Hidden Gems of Marrakech: Quiet Corners, Small Museums and Places Beyond the Checklist

How to find the quiet side of Marrakech

A hidden gem in Marrakech is rarely a secret. It is usually a place that most visitors pass by because they arrive at the wrong time of day, with the wrong plan, or without anyone to point the way. Three habits help you find them.

• Go early. Between eight and ten in the morning the medina is calm, the light is soft and the shops are only just opening. By noon the same streets are crowded.
• Go slowly. Plan one or two places in a morning, not six. The pleasure of the medina is in the in between moments, the doorway you notice and the tea you accept.
• Go with someone who knows the way once. A guide for a first morning saves you hours of confusion, and it gives you a mental map that you can use alone afterwards.

Small museums in old houses

Marrakech has many beautiful palaces, but it also has a quieter group of small museums housed in restored houses. They are easy to visit in an hour, they are rarely crowded, and they show you how the city's families once lived.

Dar Si Said

This house was built in the late nineteenth century for Si Said, a brother of Ba Ahmed, who built the Bahia Palace. Today it houses the museum of Moroccan arts. The collections include carved cedar, jewellery, pottery, carpets and weapons, and the building itself, with its courtyard and painted ceilings, is a pleasure. It is close to the Bahia Palace, and it gives a good counterpoint, with far fewer people.

Maison de la Photographie

A museum of old photographs of Morocco, mostly from the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries, shown across several floors of a traditional house. The images of the Atlas, the desert and the city's streets give you a sense of how much has changed and how much has not. The rooftop terrace has a cafe with an excellent view over the medina to the mountains, and it is a peaceful place for lunch.

Musée de Mouassine and the Mouassine quarter

The Mouassine quarter is one of the loveliest parts of the medina. It has a sixteenth century mosque and a fine public fountain, and it is dotted with old houses, some of which open as museums, galleries or cafes. Wander without a plan, and look for the wooden doors and the sculpted fountain.

Musée Boucharouite

A small museum of boucharouite, the Moroccan craft of making rugs from scraps of recycled fabric. The colours and patterns are surprising, and it is a very different view of Moroccan textile art from the formal carpets you see in shops.

Dar el Bacha, the Museum of Confluences

A restored early twentieth century palace in the medina, now a museum that explores the cultural links between Morocco and the wider world. Even if you do not read the displays, the architecture of the courtyards and the garden is worth the visit. The cafe is a restful place to sit.

Gardens beyond Majorelle

The Majorelle Garden is deservedly famous, and it is also deservedly busy. If you want green space with fewer people, there are several good alternatives.

Le Jardin Secret

A restored garden in the heart of the medina, with two courtyards, a pavilion, fountains and an observation tower. It was hidden for decades behind high walls, and its calm, geometric beauty is a pleasant contrast to the noise outside. It is on our gardens tour together with the Majorelle Garden, so you can see both in a single morning.

The Menara gardens

A large olive grove with a great rectangular basin and a pavilion, in the west of the city. The basin is old, from the twelfth century, and the pavilion was rebuilt in the nineteenth century. On a clear day the Atlas mountains stand behind the water, and this is one of the best views in the city. It is a place for slow walking, and the locals come here for picnics.

Cyber Park Arsat Moulay Abdeslam

A modern public park near the Koutoubia, laid out around the former estate of a nineteenth century sultan's family. It has long avenues of palms and orange trees, shaded benches and quiet corners. The name refers to the free wireless internet that gave it its nickname, but the real attraction is shade, which is welcome in the middle of the day.

The Mellah and the Jewish heritage of Marrakech

The Mellah is the old Jewish quarter, and it lies next to the Bahia Palace and the El Badi Palace. Jews lived in Marrakech for many centuries, and the Mellah, which was established in the sixteenth century, is a reminder of that history. Today most of its former residents have left, and the quarter is mainly Muslim, but the traces remain.

• The Lazama synagogue, also called Slat al Azama, is a small restored synagogue with a courtyard, which is open to visitors and gives a sense of the quarter's past.
• The Miaara Jewish cemetery, one of the largest in Morocco, has rows of whitewashed tombs. It is a quiet and moving place, and you should dress modestly and treat it as a place of remembrance.
• Place des Ferblantiers, the square of the metalworkers, is a pleasant corner where craftsmen make lanterns, lamps and objects from brass and iron. It is a lovely place to look at the work, and to buy a lantern if you wish.

The Mellah is easy to combine with a visit to the Bahia Palace, the Saadian tombs and the El Badi Palace. A guide can add context that you cannot get from signs alone, and our history tour takes in this part of the city.

An old monument that most people miss

The Almoravid Koubba

The Almoravid Koubba, next to the Ben Youssef mosque, is a small domed building from the twelfth century. It is the only surviving structure of the Almoravid period in Marrakech, the dynasty that founded the city. The carved dome and the interior decoration show the early forms of Moroccan Islamic ornament, and the stone is worn and warm. Few visitors make the effort, and those who do are rewarded. Combine it with the Ben Youssef Madrasa, which is next door and much busier.

Craft quarters and living souks

The souks of Marrakech are not a theme park. They are working districts where people make and sell things, and the best way to see them is to look at the making.

• The dyers' souk is the street where wool and silk are dyed in bright colours, and skeins hang from the rooftops. It is a lovely sight when the colours are drying.
• The blacksmiths and the metalworkers cluster in the quarter near the Mellah, and you can hear them from a distance.
• The carpenters work cedar and thuya wood in small workshops, and you can often see the lathes.
• The tanneries near Bab Debbagh are the traditional place for processing leather. The smell can be strong, so some visitors bring a sprig of mint, which the staff will often offer. The view from a terrace is the usual way to see the vats.
• Rahba Kedima, the old spice square, is a small open square with stalls of spices, herbal remedies and baskets. The name means the old square, and it is much quieter than Jemaa el Fna.

Rooftops and places to pause

The best way to see Marrakech is often from above. The city is built low, and rooftop terraces give you a view across the red walls to the Koutoubia and the Atlas. Choose a rooftop at the end of the day, when the heat is gone and the light turns gold.

• The terrace of the Maison de la Photographie is a quiet lunch spot with mountain views.
• The tower of Le Jardin Secret gives a view over the medina's rooftops.
• Many riads have open terraces, and some welcome non guests for tea or a meal. Ask in advance.
• Dar Cherifa, a historic house in the Mouassine quarter, is a literary cafe with a quiet courtyard, and it is a good place to read.

Take mint tea slowly. It is the Moroccan ritual of welcome, and it is poured from a height to make a foam on the top. Do not hurry the pot, and accept a second glass.

Neighbourhoods beyond the medina

Most visitors stay in the medina, but Gueliz, the modern district, is worth a visit. It was laid out in the early twentieth century during the French protectorate, and it has wide avenues, cafes, galleries and boutiques. The atmosphere is relaxed and urban, and it is a pleasant change from the narrow lanes. Combine it with the Majorelle Garden, which is nearby, and the museums close to it.

The Palmeraie is the palm grove north of the city, with hundreds of thousands of date palms, and it is the place for camel rides and buggy trips. The Agafay desert lies further out, about 40 minutes from the centre, for a landscape of stone and sky. Both appear on our day tours, and they are worth a half day.

Food: where to eat like a local

The tourist restaurants around the main square are fine, but the food that residents love is often simpler.

• Small cafes serving harira soup, a tomato and lentil soup, with dates, especially in the evening.
• Stalls on Jemaa el Fna that sell grilled meats, vegetables and snails, where the crowd is mostly locals. Choose busy stalls with a high turnover.
• Bakeries that sell msemen, flat folded breads, and baghrir, thousand hole pancakes, for breakfast.
• Fresh orange juice stands around the main square. Insist on fresh pressed juice and ask for no added water.
• Family run restaurants in the Mouassine and Kasbah quarters that serve tagine and couscous in a simple room.

Couscous is traditionally served on Fridays in Moroccan families, and some restaurants prepare it only on that day. If you can, try it.

Respect, dress and photographs

A few simple courtesies make your visit smoother. Cover your shoulders and knees in the medina and especially in religious or historic places. Ask permission before photographing people, and expect that some will refuse or ask for a small tip. Non Muslims cannot enter most active mosques in Morocco, so you will see them from the outside, apart from a few exceptions. Be patient with children who ask for coins or pens, and do not hand things out in the street.

Keep small notes for tips and small purchases. Agree the price of a service before it starts, and be wary of people who offer unrequested help to find your way, since they may expect payment.

A suggested quiet day

• Start at eight in the morning with a Moroccan breakfast on your riad's roof.
• Visit the Almoravid Koubba and Dar Si Said before the crowds, in the order that suits your route.
• Walk through the Mouassine quarter to the Maison de la Photographie for lunch on the terrace.
• Spend the afternoon at Le Jardin Secret, then rest.
• Walk to the Mellah in the late afternoon, see Place des Ferblantiers and the cemetery, and finish at the spice square.
• Take dinner away from the main square, and return for a final look at the lights.

It is a modest plan, with only a few places, and that is deliberate. A day in Marrakech with five carefully chosen stops is richer than a day with fifteen.

The local hammam

Alongside the luxury spas, Marrakech still has traditional neighbourhood hammams, where residents go weekly. They are a social institution as much as a place to wash, and some welcome visitors. If you try one, expect a simple, warm room, a scrub with a rough glove called a kessa, and black soap. Bring your own towel and sandals, or ask what is provided, and be ready for a brisk, practical experience that is very different from a spa.

If you would prefer a gentler first visit, our hammam and massage in a riad is a calm introduction to the ritual, with private rooms and a short massage at the end. Both are good. The local hammam gives you a view of daily life, and the riad hammam gives you comfort.

Buying crafts without the pressure

The best souvenirs from Marrakech come from the people who make them. Lanterns from the metalworkers, leather slippers called babouches, woven baskets, ceramic bowls, and wooden boxes of thuya all come from workshops that you can see in the souks. Prices are negotiated, and the first price is rarely the last. A friendly, relaxed conversation is better than a hard bargain, and it is fine to walk away.

Look at the quality before you buy. Check the stitching on leather, the joints on wooden objects, and the weight of metal. If you are buying a carpet, take your time, drink the tea and compare several shops before deciding. Do not feel obliged to buy at the first stop, and do not accept a price that does not feel right.

When to go for the quietest Marrakech

The calmest months in the city are from November to February, when the weather is cool and clear and the crowds are smaller, although the Christmas and New Year weeks are busy. Spring, especially March and April, is lovely and busier. Summer is hot, and the medina is at its quietest in the middle of the afternoon, when most people are inside. In Ramadan, the pace of the city changes, many cafes close in the daytime, and the evenings are lively. It is a special time to visit, and a good one for people who want to see how the city lives, but you should plan around the reduced opening hours.

Friday is the main day of prayer, so some places are closed or open late in the middle of the day. Ask your riad about the schedule of any museum you plan to visit.

Why a guide helps, even for quiet places

The hidden side of Marrakech is hard to find on your own, because the best places are inside unmarked doors on streets with no names. A local guide knows which doors open, and when, and can explain what you are seeing. Our history tour and city tour pass through some of the quieter corners as well as the main sights, and our team can adapt the route if you tell us what interests you. If you prefer to explore alone, spend the first morning with a guide, and you will find the rest of the city much easier.

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