Recent Posts

  • Bagatelle Lodge: a luxury retreat in the middle of the Kalahari Desert
  • Old Drift Lodge: luxury accommodation on the banks of the Zambezi
  • A visit to “the most underrated part of Namibia”: the Kavango region 
  • 4×4 driving in Sandwich Harbour: nerve-racking, but amazing 
  • Explore Africa test: hotels in Swakopmund

Archives

  • January 2023
  • November 2022
  • July 2022
  • June 2022
  • May 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • March 2021
  • September 2020
  • May 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018

Categories

  • Adventure
  • Art & Culture
  • City Trip
  • Endangered
  • Kenya
  • Morocco
  • Namibia
  • Nigeria
  • Overlanding
  • Rwanda
  • Safari & Wildlife
  • South Africa
  • Sustainable
  • Tanzania
  • Travel Africa
  • Type of trip
  • Uganda
  • Zanzibar
  • Zimbabwe

Favorites

No Favorites

Recent Comments

    Menu
    • Home
    • Explore
      • Kenya
      • Morocco
      • Namibia
      • Nigeria
      • Rwanda
      • South Africa
      • Tanzania
      • Uganda
      • Zimbabwe
    • Type of trip
      • Adventure
      • Art & Culture
      • City Trip
      • Endangered
      • Overlanding
      • Safari
      • Sustainable
    • About us
    • Shop
    • English
    • Nederlands
    • Share your story
    • Advertise with us
    Explore Africa
    Tara Vierbergen
    on 5 September 2019
    Share Story
    Subscribe
    Home  /  City Trip • Morocco  /  Planning a city trip to Marrakech? These are the most photogenic things to do
    City TripMorocco

    Planning a city trip to Marrakech? These are the most photogenic things to do

    26 Minute Read Leave a Comment

    Ah, Marrakech, one of the four Imperial Cities of Morocco (Fes, Meknes and Rabat are the other three). So for those who travel to Morocco, a must-visit. Although: nothing must be done, of course, everything is allowed. Still, it would be a shame not to visit the city of Marrakech. Plenty of beautiful sights to marvel at, to photograph and to be photographed at.

    The favourite and most photogenic things to do and sights to see in Marrakech, according to Explore Africa:

    Rooftop bars in Marrakech

    For those looking for a higher altitude, beautiful view over the city can be seen. A rooftop bar is a total win-win, because while you’re dreaming away with the view, quietly witnessing the crowds down the street, you’re sitting on a soft pillow drinking Moroccan tea (by the way, if you’re not so fond of sugar, ask if they’ll serve the sugar separately). Hello, dear. Marrakech counts plenty of rooftop bars, so you can have enough fun. Highly recommended: Cafe Clock that resides in a former school, just outside the medina. And it even gets better! On Sunday afternoon there are sunset concerts, just imagine that!

    > Cafe Clock, 224 Derb Chtouka, Kasbah, Marrakech, Morocco

    Jardin Majorelle: that beautiful botanical garden in Marrakech

    Jardin Majorelle, or Majorelle Garden, the botanical garden that French painter Jacques Majorelle created in 1924 at his spacious ‘villa Bou-Saf-Saf’, full of exotic plants from all over the world. A few years later, in 1931, architect Paul Sinoir was allowed to build a cobalt blue studio. When Majorelle died in the early 1960s, the garden fell into disrepair. The rescuing hands came from designer Yves Saint Laurent and his Pierre Bergé, who bought Jardin Majorelle in 1980 and made a big improvement. Jardin Majorelle is a public garden; in the main house, you will find the Berber Museum with traditional clothing, jewellery and other characteristic items.

    The Jardin Majorelle botanical garden in Marrakech, Morocco. Photo via @jardinmajorellemarrakech

    > Jardin Majorelle, Rue Yves St Laurent, Marrakech Morocco

    Tip: also visit the Yves Saint Laurent Museum, just one hundred metres from Jardin Majorelle. It is one of our favourite museums and art galleries in Marrakech. 

    Djemaa el Fna in Marrakech

    In the category of tips for Marrakech: Djemaa el Fnaa, the liveliest square in Marrakech, in the heart of the medina. As dawn sets in, musicians, percussionists, vendors, soothsayers, storytellers, henna tattoos and belly dancers come and go. A spectacle that, once in Marrakech, you must have experienced. This can also be done from the sidelines: look for one of the many cafes on the square, take a chair on one of the terraces and voilà. During the day there is a market at Djemaa el Fna. Handcarts full of dates, nuts, dried figs and authentic Moroccan stuff that you don’t necessarily need, but you do want. From the square, you can immediately roll into the souks.

    > Djemaa el Fna, Marrakech Morocco

    Calèche: discover Marrakech by horse and cart

    So much more fun (and more photogenic, mind you) than a hop-on-hop-off bus: Marrakech can be discovered in an emerald green carriage. This is called a Calèche, the French translation for the same creature. There are several hop-on places where you can find calèches lined up to be be used. Djemaa el Fna, the Koutoubia mosque and Jardin Majorelle are three of them. A calèche can accommodate four to five people. Before you mount one, it is advisable to negotiate about the price that has to be paid for the ride. Prices vary enormously and it depends on how good you are at negotiating and how badly the driver wants to take you with him. Take it for granted if you pay a little too much. The people who take you from A to B, live off it.

    Palace of Bahia in Marrakech

    If you like beautiful architecture, Morocco is an excellent place to be. One of the many architectural masterpieces, a Moroccan masterpiece, is the palace of Bahia: an eight-hectare palace that dates from the 19th century and you can visit it during your city trip to Marrakech. An eight-hectare palace is indeed quite something. Bahia has one hundred and fifty rooms that adjoin the courtyards and lush palace gardens. It is magnificent with meters high ceilings, doors and frames of handmade wood carvings and colourful mosaics. If you go there early, you can avoid the bustle and capture the palace on camera in relative peace – without facial pollution in the form of mass tourism.

    > Palace of Bahia, Avenue Imam El Ghazali, Marrakech Morocco

    Ben Youssef Medersa

    Or Ben Joesoef Madrassa. Or Ben Youssef Madrasa. Whatever spelling you prefer, it is an old Koran school that was founded in the 14th century by the Moroccan monarch Abu el Hassan and housed nine hundred students with an interest in theology and law. In 1960 it was given a new purpose, that of a museum. At the end of the nineties, Ben Youssef Medersa was given a major facelift. Since then, it has been a popular attraction for those who visit Marrakech. Completely understandable, because it is breath-taking. It starts with the bronze door opening at the entrance, which is embellished with artistic engravings of cedar wood and mosaic. Details are there in abundance. A good setting for an extensive photo session, we figured. Around the corner, you’ll find the Ali Ben Youssef Mosque, the largest mosque in Marrakech. That definitely provides you with a bit to see as well.

    Ben Youssef Medersa in Marrakech, Morocco. Photo via medersa-ben-youssef.com

    > Ben Youssef Medersa, Rue Assouel, Marrakech Morocco

    Don't miss any travel inspiration

    Receive our monthly newsletter with our latest articles and travel tips for free:

    Advertise with us

    Previous Article
    Cape Town: everything you need to know for your holiday
    Next Article
    Riad Dyor Marrakech
    Looking for a hotel in Marrakech? These are the best riads

    About Author

    Tara Vierbergen

    Related Posts

    by Caroline de Vente
    07 July 2022
    City Trip

    Explore Africa test: hotels in Swakopmund

    8 Minutes Read
    by Caroline de Vente
    09 June 2022
    Art & Culture

    Slave trade on Zanzibar: “I personally witnessed the strangling of six men”

    9 Minute Read
    by Caroline de Vente
    02 June 2022
    City Trip

    Discover breathtaking views with Fly Namibia’s Safari Circuit

    5 Minutes Read

    Leave a Comment

    Cancel reply

    Random Posts

    • Kirinda, Rwanda. Photo: Tara Vierbergen
      Essential information when travelling to Rwanda 27 December 2018
    • Meerdere zebra's draven door het hoge groene gras van Katavi National Park
      Katavi National Park: Tanzania’s undiscovered wilderness 30 July 2021
    • Domboshava Caves: where adventure meets tranquillity 29 September 2020

    Follow us

    Newsletter

    © Copyright 2019 Explore Africa / De Vente Media | Privacy Statement & Disclaimer