Best Things to Do in Marrakech

Marrakech packs an enormous amount into a compact old city, and a first-timer can easily fill two or three days without repeating a thing. Here are the best things to do, from the unmissable icons to the smaller pleasures that make the city special.

Experience Jemaa el-Fnaa at dusk

The city's beating heart and the thing to do first. By day it's a wide, sun-baked square with juice stalls and snake charmers; at sunset it transforms into a carnival of food stalls, musicians, and storytellers. The move is to watch it fill up from a rooftop terrace cafe with a mint tea, then descend into the crowd. Eat at a busy food stall, keep an eye on your belongings, and soak up an atmosphere that's been going for centuries.

Get lost in the souks

The maze of covered markets stretching north from the square is a highlight in itself. Each area specializes — leather, lanterns, spices, carpets, metalwork — and haggling is expected and part of the fun (our haggling guide gives you the playbook). Don't over-plan; wandering and getting pleasantly lost is exactly the right way to experience them.

Tour the palaces and historic sites

Marrakech's architecture is stunning up close. The Bahia Palace is a 19th-century showpiece of painted ceilings and courtyards. The Saadian Tombs hide dazzling tilework behind a narrow passage. The Ben Youssef Madrasa, a former Quranic school, is one of the most beautiful buildings in the country. And the Koutoubia minaret — the city's tallest landmark — anchors the skyline, best admired from outside as the mosque is closed to non-Muslims.

Find calm in the gardens

When the medina's intensity gets to you, the gardens are the antidote. The Majorelle Garden, painted its famous cobalt blue, is a cool botanical oasis, with the Yves Saint Laurent museum next door. The Menara Gardens and Le Jardin Secret offer more green respite. These make perfect mid-afternoon breaks from the heat and the crowds.

Soak in a hammam

A traditional hammam (steam bath and scrub) is a quintessential North African experience and a wonderful way to unwind after days of walking. Options range from local public hammams to luxurious spa versions in riads and hotels — first-timers often prefer the gentler spa route. It's relaxing, cultural, and leaves you feeling brand new. First-timers should know the basic ritual: you'll steam to soften the skin, get scrubbed with black soap and a coarse glove (kessa) that removes astonishing amounts of dead skin, rinse, and often finish with an argan-oil massage. In a public hammam you bring your own toiletries and it's gender-separated; in a spa version everything is provided and it's more pampering than authentic. Either way, it's an experience worth having at least once.

Take a cooking class or food tour

Moroccan cuisine is a trip highlight, and a hands-on cooking class — often starting with a souk shopping trip — teaches you to make tagine and other staples while demystifying the ingredients. Food tours of the medina are another great way to eat well and understand what you're tasting. Our guide to Moroccan dishes tells you what to look for.

Escape on a day trip

If you have an extra day, Marrakech is the springboard for great excursions — the Atlas foothills and Ourika Valley for mountain scenery, the Agafay desert for a close sunset-camp experience, or Essaouira on the coast. The big one, of course, is a multi-day trip to the Sahara; see our Sahara tours guide.

Shop for Moroccan crafts

Marrakech is one of the best places in the country to shop, and the crafts are genuinely special: hand-knotted rugs, leather bags and poufs, brass and silver lanterns, ceramics, babouche slippers, and argan-oil products. Prices are almost always negotiable, so haggling is expected — start well below the asking price and settle somewhere in the middle, always with good humor. If big-ticket items like rugs feel intimidating, the fixed-price artisan cooperatives (Ensemble Artisanal) are a low-pressure way to gauge fair prices before you dive into the souks. Our haggling guide walks through the etiquette.

Watch a sunset from the ramparts or a rooftop

Marrakech glows at golden hour. The city's red-earth walls and the palm groves take on a warm light, and a rooftop terrace above the medina — mint tea in hand, the call to prayer echoing across the rooftops, the Atlas Mountains sometimes visible in the distance — is one of those simple travel moments that stays with you. Many riads and cafes have rooftop terraces open to the public; it's the perfect way to bookend a busy day of sightseeing before heading down to Jemaa el-Fnaa for the evening.

Day and evening rhythm

A smart way to structure a Marrakech day is to work with the heat and the city's rhythm rather than against it. Sightsee the palaces, madrasas, and gardens in the cooler morning hours, retreat to your riad or a shady cafe for lunch and a rest during the hottest part of the afternoon, then re-emerge in the late afternoon for the souks and a rooftop sunset before Jemaa el-Fnaa comes alive at dusk. This gentle pacing keeps you from burning out — the city is intense, and trying to power through midday heat is how first-timers end up exhausted by day two. Build in the downtime and you'll enjoy it far more.

Enjoy the rooftops

Some of Marrakech's best moments are simply sitting on a rooftop terrace above the medina — a coffee in the morning, a sunset drink, dinner overlooking the square. Many riads and cafes have them, and they offer a calm bird's-eye view of a city that's anything but calm at street level. Plan your visit around our complete Marrakech guide. Which of these earn a ticket and which reward a wander is worked through in the complete Morocco trip guide.