Marrakesh is the most touristy city in Morocco. But you need to experience it for yourself to understand what that actually means. It’s colorful, loud, and pricey if you don’t know how to haggle. Let me introduce you to this stunning city, which is full of markets and narrow alleys.
I’m usually a slow travel advocate, but you can see the medina, the palace, and other attractions in one day if you walk through them. Unless you like crowds and waiting in line at museums, you can definitely spend more time in the vibrant city of Marrakesh. There are many day trips outside the city. For instance, you can visit the Ourika Valley or tour the desert. There are a variety of options for day trips outside the city. In case it gets too crowded.
Where to stay in Marrakesh
The medina is filled with beautiful riad’s. A riad is a traditional Moroccan house with a courtyard in the center. Many of these houses were transferred into hotels. In Marrakesh there are around 1500 Riads. You can find them on Airbnb or Booking. But there’s why I would not recommend staying there: The Riads are in the medina, the old town of Marrakesh. The medina consists of narrow alley ways, it is most probably not easily reachable by taxi and if you have to walk to your accommodation with your trolley it is cobblestone pavement. The other disadvantage is that you are in the middle of the hustle and bustle. The souk (market) is right there, the most tourists, and vendors, restaurants and bars everything is right there. Also the noise level is higher. Of course if you want to be right there if you step out of the hotel and it is your place to go.
But if you want to have calmness and relaxation I would recommend staying at Gueliz. This neighbourhood seems to be fancier, it’s clean and not too far from the medina. There you can also find a lot of restaurants and shops. The bus connection to the medina is also good. Gueliz was also recommended by locals.
There is even an organic grocery store and very close to it is a very lovely cafe, Bloom House. Make sure you don’t miss the entrance. It only has a round black sign in front.
Rooftops are some of the typical attractions in Marrakesh. You can sip a beverage of your choice at sunset and enjoy the atmosphere while overlooking the city. However, the rooftops are not on top of skyscrapers or the tallest buildings, so don’t expect a fabulous view of the entire city. The houses, especially in the medina, are not very tall.
People try to rip you off
Take care of the people that want to rip you off. That’s a common way in Marrakesh to overprice for services. If you are at the market you should also haggle. That’s totally normal in Morocco and if you aren’t that good at haggle maybe that is your opportunity to practice. My sister and her friend got a scarf at the market for 100 dirham instead of 500 dirham. The vendor’s good words were “you hard business women”.
Another example of being overcharged for a taxi ride. For a 7 minute taxi ride the taxi driver wanted us to pay 100 dirham. Which seemed a lot since we just got a taxi from Anza to Agadir’s bus stop for 100 dirham (20 minute ride). At the end we paid 50 dirham. Even a friendly man who we first thought wanted to disturb us advised us to not pay more than 50 dirham. So, you can have both of two worlds, the once the overcharge tourists and the once who help tourists navigate at the touristy city of Morocco.
Fruit juices are also a good example of price variation within the country. The lowest cost we paid for the delicious freshly pressed juice was 5 dirham and in Marrakesh the prices started at 20 dirham.
Fruit market in Marrakesh
At the market of Medina you can buy anything you fancy. But if you are staying in Gueliz there you find supermarkets but not so much the vibrant market life. However you find a street market where you can buy fresh fruits and vegetables near the main bus station, Gare Routiere Voyageurs Marrakesh. At the street of Rue el Gza you find street vendors with their stands. Otherwise you have the little corner markets and the bigger supermarkets like Carrefour. Groceries are relatively cheap and you shouldn’t miss out on all the delicious fruits.
Public Transport
Driving in any of the cities in Morocco is nothing I fancy. Traffic in the cities is very chaotic. In Marrakesh, in addition to cars, motorcycles, and bicycles, there are unfortunately also horse-drawn carriages. Amidst the honking and car exhaust, horses pulling carriages are navigating this hustle and bustle.
Taking a taxi in Marrakesh also requires a basic skill of haggling. You should remember that in the city they are trying to overcharge tourists for everything. So make sure you know the route, the distance and how much it should cost before calling a taxi. Negotiate the price before you get in.
Also buses run very frequently throughout the city. You can check the routes on google maps. The prices are very low, starting at 4 dirham from Gueliz to the medina. There is no real schedule for the buses, even though google maps shows the times, it is not on the dot.
Cycling around Marrakesh
Unfortunately I didn’t have the time to join a bike ride with this company: Pikala bikes. This is not just a bicycle company that offers guided tours, but also helps the local community. Pikala bikes has various social projects like teaching youngsters how to repair bicycles, teach kids cycling and even operate a bicycle delivery service. Besides bicycle tours you can also book tours to learn more about Moroccan bread or tile making.
