el Fna place
This place is the biggest and the principal place in Marrakech. It is close to the beautiful Koutoubia mosque. Also, there are many shops in this place: fruits, fresh juices, vegetables, spices, plants… And it’s also the entry to the souks. Little minus: they are monkeys unchained to entertains tourists, please don’t promote this!
7. Visit the Bahia palace
Also, you can visit the beautiful Bahia Palace. This is a palace and a set of gardens located It was built in the late 19th century, intended to be the greatest palace of its time. The name means “brilliance”. As in other buildings of the period in other countries, it was intended to capture the essence of the Moroccan style. There is a beautiful garden with rooms opening onto courtyards.
8. Stay in the desert
This time, we wanted absolutely to visit the desert, so that’s what did! There is the entry of the desert at only 45min driving from Marrakech. This is where we stayed, in the Agafay desert at the Scarabeo camp. We had an amazing and authentic experience there. When we arrived at the camp, we felt lost in the middle of the desert, there were only sand dunes and tents. The landscape was straight out of a movie! Like Indiana Jones! It was to die for! After that, we decided to move around and explore this place and we found amazing points of view and wild places. We had the privilege to admire nature in its wildest side! We have even seen goats and camels!
Then, we have watched one of the most incredible sunsets of our life on the dunes. We watched the sky turned pink and purple with the moon, it was insanely beautiful. Also, we have spent an amazing time around the fire with the other people, singing and playing guitar together, the ambiance was really warm! Then, we had an amazing romantic dinner with candles and traditional Moroccan food. To ended this perfect day, we watched the stars in the sky, it was incredibly beautiful. Read our full post about our magical experience at Scarabeo Camp.
The desert in Morocco is a great place for stargazing. We have ended the night by sleeping in our tent by the fire. It was an amazing and authentic experience. If you want to see the desert in Morocco, you can also visit the Sahara desert which looks amazing too. But it is a little bit further, 5 hours driving from Marrakech.
9. Eat traditional Moroccan meals
You can not visit Marrakech without eating traditional meals! The food is amazing there. And it is really easy to eat vegetarian/vegan. You just have to ask for any meal without meat. If you like spicy meals you will love it! If not, you can still ask them to remove the species. You should at least try to have a tajine, couscous, and a Moroccan salad. Our favorite restaurants to have dinner are La cour du Lion at the Es Saadi Palace, and the Nomad. To have lunch our favorites are the riad BE and La Famille.
10. Visit La Mamounia
This hotel is one of the most beautiful hotels in the world. The architecture and the gardens are to die for! However, if you can’t afford to stay there (more than 500$ per night), you can just visit the hotel between 11 pm and 6 pm for free. Last year, we could take a “day pass” (80$ per person) to spend the day there, enjoying the pool and have lunch. But they have removed the pass. Now they have a “détente pass” more expensive (150$ per person).
Are you planning to visit Marrakech?
To conclude, if you want to escape winter and visit a warm destination between October and May, Marrakech is the perfect destination! It is a beautiful and authentic city, only 2 hours flying from most of the European countries. If you are coming from somewhere else, I promise you it worth it! We hope you like this post about 10 things to do in Marrakech! Have an amazing day!
Follow our adventures on Instagram @chiarabarrasso and @jelafaille
