Marrakech Highlights
An oasis in every sense of the word, Marrakech was once a beacon for the trading caravans that had driven north through the desert and navigated over the often snow-capped Atlas Mountains. Marrakech may be Morocco’s third most important city after Rabat and Casablanca, but its fabulous palaces and lush palm groves exercise a powerful hold over tourists. It has always been the place where sub-Saharan Africa meets Arab North Africa, and, even today, this market town located on the edge of
nowhere remains a compellingly exotic port of call.
Jemaaa El Fna
This is a vast plaza at the heart of the medina (the old walled city), as old as Marrakech itself.
The site of parades and executions in the past, modern city life is centered around the Jemaa El
Fna
The Night Market
By night, Jemaa El Fna transforms into a circus, theatre and restaurant, with itinerant
musicians and entertainers drawing excitable crowds
Koutoubia Mosque
Marrakech’s landmark monument boasts a tower that dominates the skyline
for miles around. Like most mosques in Morocco, it is closed to non-Muslims but
it’s an impressive sight nonetheless
Souks
out in the narrow streets Laid to the north of central Jemaa El Fna are a dizzying array of souks, or bazaars. Different areas specialize in their own specific wares, selling anything from carpets, lanterns and slippers,
to ingredients for magic spells
City Walls and Gatesold city
is Marrakech’s medina, or wrapped around by several miles of reddish-pink, dried mud walls, punctuated
by nearly 20 gates. Having proved ineffective against attackers throughout history, the walls are more ornamental
than functional
Saadian tombs
A tranquil garden hidden at the end of the narrowest of meandering passageways shelters the royal
tombs of one of Morocco’s ruling dynasties. They were shrouded from the world till the 1920s
Ben Youssef
Behind a typically blank Marrakech façade hides what is arguably the city’s finest building. This
ancient religious school boasts exquisite decorative detail
Baadi Palace
The ruins of this once fabled palace provide a picturesque setting for nesting storks – and a
salutary warning from history against extravagance
Majorelle Gardens
Jacques Majorelle, a French artist who came to Marrakech to recuperate, gifted
this beautiful garden to the city. It is now owned by French couturier, Yves Saint-
Laurent who has opened it to the public
Mamounia Hotel hotels worldwide
A grande dame among the Mamounia has been providing hospitality to the visiting rich and famous for almost a century
An oasis in every sense of the word, Marrakech was once a beacon for the trading caravans that had driven north through the desert and navigated over the often snow-capped Atlas Mountains. Marrakech may be Morocco’s third most important city after Rabat and Casablanca, but its fabulous palaces and lush palm groves exercise a powerful hold over tourists. It has always been the place where sub-Saharan Africa meets Arab North Africa, and, even today, this market town located on the edge ofnowhere remains a compellingly exotic port of call.
Jemaaa El Fna
This is a vast plaza at the heart of the medina (the old walled city), as old as Marrakech itself.
The site of parades and executions in the past, modern city life is centered around the Jemaa El
Fna
The Night Market
By night, Jemaa El Fna transforms into a circus, theatre and restaurant, with itinerant
musicians and entertainers drawing excitable crowds
Koutoubia Mosque
Marrakech’s landmark monument boasts a tower that dominates the skyline
for miles around. Like most mosques in Morocco, it is closed to non-Muslims but
it’s an impressive sight nonetheless
Souks
out in the narrow streets Laid to the north of central Jemaa El Fna are a dizzying array of souks, or bazaars. Different areas specialize in their own specific wares, selling anything from carpets, lanterns and slippers,
to ingredients for magic spells
City Walls and Gatesold city
is Marrakech’s medina, or wrapped around by several miles of reddish-pink, dried mud walls, punctuated
by nearly 20 gates. Having proved ineffective against attackers throughout history, the walls are more ornamental
than functional
Saadian tombs
A tranquil garden hidden at the end of the narrowest of meandering passageways shelters the royal
tombs of one of Morocco’s ruling dynasties. They were shrouded from the world till the 1920s
Ben Youssef
Behind a typically blank Marrakech façade hides what is arguably the city’s finest building. This
ancient religious school boasts exquisite decorative detail
Baadi Palace
The ruins of this once fabled palace provide a picturesque setting for nesting storks – and a
salutary warning from history against extravagance
Majorelle Gardens
Jacques Majorelle, a French artist who came to Marrakech to recuperate, gifted
this beautiful garden to the city. It is now owned by French couturier, Yves Saint-
Laurent who has opened it to the public
Mamounia Hotel hotels worldwide
A grande dame among the Mamounia has been providing hospitality to the visiting rich and famous for almost a century
