Marrakech for the Senses – Explore the Morroccan City, From Rooftop to Souk
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Marrakech may be exactly what you expect – at first. Incense in the air. Scooters buzzing past. Spices piled high in the markets. But, if you let it, the city will undo your assumptions.
What lingers most is the quiet connection beneath it all. People greet one another in the street, no matter where they’re going. Everyone seems to know each other or at least behave like they do.
So leave any preconceptions at the gate. This isn’t a city to conquer in a checklist. It’s a place to feel your way through. Stay curious and let it surprise you.
Before You Begin
Most visitors stay in the Medina, the old city enclosed by ancient walls. It’s a maze of narrow alleys and small shops. You’ll get lost, and that’s fine – you’re not here to move efficiently.
Stay in a riad: These traditional Moroccan homes are built around courtyards and often feature rooftop terraces. The best ones are quiet and cool, offering a place to breathe and recharge.
Carry cash: Dirhams go further, and bargaining is easier with bills in hand.
Dress simply: Cover your shoulders and knees; blending in feels better. Wear good shoes – you’ll be walking a lot.
Make reservations: Restaurants and hammams fill up, especially on weekends.
Leave room to wander: The best moments won’t be the ones you planned. (Just ask my husband as he got whisked away through narrow streets on the back of a stranger’s motorbike searching for an ATM.)
Day One: Color, Texture, Rooftop Views
Begin your day on the roof of your riad with mint tea, apricot jam and fresh bread. Take in the rooftops and the call to prayer drifting across the city. It’s not too hot yet, and the day is brimming with potential.
The first stop is Ben Youssef Madrasa, a 14th-century Islamic college. It’s quiet and precise. The tilework is intricate, and its carved cedar ceilings are low and elegant. It’s a good place to begin to fall in love with Moroccan architectural style and art.
Then, stop for a coffee at Atay Café. The view from the top terrace gives you your first real sense of the city’s dimensions and sprawl. Most restaurants and cafés have rooftops where you can feel the breeze.
After that, walk into the famed souks. These market streets are loosely divided – spices in one area, leather goods in another and lanterns and ceramics everywhere. Try heading in one direction, only to find you don’t. Just follow what catches your eye – turn toward the next shiny thing.
When you’re ready to eat, go to Café des Épices. It’s a rooftop café in the middle of the souk. Order the zaalouk, a cooked eggplant and tomato salad, or the savory, slow-cooked chicken tagine. Sit awhile and watch as little bartering dramas unfold in the square below.
After lunch, you can take a break from the crowd by walking to Maison de la Photographie, a small museum with black-and-white portraits from Morocco’s past. It’s quiet, and its rooftop view is one of the best in the city.
In the evening, head to Nomad, a modern Moroccan restaurant overlooking the Medina. Reserve a table on the terrace. Watch the city turn gold, then dark. The sun sets over the Atlas Mountains and holds you in its timelessness.
Day Two: Stillness, Steam and Street Performers
Start early at Le Jardin Secret and its calm geometry. One garden features native Moroccan plants while the other showcases species from around the world. You can have a coffee in the small café overlooking the grounds if you like.
By late morning a return to the souks gives you a chance to revisit a shop you passed yesterday – maybe today you’ll buy something.
For lunch, go to Naranj near the Bahia Palace. The food is light – mezze platters and fresh juice – and the atmosphere is sunny and calm. The peach mint tea is especially refreshing.
After lunch, go to a hammam. You can try Les Bains de Marrakech or Hammam de la Rose. The experience is physical: a steam room, an exfoliating scrub and a rinse with buckets of warm water. You’ll exit the hammam with softer skin than you’ve had in your entire adult life.
At sunset, walk through Jemaa el-Fnaa, the city’s main square. It turns into a theater. There are dancers, musicians, vendors and storytellers.
Dinner is at Dar Dar, a rooftop restaurant in the old town. Make this reservation in advance, as it can get packed. Early in the evening, it’s relaxed; later, it shifts into something louder and clubbier with a touch of magic. (A magician literally appeared at our dinner table mid-meal to wow us with dimly-lit illusions.)
Day Three: A Softer Side of the City
On your final day, spend the morning quietly. Write, read, sketch on your riad’s rooftop and do nothing at all.
Then, visit Dar El Bacha Palace and the Musée des Confluences. The architecture is stunning, but the real treat is Bacha Coffee. With over 200 varieties of Arabica and an atmosphere as rich as the brews themselves, it’s one of the most beautiful coffee experiences in the city. You’ll need a museum ticket to enter, but it’s worth it. Plan ahead: The café can be very popular and feature multiple-hour waits.
In the afternoon, take a taxi to the Ville Nouvelle, the newer part of Marrakech. The streets are wider here and lined with parks, French-style cafés and open sky.
Visit 33 Rue Majorelle or the David Bloch Gallery if you want to see contemporary Moroccan design. These spaces are calm and spare – and a big shift from the dense color of the Medina.
If you’re like me, immediately unpack your shopping bag and wear your new outfit to the Royal Monseur for a cocktail, one of the city’s most beautiful hotels. You can be seated in the garden or the quiet bar – both are stunning.
If you want to build up an appetite before dinner, make a shisha stop and head to So Lounge to enjoy traditional hookah and relax, chat and reflect on a fabulous few days.
For dinner, walk to Mizaan in Guéliz. The space is modern and the food is thoughtful. It’s a refined way to close the trip as you split some plates over live jazz.
So Long, Marrakech Marrakech doesn’t move in a straight line; it loops, repeats and then vanishes down an alley.
Let this guide give you a framework, though you needn’t hold it too tightly – if you leave with nothing but dust on your shoes, softened skin and a story passed to you over tea, you’ve done it right.
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