We present 10 historical sights that should not be missed on any visit to Marrakesh and provide an overview of the city’s cultural highlights.
Marrakesh has a lot to offer — the large Jemaa el Fna square, the bustling souks, the wonderful rooftop terraces with views across the old medina to the High Atlas. You can easily spend a few days here just drifting around.
But there are also some world-class historical sights to discover. Most of the highlights can be found in the medina, sometimes hidden away in narrow alleyways, and can be visited almost incidentally while strolling through the souk.
Moorish architecture, unsurpassed in its ornamentation, can be admired in the old Koranic school Ben Youssef Madrasa and the Dar el Bacha. Oriental palaces such as the Bahia and Badi Palaces fire the imagination. As a contrast to the dusty alleyways and to relax a little, it is worth visiting one of the beautiful gardens such as the Jardin Secret.
- Which historical sight should you have seen?
- Discover historical sights on walking tours and city tours
- The best historical highlights of Marrakesh
- 1. Jardin Majorelle
- 2. Ben Youssef Madrasa
- 3. Saadian tombs
- 4. Bahia Palace
- 5. Koutoubia
- 6. Dar el Bacha — Musée des Confluences
- 7. Jardin Secret
- 8. Badi-Palast
- 9. Maison de la Photographie
- 10. Yves Saint Laurent Museum
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Which historical sight should you have seen?
Which of the cultural highlights you would like to see depends on your personal interests. Here you will find an overview of the historical sights of Marrakesh to help you get your bearings and plan your stay.
If you are short of time, you should concentrate on three selected destinations: one of the gardens, a palace and a museum.
The medina is huge and by the end of the day you have easily walked 12 kilometers or more without realizing it. It is therefore advisable to make a plan beforehand of what you want to see and make sure that the sights are not too far apart.
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Discover historical sights on walking tours and city tours
If you have two or three days in Marrakesh, you will have no problem fitting some of the suggestions below into your wanderings through the city. It’s worth planning one day for the south of the medina and the next day for the north.
The most important sights in the north are Dar el Bacha, Jardin Secret, Ben Youssef Madrasa and the Maison de la Photographie.
In the south of the medina are the Saadian tombs, the Badi Palace and the Bahia Palace.
The Koutoubia Mosque and the adjoining Jemaa el Fna form the heart of the medina.
The Jardin Majorelle and the YSL Museum are located north of the old town in the new town and are best reached by taxi.
Anyone visiting Marrakesh for the first time will quickly be overwhelmed by the chaotic hustle and bustle of the medina. A guided tour with local guides makes things much easier and ensures a relaxed vacation experience. We have therefore selected the most beautiful city tours for you and linked them to the respective sights.
In Morocco, by the way, only certified guides are allowed to offer such tours, which is why the quality of such tours is usually very high and a real enrichment for your vacation.
For those interested in art history who want to see as many of the city’s most important monuments as possible in one day, this guided tour, which visits many important sights, is ideal: Historical & Cultural Sightseeing Day Tour*. It is almost impossible to visit so much in one day on your own, because a good part of the time would be spent searching, queuing and finding your way around.
The best historical highlights of Marrakesh
1. Jardin Majorelle
The Blue Villa of the painter Majorelle, which was saved from decay by Yves Saint Laurent along with its garden, is the most visited sight in Morocco.
The beautiful gardens are one of the highlights of a visit to Marrakesh. Lovers of cacti in all shapes and sizes will get their money’s worth.
The iconic villa now houses a Berber museum that is well worth a visit.
Tickets with admission times are only available online*the queues at the gates to the garden were simply too long. Combined tickets for the garden and the Yves Saint Laurent Museum are also available.
You can find more information about the garden in our blog post Jardin Majorelle — discover the garden of Yves Saint Laurent.
2. Ben Youssef Madrasa
The 500-year-old Koranic school Ben Youssef Madrasa is one of the most important cultural and historical monuments in Morocco.
The architecture and decoration of the Ben Youssef Madrasa are of exquisite beauty. An absolute highlight for art enthusiasts and architecture lovers.
After years of renovation work, the Koranic school is finally open again and shines in new splendor.
You can find a detailed description of the history and art-historical details in our article: Ben Youssef Madrasa — the old Koranic school.
As the building in the middle of the souk is not easy to find, a guided tour of the Ben Youssef Madrasa in combination with the Jardin Secret* is recommended.
3. Saadian tombs
The Saadian tombs, or Saadite tombs, are located in the south of the medina. A true gem of Muslim architecture.
500 years ago, the sultans and their wives were buried here in various mausoleums in the former garden of a mosque.
Closed off with thick walls 300 years later to erase the memory of the Saadian dynasty, the tombs were only rediscovered by chance at the beginning of the 20th century.
The complex is not large, but the opulence and variety of forms of the old tomb site is impressive. If you don’t want to plunge into the hustle and bustle of the medina on your own, you can take this Koutoubia Mosque, the Saadian Tombs, the Bahia Palace and the southern part of the medina tour*.
4. Bahia Palace
The large Bahia Palace in the south of the medina is one of Marrakesh’s most popular crowd-pullers. The extensive complex, which was built in the 19th century, is impressive due to its size and richly decorated rooms.
The large inner courtyard of the harem, around which the rooms for the sultan’s 80 concubines were arranged, is particularly impressive.
The beautiful, lush inner courtyard surrounding the official reception rooms, on the other hand, is more charming. Other parts of the building include the sultan’s private living quarters and the chambers of his four wives.
The Bahia Palace is always busy, so it is worth visiting early in the morning to enjoy the courtyards in all their splendor. To avoid the queues and discover the palace with your own guide, you can take a guided tour of the Bahia Palace*.
5. Koutoubia
The Koutoubia Mosque is omnipresent in Marrakesh. The streets of the new town are laid out around it and in the medina it serves as orientation point from the roof terraces.
The tower, which is considered a landmark of the city, has been standing here for 800 years and also survived the severe earthquake in 2023.
Inside, the Koutoubia has room for 25,000 worshippers. Unfortunately, tourists cannot visit the mosque or the tower itself, but the large square in front of the mosque is perfect for a few unmistakable vacation photos.
There is a small garden behind the mosque, which offers beautiful views of the tower and is a good place to take a break.
You can also visit the Koutoubia on your own, but if you want more background information, you can get it on this guided tour*which, in addition to the Koutoubia Mosque, also visits the Bahia Palace and the Saadian Tombs.
Are you looking for a hotel in Marrakesh?
Our charming Riad Selouane in the Medina offers the best ratings, breakfast on the roof terrace and first-class service!
6. Dar el Bacha — Musée des Confluences
The old royal palace Dar el Bacha is one of the most beautiful examples of a Moroccan palace and today houses the Musée des Confluences, among other things.
The museum showcases Moroccan arts and crafts techniques that have been used to decorate palaces and mosques since ancient times.
But not only the museum is worth a visit, the palace itself with its inner courtyard planted with orange trees and richly decorated walls is also worth a visit.
And above all, it has the best coffee in town. You can find out more about this small but elegant café in our blog article about the Bacha Coffee House — Maître du Moka.
The Musée des Confluences is well worth a visit on this guided Medina Highlights Tour*.
7. Jardin Secret
In the middle of the noisy hustle and bustle of the medina, there is an oasis of tranquillity: the secret garden — the Jardin Secret.
Sitting on one of the benches, watching the waving grass, listening to the birds chirping — and knowing that the chaos of the medina is raging behind the wall — gives a visit to this garden a very special flair.
There was already a palace garden here in the Middle Ages, which was only brought back to life a few years ago. Even the old irrigation system still works and supplies the garden with water.
The plants have now grown considerably and the Jardin Secret is a lovely place to take a break amidst the lush greenery. Not far from the Riad Selouane, we also like to have lunch in the small restaurant in the garden.
The Jardin Secret is located in the souk district, so a guided tour of the souk with a visit to the garden and the Koran school* is recommended.
8. Badi-Palast
This was once the most beautiful, largest and most magnificent palace complex in the entire Maghreb. Today, only ruins remain, but even these are still impressive due to their sheer size.
In its heyday, the palace, which was much larger than today’s ruins, was considered one of the wonders of the Islamic world.
Unfortunately, the palace was destroyed several centuries ago when subsequent dynasties used it as a source of materials for their own building projects. In addition, the following rulers wanted to thoroughly eradicate the memory of the Saadite sultans.
The palace’s current landmark is the many storks that live here. Marrakesh is famous for its storks, which nest mainly in the south of the medina and can be seen all over the city.
The three most important cultural monuments in the southern medina can be experienced on this guided tour: Badi Palace, Bahia Palace and the Saadian Tombs*.
9. Maison de la Photographie
If you want to know what the souks of Marrakesh looked like 100 years ago, you should definitely visit the photography museum.
Not far from the Ben Youssef Madrasa is this small, private collection of old photographs, which displays its treasures in changing exhibitions.
The old photographs impressively show the lives of people from times gone by.
In some of the pictures, a comparison with today is almost inevitable — did the people themselves change or is it mainly the modern objects that distinguish today’s photos from the old ones?
We always find it exciting to immerse ourselves in the old days, and the small souvenir store, where copies of the old pictures are sold, also offers interesting finds.
A nice alternative to the usual city tours is this tour by tuktuk*which also visits the Maison de la Photographie as well as the Jardin Secret.
10. Yves Saint Laurent Museum
After the death of the great fashion designer, his partner commissioned the construction of this museum opposite the Jardin Majorelle.
Sketches, designs and garments from his collections are exhibited in the modern premises.
Another room is dedicated to the painter Jacques Majorelle and his works, who built the garden of the same name that YSL acquired.
Photo by Nicolas Mathéus
The building itself is worth a visit: the successful combination of the cool austerity of the lines with the colors and textures of Moroccan architecture is a great gesture to the fashion designer and the city he loved so much.
Tickets for the Yves Saint Laurent Museum* are available online, as are combined tickets with the Jardin Majorelle. The Majorelle and YSL Museum Tour* visits both the museum and the garden and offers a private transfer from your hotel.
Marrakesh offers many historical sights that are definitely worth a visit!
Looking for more information about Marrakesh?
Visit our travel guide to learn more about the sights of Marrakesh and Morocco!