Known for
Snake charmers in Jemaa el-Fnaa, and palm-shaded riads
Must-see landmarks
Jemaa el-Fnaa, the Koutoubia Mosque, Bahia Palace and El Badi Palace
World Heritage
Medina inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1985
Free to visit
Jemaa el-Fnaa and the souks of the medina
Marrakech's main mosque anchors the medina with a stone minaret UNESCO calls matchless at 77 metres tall. This first stop is an outdoor one: the gardens and the esplanade beside the mosque frame the minaret and give the walk into the medina a shaded start. Jemaa el-Fnaa is a 7 minute walk northeast.
The triangular square at the heart of the medina fills with orange juice stalls and everyday trade that UNESCO proclaimed a Masterpiece of Oral and Intangible Heritage in 2001, inscribed on its Representative List in 2008. By night it becomes an open-air stage of food stalls, musicians and storytellers. Souk Semmarine begins 5 minutes away.
Marrakech's main market street runs north from the square under a covered lattice of reed and wood, past stalls selling leather, lanterns, spices and textiles that branch into narrower souks on either side. Ben Youssef Madrasa, the old Quranic school turned museum, is 7 minutes further north.
This Quranic school once housed students in 134 rooms around a courtyard of carved cedar, stucco and zellige tilework, and now opens daily as a museum from 9:00 to 19:00. Bahia Palace is a 21 minute walk south-east, the longest stretch of the day.
Bahia Palace's name means 'the brilliant', a nod to the favourite wife of the grand vizier who commissioned it. It grew from a chamberlain's house into an eight-hectare residence between 1894 and 1900, its four courtyards decorated with zellige, carved cedar and stucco. It opens daily from 9:00 to 17:00. El Badi Palace is 8 minutes away.
Sultan Ahmad al-Mansur built this palace between 1578 and 1603 with gold, onyx and marble imported from Italy; today storks nest on its ruined walls above sunken gardens dug with reflecting pools. It opens daily from 9:00 to 17:00. Saadian Tombs lie a short walk away within the walls of the Kasbah.
Hidden for centuries and rediscovered in 1917, this royal necropolis began in 1557 around the tomb of the dynasty's founder and grew when Sultan Ahmad al-Mansur buried his mother here in 1591, its marble Hall of the Twelve Columns a showcase of Saadian craftsmanship. It closes for the day at 17:00.
Jemaa el-Fnaa never charges admission, at any hour of the day or night. Arrive early for empty photographs across the square toward the Koutoubia; return after dark, when food carts and performers fill the same ground the evening crowds pay nothing to join.
The covered souks north of Jemaa el-Fnaa cost nothing to wander, and browsing the leather, lantern and spice stalls carries no obligation to buy. The lanes are shaded and busiest in the late morning, quieter first thing.
The olive grove at Menara Gardens costs nothing to enter from early morning, with no ticket needed to walk among the trees or sit by the water. Stepping up into the Saadian building overlooking the pool is a separate, paid ticket.
Bab Agnaou and the more than 10 kilometres of ramparts, which Marrakech's tourism office dates to 1126 under the ruler Ali Ben Youssef, cost nothing to view or walk alongside, day or night.
This 8-hectare public garden opposite the Koutoubia is free to enter and draws more than 2 million visitors a year, with free WiFi hotspots that gave the park its name.
The Mellah's lanes and Place des Ferblantiers, its tinsmiths' square, cost nothing to walk through between Bahia Palace and the Saadian Tombs, past the workshops that give the square its name.
Agdal Gardens is free to visit but opens only on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, when its 500 hectares of Almohad-era olive groves and orchards, fed since the 12th century, welcome picnicking families.
Marrakech built its reputation on contrast: a walled red-ochre medina that has drawn caravans, sultans and merchants since its founding by the Almoravids in 1070-72 sits beside the palm groves and modern avenues of Gueliz. The Almohads and Saadians later filled the medina with the mosques, palaces and gardens that make up its UNESCO-listed old town, while Jemaa el-Fnaa keeps a tradition of storytelling and street performance UNESCO recognises separately as intangible heritage.
Within the ochre walls, the medina packs the Koutoubia, the souks and the palaces of the Kasbah into walkable lanes radiating from Jemaa el-Fnaa. Gueliz and Hivernage, the newer districts west of the medina, hold Jardin Majorelle, restaurants and hotels along wide boulevards. Further out, the Palmeraie and the Agdal and Menara gardens offer open space and mountain views without the density of the old town.
Spring and autumn bring the mildest weather for walking the medina, while summer heat can make midday sightseeing uncomfortable and winter evenings turn cool once the sun sets. Three to four days allow time for the medina's monuments, a garden or two and one excursion into the surrounding region, such as the Ourika Valley or the Ouzoud waterfalls, without rushing.
The medina itself is walkable, its narrow lanes closed to most traffic, while calèches, petit taxis and a public bus connect it with Gueliz, the Palmeraie and Marrakech Menara Airport. Mopeds and bicycles cover longer hops between districts, and addresses inside the medina are best reached on foot or by asking for the nearest recognisable landmark.