We both love a good tourist attraction. When visiting a new city we make the time to visit the attractions with the best reviews and recommendations. Visiting the attractions gives us a better understand of the culture and history of the city. I love nothing more than trying to immerse myself into the everyday living and surroundings of the city to best feel what it would be like to live there. This is what I love most about traveling.
What I do not like however is wandering around in the hot or freezing weather trying to find an attraction that is either under construction, no longer exists, for whatever reason closed, or does not live up to the hype.
I have rated in our personal opinion the best tourist attractions of Marrakesh and why you may, or, may not like them. If you enjoy a good old tourist attraction, check out this list before visiting.
1. MEDINA MARRAKESH
This is the main part of Marrakesh. Inside the Medina lies the souks, restaurants, spas, cafe's and many historical sites. This is the place to visit if you are only in Marrakesh for a short time. Keep your eyes peeled for a good deal or anything you want to try to haggle.
2. JEMAA EL-FENAA
The main square of Marrakesh. You may find yourself using this as your base to remembering your way around the inside of the Medina. You can do almost anything here; purchase fresh food, buy souvenirs, get a henna, see snake charmers and you may even see a festival if you are lucky. The best thing here is that you can watch it all unfold from above if you sit on one of the restaurant's rooftop balconies on the outskirts of the square. Highly recommended as the evening approaches to watch the hustle and bustle below unfold.
Word of warning; do not take pictures of the snakes without giving tips. They will try and put a snake on your shoulder until you pay for them to take it off!
3. BAHIA PALACE
We spent many hours here. Mainly as it was a beautiful location for someone with a camera and an eye for design...(so, basically Kris).
A palace built in the late 1800's/early 1900's, the architecture is more modern and the palace is still intact with ongoing restorations taking place. There are plenty of rooms to explore and amazing Moroccan tile textiles on the walls. The garden was lovely to sit in and overall, the palace is well kept.
4. JARDIN MAJORELLE (YSL)
A 20 minute walk outside of the Medina is the beautiful Jardin Majorelle. For a small entry fee we spent a few hours walking around and viewing all of the exotic plants that the Moroccan climate has to offer. The guided path which bursts with colour, streams and ponds scattered amongst the rich green plants, takes you on a journey through the garden. Mr Jacques Majorelle, a french painter, spent 40 years designing this garden to perfection. I came here for my birthday and would certainly recommend this as a must see when in Marrakesh.
5. EL BADI PALACE
Built in the 1500's and completed in the 1600's, El Badi Palace still stands for tourists to visit thanks to restoration. It has been restored to the point of understanding the structure of the palace, however most of the ceilings are missing and many walls half intact. It was quite unique to walk around with the added bonus of being able to overlook the palace from the top of it's walls.
6. BEN YOUSSEF MADRASA
Very lovely architect building which use to house hundreds of students. Anyone with an architect background would likely have a much deeper appreciation for this building. Better to read up on the site before going as there is limited information about it there.
7. SAADIAN TOMBS
The Saadian Tombs I was looking forward to seeing. Again, the same problem for me here was similar to Ben Youssef Madrasa, which was not knowing the story. There are guided tours every few hours (which would probably make the process much more interesting), so if you do not read up on it prior to - you may have a similar experience as us. Worth seeing I imagine, if you know the history.
Do you have any other recommended tourist attractions or perhaps a different experience of the sites mentions above? Let us know below!