Things to Do in Marrakech

Honestly, when I read about Marrakech, I had to look up where it is. I had no clue that Marrakech is the fourth largest city in Morocco and that it was first established in 1062! Marrakech is located on the northern part of Africa near the Atlantic Ocean side.

I have a whole list of places I want to visit and I have to say that this city or even country wasn’t on my radar. I feel like what else am I missing out there as there are so many places to visit! I definitely need to do some research and revise my list!

So anyways what sparked me about Marrakech is definitely a combination of so many things.

The first thing I feel like is the best way to really explore a new place is to find a tour. Marrakech tours are perfect for whether you are a foodie, nature lover, someone who loves history or someone who just loves new cultures. You could start your tour right in a local market, village, restaurant, desert or even strolling through a garden on a bike.

A tour is great because it is a good start to see what you really want to expand upon. For example, in a new town or even country you might want a little of everything and then discover you really are interested in the culture or a nature landscape.

Did you know some tour places even let you pre-select a tour guide? I never would have thought I would care about picking a specific tour guide but being able to learn more about the guide and what they are experts in is helpful ahead of time.

Speaking of tours, a private tour is definitely the way to go if possible as you will get everything out of it that you want and then some. No listening to other guests asking questions you don’t care about and running out of time without getting everything you want from the tour. A private tour means you get 1 on 1 with a local expert.

Here are some places I found that I’d love to check out in Marrakech:

Bahia Palace – This palace was designed in the late 19th century to be the greatest palace of its time.

By Jorge Láscar from Australia – Palais Bahia (The Bahia Palace), CC BY 2.0,

Ben Youssef Madrasa – This is a 14th century Islamic college that is decorated with geometric patterns in an open design.

Le Jardin Secret – Home to some of the Morocco and Marrakech’s most important policitcal figures as well as the
Saadian Dynasty from more than 400 years ago, this landmark has a variety of gardens and buildings all examples of Islamic art and architecture.

A Marrakech market – I could not visit somewhere and not go shopping! Local markets always have such great treasures and oftentimes you can even watch items being handcrafted by artisans.

The Atlas Mountains – This mountain range stretches about 1,600 miles through Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia. It separates the Mediterranean and Atlantic coastlines from the Sahara Desert. The area is inhabited by Berber populations which is another culture to learn from. There are also a number of animal and plants unique in Africa, many of them are endangered and some have already gone extinct.

Essaouira – This city near Marrakech is enclosed partly by fortress walls from back in the 1500s. There are fresh fish restaurants, old Portuguese harbors and legends to explore.

By Viault – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0,

Foodie Tour – From strolling through the markets and experiencing local cuisines to food stops the locals go to. Whether this is done on your own or with a tour guide, I love trying new foods and in other cultures so much is handmade and fresh.

Sahara Desert – I could not visit that part of Africa and not visit the largest non-polar desert in the world, the Sahara Desert. It is 3.5 million square miles and over 70 different species live there. I have never been to a desert before and the thought of riding a camel in the desert sounds like a must-do. An interesting little known fact I read too is that the Sahara Desert is actually the third largest desert, not the first as often thought; however, it is the largest hot desert. By definition, a desert is an area which receives less than 10 inches of precipitation per year, so both Antartica and the Arctic technically qualify as deserts.

Have you been to (or near) Marrakech before?