Marrakech is Morocco’s cultural capital, a city of 928,000 built around a 1,000-year-old medina. The city divides into the walled old city (medina) and the modern Gueliz district. This guide covers the essential attractions with locations, hours, and ticket prices in Moroccan Dirham.
Essential Marrakech Attractions and Landmarks
Jemaa el-Fna Square
Jemaa el-Fna is the pulsating heart of Marrakech’s medina, a triangular square that transforms throughout the day. Morning: juice stalls (10-15 MAD for fresh orange juice) and water sellers. Afternoon: snake charmers, henna artists, and monkey handlers (photography demands payment, negotiate before shooting).
Evening (after 5 PM): food stalls set up with communal tables serving grilled meats, snails (5 MAD a bowl), and harira soup. The best view is from a rooftop cafe like Cafe Glacier or Le Grand Balcon du Cafe Glacier (free with a 15-20 MAD mint tea). It is free and open 24 hours. Beware of pickpockets in crowds and aggressive henna artists who grab your hand and start applying before agreeing a price. A polite but firm ‘la, shukran’ (no, thank you) is your most useful phrase here.
Bahia Palace
Bahia Palace at Rue Bahia Bab Mellah is a 19th-century vizier’s palace with 150 rooms, intricate zellige tilework, painted cedar ceilings
courtyards with orange trees and fountains. Tickets: 70 MAD ($7). Hours: 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM daily. The 8,000 square meter complex was built in stages from 1866 to 1900. The harem courtyard with its central fountain is the most photogenic space. Plan 1 hour. Go at opening time (9 AM) to avoid the tour groups that arrive by 10 AM. Reach on foot from Jemaa el-Fna (10 minutes south).
Koutoubia Mosque
The Koutoubia Mosque at Avenue Mohammed V is Marrakech’s largest mosque, built in the 12th century. Its 77-meter minaret is the city’s visual anchor and the model for the Giralda in Seville and Hassan Tower in Rabat. Non-Muslims cannot enter the mosque itself. The surrounding gardens (free, open daily) provide the best exterior views and are filled with rose bushes. The mosque is 200 meters southwest of Jemaa el-Fna. Best photographed from the gardens at sunset when the minaret is backlit.
Medersa Ben Youssef
The Medersa Ben Youssef at Place Ben Youssef is a 16th-century Islamic college (madrasa) that housed 900 students in 132 dormitory cells around a central courtyard. The courtyard features intricate zellige tilework, carved cedar, and stucco decoration.
Tickets: 50 MAD ($5). Hours: 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM daily. It was closed for renovation from 2018 to 2022 and reopened with beautifully restored detail. Plan 45 minutes. The dormitory cells upstairs are small and austere, a striking contrast to the ornate courtyard. Reach via a 10-minute walk north from the souks.
Majorelle Garden and YSL Museum
Majorelle Garden at Rue Yves Saint Laurent, Gueliz, was created by French painter Jacques Majorelle in the 1920s and later owned by Yves Saint Laurent. The garden is an oasis of cobalt blue buildings, bamboo groves, cacti, and lily ponds in the modern Gueliz district. Tickets: 165 MAD ($16.50) for the garden, 220 MAD combined with the YSL Museum next door.
Hours: 8:00 AM to 6:30 PM (October-April), 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM (May-September). Book online in advance at jardinmajorelle.com; tickets sell out days ahead in peak season. The YSL Museum (same hours) displays Saint Laurent’s designs in a terracotta building. Plan 2 hours for both. Reach by taxi from the medina (30-50 MAD) or a 30-minute walk.
