Discover Marrakech: Culture, Gardens and Hotels

Marrakech combines an extensive historic medina with buildings, gardens and cultural gathering places. The city was founded in the 11th century by the Almoravids. If you are planning a stay, you can focus on different themes: traditional crafts and trade in the medina, architecture and urban history, or gardens in a protected natural setting.

Medina and Jemaa El Fna

The medina covers 700 hectares. Its evolved urban landscape includes lanes, houses, souks and fondouks, where traditional craft and commercial activities are part of the character of the historic city. At the same time, demographic developments have made the old building stock vulnerable. Urban life and architectural heritage exist side by side here: the medina is not just a collection of individual sights, but also an urban area shaped by its inherited structures and activities.

People meet at Jemaa El Fna square; local food and drinks are part of its character, as are storytellers, women fortune-tellers and Gnaoua music. These different forms of expression give the square a cultural role that goes beyond its function as a public place. If you are interested in Marrakech’s everyday and storytelling culture, you will find a different perspective here than by looking at buildings or collections.

Buildings, Collections and Urban History

The Ben Youssef Medersa illustrates how its architecture can be understood through its layout and spatial arrangement. The square floor plan covers 1,680 square metres. The building was constructed in the 16th century under the Saadian Abd Allah Al Ghalib and contained 130 student rooms on two floors, arranged around a courtyard. The prayer hall adjoins it. These figures and the spatial layout offer concrete points of reference for viewing the complex as a coherent building.

The history of the Musée du Patrimoine Immatériel Jamaâ el-Fna is also connected to architecture and urban history: the building was designed by Auguste Cadet and Edmond Brion. The former main building of the Bank Al-Maghrib reopened as Morocco’s first museum dedicated to the region’s intangible cultural heritage. This should be distinguished from the earlier banking history at the square: the first branch of the Banque d’État du Maroc in Marrakech was established at Jemaa El Fna in 1922. This historical detail refers to the square, not the museum building.

Other collections focus on different aspects of culture. The Musée de l’Élégance Marocaine displays almost 200 miniatures and traditional costumes faithfully recreated by Habiba Hantout. They illustrate Andalusian, Berber, Saharan and modern influences. The Maison de la Photographie de Marrakech brings together several thousand original documents, including photographs, postcards and glass plates. These examples show how differently cultural history can be told: through clothing and miniatures as well as photographic documents.

Gardens and Natural Surroundings

The protected natural surroundings of the medina include the gardens of Aguedal and Ménara as well as the Palmeraie. Their inclusion in this setting describes a landscape aspect of Marrakech without classifying the gardens as part of the medina itself. The Palmeraie is attributed to the Almoravids, linking it to the city’s early history.

The gardens in the cityscape also offer different perspectives. In 1937, Jacques Majorelle created the vivid, bright ultramarine blue known as Bleu Majorelle and used it to paint his garden. He opened the Jardin Majorelle to the public in 1947; its plant collection includes species from all five continents. Le Jardin Secret, in turn, consists of two green spaces, including the Jardin Tropical, with plants from every continent. The comparison draws attention, on the one hand, to a distinctive colour and plant collection and, on the other, to the layout of two gardens.

You can use these themes to plan your stay in Marrakech: the city’s culture around the medina and Jemaa El Fna, the history of its buildings and collections, or its gardens and natural surroundings. Check the current visiting arrangements for each institution before your visit. When looking for hotels, it helps to first decide which of these aspects of the city you want to shape your trip most.

Discover more destinations: Medina, Gueliz, Lalla Takerkoust, Timlilt, Centre Commune Rurale Aqermud, Telouet, Oukaimeden, Ouirgane.

For the broader travel overview: Marrakech.