JEMMA EL-FNAA SQUARE

By day, Jemaa el-Fnaa can feel almost transitional – orange juice stalls, snake charmers and scattered food vendors spread across the open square beneath the Koutoubia Mosque. But after dark, the atmosphere changes completely. The square’s inclusion on UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage list recognises not its architecture but the performance culture taking place here each night. Cooler temperatures make it easier for the crowds to shuffle between storytellers, musicians and packed food stalls, while rooftop cafés around the square provide the clearest view of the evolving spectacle below.

MEDINA SOUK

At the heart of the medina are the souks – metalworkers hammering brass trays, leather tanners sorting hides and spice sellers stacking saffron and cumin beside alleyways barely wide enough for two people to pass comfortably. Early mornings are generally calmer, before the narrow passages fill with guides, handcarts and shoppers. Local guides can provide access to workshops and riads that are otherwise easy to miss completely, while commissioning ceramics, carpets or leather goods directly from artisans offers a more personal connection to the city’s long-established craft traditions.

MAJORELLE GARDEN

Originally created by French painter Jacques Majorelle and later restored by Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Bergé, the Majorelle Garden feels unexpectedly calm beside the intensity of the medina – towering cacti, bamboo groves, tranquil pools and the electric “Majorelle Blue” used throughout the villa, now inseparable from Marrakech itself. Private garden tours with botanical specialists explain the rare plant collections, while fashion-history sessions at the neighbouring Musée Yves Saint Laurent focus on the designer’s long relationship with Morocco in sketches, garments and archival material.

BAHIA PALACE

Built in the late 19th century for Grand Vizier Si Moussa and later expanded by his son Bou Ahmed, Bahia Palace is one of the clearest surviving examples of Moroccan craftsmanship at imperial scale. Unlike many European palaces, the architecture directs attention inward: stucco carving, painted cedar ceilings, zellige tilework and carved archways extended over a sequence of courtyards and reception rooms. Private tours with art historians allow access to restricted rooms not usually open to visitors and traditional Moroccan music performances held within the palace courtyards add another historical layer.

TRADITIONAL HAMMAM

A big part of daily life in Marrakech, and not just a wellness ritual for visitors, public bathhouses can be found scattered throughout the medina, while luxury hotels and riads reinterpret the hammam experience with polished marble, rose petals and argan oil treatments. The structure is broadly unchanged whichever version you choose: steam, black soap, vigorous exfoliation with a kessa glove and mint tea in a cool room afterwards. For many, the intensity of the scrubbing comes as quite the surprise. So does how relaxed the process leaves you feeling afterwards.

ATLAS MOUNTAINS

Less than an hour from Marrakech, and a noticeable relief from the heat of the medina, the High Atlas Mountains reveal another side of Morocco entirely – dry plains giving way to terraced valleys, red-earth Berber villages and peaks that stay snow-capped well into spring. Day trips range from guided hikes, mule trails and helicopter tours to private lunches beside mountain rivers, while overnight stays hosted by local families offer a closer look at Amazigh communities, whose agricultural traditions are inseparable from the surrounding terrain.