Marrakech Guided Historical and Cultural Visit

Please be in the lobby at 9:30am. Along with your driver, your tour guide should be there ready for you. You are to be provided with a half day’s walking and driving tour of Marrakesh. We recommend you have lunch around 1:00pm. You should be back at your hotel around 3:00pm. For your information, below are the names of the attractions we will try to show you today:

1. Kutubiyya Mosque: One of the doors on the east wall is often open, thus allowing tourists to peek into the prayer hall. The rest of the inside is inaccessible to non-Muslims.

2. Dar el-Makhzen Palace: outside only, as the inside is closed to the general public

3. The Kasbah Citadel: It contains the Kasbah Mosque (a.k.a. Mansouria Mosque or Mosque of Moulay al-Yazid). The mosque is not open to non-Muslims.

4. Bab Agnaou Gate

5. Saadian Tombs: a necropolis dating to the twelfth century

6. Bab Mellah Spice Souk Market & the Mellah Market

7. El Badi Palace: great views from the rampart

8. Palais Bahia (a.k.a. Bahia Palace)

9. Majorelle Garden & the Yves Saint Laurent Museum

10. Ben Youssef Madrasa (may be closed for renovation)

11. Souk Semarine Market: features lots of clothing, merchants and trinkets

12. Jemma El-Fnaa Square: Marrakesh’s main square, filled with street vendors and food stalls

13. Souk des Teinturiers Market: featuring dyers’ workshops

14. Souk el-Attarine Market: home to lamp, teapot and mirror shops

Surrounded by gardens, the Bahia Palace was built in the late 19th century. Intended to be the greatest palace of its time, its name translates to 'brillance palace' in English.

As with other buildings of the period in Morocco, it was intended to capture the essence of the Islamic and Moroccan style. Today, it stands as one of the most beautiful and extensive structures in Morocco.

The palace expands over eight hectares of land and is one of the largest and most luxurious palaces of its time. Standing as a fine example of Morrocan architecture, it is one of the major monuments of the Morroco's cultural heritage and top tourist spot.

Located next to the mosque of the Kasbah, the Saadian tombs are one of the only remains of the Saadian dynasty that reigned over the Golden Age of Marrakesh between 1524 to 1659.

In the early 18th century, Sultan Moulay Ismail decided to remove all traces of the magnificence of this dynasty by demanding the destruction of all remaining vestiges. He dared not, however, commit the sacrilege of destroying their burials and ordered that the entrance to the necropolis be completed.

The Royal necropolis was used from the beginning of the 14th century, however its splendour came at a later date. In 1557, the burial of Prince Mohamed Sheikh took place. His son Ahmed El Mansour, also known as Ahmed “the Walleye”, had the mausoleum enlarged and embellished the site with the koubba “Lalla Mesouada” from his mother’s name. Lalla Messaouda was buried there in 1591 as well as the 3 successors of the sultan.

There is nowhere in Morocco like the Jemaa el Fna Square – a surprise on every corner, you'll want to keep coming back for more.

By day, most of the souk is a large open space, where a handful of snake charmers bewitched their cobras with flutes, traditional pharmacists in the north-east of the square display cures and elixirs, and dentists, with fearsome claws, release the pain from sufferers. Not a pleasant sight, but a spectacle, nonetheless!

As dusk approaches the scene begins to change, people come out for a walk and the place fills up little-by-little - it becomes a carnival all of the storytellers, acrobats, musicians and artists.

Wandering down row-upon-row of performers and you will soon be immersed in the ritual: crouching in the midst of spectator circles, giving a dirham or two as thanks for their performance, you'll find hours pass by so quickly.

If you want a break, you can walk to the rooftop terraces, such as the Grand Balcon Café, for a view of the square and a birdseye view of the action.