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Places to Visit in Marrakech
The main ‘souk’ or market area is the most colourful area with it’s lines of bazaars. Whilst wandering around it is easy to get disorientated amongst the packed alleyways but it’s easy to go with the flow and attempting to follow a map would almost certainly be pointless. Haggling for goods around the main souk area can be hard work. The Centre Artisanale complex sells rugs, slippers, jewellery, pottery and more but at fixed prices.
To enjoy some Moroccan craftsmanship and architecture the Ben Youssef Medersa which used to be a Koranic school is now an excellent museum. It is also attached to the 16th century Ali Ben Youssef Mosque. The Musee de Marrakech is also here and is worth a look for the building itself which is 19th century.
Jardin Majorelle was originally created in the 1920’s. After some neglect it was bought by Yves Saint Laurent who restored it in the 1980’s. It now offers palms, tree ferns, bamboos and cacti to stroll through. It is open daily for a small entry fee. Within the garden there is an artist’s studio which has been transformed into a small gallery. The four rooms contain rich works by Jacques Majorelle.
Eating Out in Marrakech
Bougainvillea is a colourful café on Rue el Mouassine. Typical offerings is the likes of an aubergine and mozzarella panini and the surprisingly good avocado milkshake.
Café des Epices offers freshly squeezed orange juice whilst you relax on cream sofa’s under wicker umbrella’s on top of the roof terrace.
For a laid back lunch try Le Tanjia. It offers an exotic atmosphere with it’s wooden furnishings and rooftop terrace. Typical dishes served include tagine of lamb with prunes and chicken with lemon and olives.
La villa is an art-deco-style restaurant. The food served by the French chef is excellent. Typical dishes include langoustine soup and rich pave de boeuf a la Marocaine. Local wines are available and go down surprisingly well alongside the cuisine.Marrakech Night Life
Kozybar is one of the few places within the medina which has a licence to serve alcohol. The roof terrace is perfect for enjoying a drink whilst watching the sky turn at sunset.
At dusk the Djemaa el Fnaa becomes filled with snake-charmers, storytellers, dancers and medicine-men. Drums and pipes are played in the background whilst barbecued food stalls sizzle serving kebabs, sausages and aubergine salads. Diners can eat at long trestle tables and pay a very small amount for a generous plate of barbequed chicken with mineral water.
Local Information
Spring makes the ideal time for visiting Marrakech and after Easter the visitor numbers are less. The medina walls run for 10 kilometres of the circumference of the centre. The tourist information office can be found outside of the medina to the west which puts it awkwardly situated away from the popular visitor sites.
From the Airport to Marrakech
Marrakech’s Menara airport is situated just 6 kilometres from the city centre. There is a bus which transfers in around 20 minutes but it can be somewhat unpredictable. A taxi is much more reliable and takes around 15 minutes into the centre of the medina. The prices are reasonable although some drivers will quote much higher fares to new arrivals. There are two options for taxi a ‘grand taxi’ which will take up to six passengers but cannot go all the way into the centre or a ‘petit taxi’ which can transport three passengers and can travel much further into the medina. A ‘grand taxi’ is usually a Mercedes and ‘petit taxi’s’ are yellowy beige and often Peugeots.
