Moments in Marrakech: The 6 Best Destinations to Visit

Visiting Marrakech and want to know where’s best to visit, and how much it’s going to cost you? See below for my 6 best destinations to visit in Marrakech…

When I visited Marrakech last Month, I was overwhelmed with how many gorgeous, historic places there was to visit in such a small area. One minute we were walking amongst the busy streets of the market, and the next we had delved in to a peaceful garden or palace where we could relax and take in our surroundings.

Before visiting Marrakech, I did some research on recommended places to visit, however, it was sometimes hard to establish where these places were located in Marrakech, and how much it would cost to visit. After spending 9 amazing days exploring the heart of the Medina, visiting various, popular tourist locations and getting lost in the Souks, I want to share with you my encounters and knowledge on some of the best destinations to visit in Marrakech.

MY FAVOURITE 6…

Below I’ve listed my favourite 6 destinations that I highly recommend you visit whilst traveling to Marrakech. I’ve also listed the cost, location and approx time you will need to allow for your experience. We were very lucky to have 9 amazing days in the Medina, to soak in the culture and slowly tick the locations off our list – but I can imagine for those travelling for a long weekend, or less amount of time will want to prioritise where they visit. Hopefully, this post helps you decide where’s best for you, and gives you an inkling on the time you need to schedule in for your adventure…

CACTUS THIEMANN

Instagram – @cactusthiemann

Price per person 150 Dhs. Taxi from Medina approx 150 Dhs each way. Book in advance, pay on the day.

Schedule/Time: Allow an entire morning or afternoon for this. Travel, tour & explore time approx 3.5 hours.

Location: 20 minute drive from the Medina.

The 6 best places to visit in Marrakech

Just a 20 minute drive from the Medina lies the Instagram-famous, Cactus Thiemann. I can’t describe how much I enjoyed this visit… IT. WAS. AMAZING.

Cactus Thiemann incase you haven’t guessed is a cactus garden, established in 1964 and is now the biggest in Africa. Mr Thiemann’s daughter now runs the cactus farm after his death, and has opened it to public viewing. You can only visit by appointment, so I recommend contacting them via their website to arrange a time that’s best for you on your visit.

As a complete plant & succulent lover, I was in my element as you can imagine. We were greeted and given a well explained tour of the gardens which lasted approximately 30 minutes, and then allowed to wander around at out own free will for another hour after that. You may recognise this as being a popular Instagram destination, but unlike all the other tourist attractions in Marrakech, we weren’t surrounded by other people struggling to get that ‘perfect photo’. In fact, we had the entire place to ourselves which was the huge benefit of booking by appointment only.

The best experience…

We were also taken to their camel sanction where we stroked two very friendly camels, (who’s eyelashes were unbelievably desirable), and were given two mini Agave succulents to keep and take home, which are now potted and sitting in my office.

Just a word of advice, when you book they will recommend a specific taxi driver… They aren’t conning you or trying to get commission from this, it’s purely because it’s a little tricky to find and requires a bumpy off-road turning that to most taxi drivers wouldn’t even be noticeable. They have a driver that regularly goes there, so to avoid getting lost or being late to your booking, I deffo recommend arranging collection with the driver they suggest.

2. LE JARDIN MAJORELLE

Instagram – @lejardinmajorelle

Price per person: Garden, 70 Dhs each. Garden & Museum 120 Dhs each.

Schedule/Time: 1-2 hours in the Jardin. Allow 30 minutes of waiting time if you arrive at a busy time.

Location: 20 minute walk from the Medina market.

Ahh the beautiful Jardin Majorelle, probably one of the best known destinations outside the city, and very popular with the tourists. We decided to walk that day as we fancied exploring and seeing the street sights of Marrakech, it took us about 25 minutes so it really isn’t that far… We arrived at 11am, which to be honest in hindsight wasn’t the most clever idea as it was extremely busy and peak hour for tourists. The queue outside seemed pretty daunting but it actually cleared swiftly, and we were in within 30 minutes… Remember to take a bottle of water with you as the queue is in direct sunshine!

Jardin Majorelle was designed in 1924 by Jacques Majorelle, and was later bought by french fashion designer, Yves Saint-Laurent and his partner Pierre Bergé. The art-deco designed building sits blissfully within a garden of plants and cacti, and shows-off the gorgeous ‘Majorelle Blue’ shade.

They sell small tins of the Majorelle Blue paint in the gift shop, and Tom literally had to drag me away and convince me I didn’t want to return back to the UK with all my clothes coated in blue paint. Wise words!

I suggest getting there earlier, between 8-9am to get the best experience as we were battling through the crowd at times to get a nice photo.. It may look like it was pretty quiet in these photos but believe me, it wasn’t!

3. PALAIS EL BADHI

Instagram – @palaiselbadi

Price per person: 70 Dhs each

Schedule/Time: 1-2 hours to explore the entire grounds.

Location: Central/South of the Medina.

The El Badi Palace is an architectural attraction that was built at the end of the sixteenth century, and located in the Medina. We both thoroughly enjoyed walking around the remains of what once was a beautiful palace, and watching a video in one of the hidden rooms about the history of it, and what it used to be like…

As much as I love the gorgeously tiled buildings with perfect carvings and architecture, walking around El Badi Palace was actually quite exciting. There’s a lot to explore with hidden tunnels and doorways – just as you think you’ve seen it all, another area pops up!

I advise again to ensure you have a water bottle with you, as a lot of the areas are out in the open – As far as I’m aware, I didn’t spot a shop/restaurant inside the palace.

4. OUZOUD FALLS

Instagram – @ouzoud

Price per person: £24.50 per person for the trip. Book & pay in advance. 200 Dhs each for lunch (optional). 20 Dhs each for boat ride (optional).

Schedule/Time: 1 Full day. Pick up from 8am, return approx 6pm.

Location: 3 Hour drive from the Medina.

As we were on holiday for 9 days, we both fancied doing a 1 day excursion away from the busy Medina in Marrakech, so before traveling I did some research and found this bargain deal that included pick-up, travel and a visit to the Ouzoud Waterfalls. We were very lucky that our pick-up destination was the first, as you’ll be seated in a mini bus (which is actually very modern and comfortable) with 14 other people, don’t be concerned if you’re pick-up is slightly later than stated – they haven’t forgotten you, they’re just routing the best way around the Medina!

Pack a water bottle…

The drive is rather long so be warned, it takes approximately 3 hours each way with a drink/toilet stop on route. When you arrive you need to stay within a group, and a very friendly tour guide will take you around to visit an old Berber house, and show you how argon oil is made. I did find myself getting a little frustrated when he took us to a gift shop and we had to wait about 15 minutes for everyone to look around… I was quite keen to get going and actually see the falls, but alas we did have plenty of time to enjoy it in all of it’s glory.

There was a steep downhill trek that lasts approx 15 minutes, and a stairway climb back up to the top – so be sure to wear sensible shoes if you go! Once we got to the bottom of the falls, we had a quick 20 minute break in which we were allowed to swim/paddle in the river which was really lovely (very cold though so be warned!).

After that we walked along to where the falls hit, and paid 20 Dhs each for a boat ride to take us up-close to the falls. It was totally worth paying for so I highly recommend you chose the boat option should you go… (Psst, shocker… I wasn’t actually steering the boat ^^).

A day long adventure…

Once we climbed back up to the top, we were taken to a lovely restaurant who very generously gave an ‘all you can eat’ supply of food. This included tagines, cous cous, chicken skewers, chips, bread, olives and water. Approx £16 each – so a little pricey, but definitely worth it. It was optional so don’t feel pressured in to eating there…

A long drive home and we arrived back to our Riad rather exhausted, but thrilled with the memories and excitement we had had that day – A total bargain if you ask me!

5. LE JARDIN SECRET

Instagram – @lejardinsecret_marrakech

Price per person: 70 Dhs each

Schedule/Time: 1 – 2 hours. There may be a small queue at busier periods.

Location: Centre of the Medina.

Buried in the heart of the Medina, Le Jardin Secret is not somewhere to leave off of your agenda! From the outside you’ll see nothing but dreary-red, brick walls – but as soon as you enter you’ll be allured with the beautiful decor and relaxing sounds of the fountains. We found it very interesting seeing how the pipes run the fountain under the ground, all of which were flowing for the direction of the Atlas Mountains, and enjoyed sitting on a bench to take in our surroundings.

We enjoyed exploring the photo museum of images that were taken in the recent renovation of the gardens. It was lovely to learn about how to renovate such properties and about the importance of architecture and design in Morocco.

There are two sections to the garden, one filled with exotic plants and the other Islamic. The entire gardens are paved with green zellige tiles and the large pavilion in the centre of the garden is any Instagrammers photo dream!

6. LA BAHIA PALACE

Instagram – @bahiapalace

Price per person: 70 Dhs each

Schedule/Time: 1 – 2 hours. Allow 30 minutes in the queue during busy periods.

Location: Centre/South of the Medina.

La Bahia Palace is another popular tourist destination, so I would suggest visiting early or late during the day. We stupidly got there at 11am peak hour again and was faced with a 30 minute queue… That’s not to say it wasn’t worth it though!

With endless sections, gardens and courtyards, Bahia Palace is a great place to get lost in the depths of and admire all the beautiful tiled buildings and architecture… The colours really are quite stunning. Don’t be fooled in to thinking you’ve seen it all because there are a few hidden corridors in between the courtyards!

WANT TO HEAR MORE?

So there we have it, my top 6 destinations to visit whilst in Marrakech. That’s not the only places we visited though – be sure to scout out these amazing places too….

La Mamounia

Probably one of THE most poshest, most gorgeous hotels I have ever seen which actually made us feel slightly uneasy walking around! They allow visitors to look around the garden and lower ground, so just be respectful with your behaviour. The whole building screams money – I dread to think how much even a bottle of water costs here, but, it was bloody stunning and well worth the visit if you’re passing by… Price: Free.

Saadian Toombs

The Saadian Tombs was another lovely place to visit if you’re in the southern area of the Medina (close by to La Bahia and El Badi palaces). We found it to be quite pricey though, meeting the same cost as other places when it is in fact an eighth of the size comparatively. It took us no more than 30 minutes to view the entirety of it, and half of that was spent queueing to see the actual tombs… Again though, it is rather beautiful so if you’re in the area and don’t mind splashing the cash then it’s worth it! Price: 70 Dhs each.

Medersa Ben Youssef

Just to clarify, we didn’t actually get to visit the gorgeous Ben Youssef as it is under refurbishment until 2020. I was pretty gutted and I’ve heard and seen so many good things about it. No doubt if it was open to the public, it could have well made it in my top 6… I wanted to mention it here as I know it is one of the top recommended places to visit – and also didn’t want those who have already visited Marrakech to think I hadn’t considered it!

Musee de Marrakech

The Museum of Marrakech came very close to my top 6… It came down to the price/size comparative as it wasn’t that big and we left feeling like we had missed something (but hadn’t). The inside really is gorgeous, and there’s a lot of historic artefacts displayed but unfortunately no english translation so we couldn’t actually read/make sense of it which was a shame… Price: 70 Dhs Each.

Maison de la Photographie

Throughout our visit I was very much excited to visit the Photography house, situated again in the heart of the Medina. We regularly had people telling/ushering us to go there – Honestly it was a little bit disappointing though in my opinion… It was a lot smaller than expected and very busy. The photography is nice however, and gives you an insight in to the history of the Berbers which is lovely, but I felt it somewhat lacked to the expectation I had in my head… Price: 50 Dhs each.

LOOKING FOR SOME NIGHTLIFE ACTION?

Barometre

If you’re looking for some recommendations for good evening establishments to visit, the you MUST go to Barometre. Approx a 10 minute taxi drive to the new town Gueliz, Barometre sits underground with nothing but a big metal ‘B‘ outside to give you a clue of it’s whereabouts. A staircase down to a fake ‘library’, and a bookcase swings open in to the most exquisite, dim-lit bar with a concoction of potions and ingredients for the most divine cocktails. They have a ‘specials’ menu, which do come in at a hefty price of 160 Dhs each, but my gosh they are worth it if you don’t mind splashing the cash for one night…

Comptoir Darna

Comptoir Darna is another 5* rated restaurant/bar in the new town, Gueliz. Apparently it’s where David Beckham spent his 40th birthday, so if it’s good enough for him… !

We enjoyed a couple of drinks outside in their courtyard which was dim-lit and covered in candles, fountains and fairy lights. I almost felt mesmerised and slightly delusional (probably from the cocktails), though as if I was in a scene from Alice in Wonderland. Cocktails again were a little pricey at roughly 130 Dhs each, but it’s worth going even just for a glass of water to experience the decor and atmosphere…

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