Marrakesh in winter: Travel Guide
Marrakesh: a city that overwhelmed me the first day, and I fell in love with the next. The movement in the narrow streets of the souk and its visitors, the sizzling sounds of a hot tajine arriving at your table, and the call for prayer echoed over the city as a magical gesture that brings the old town to life in the morning.
We arrived in Morocco on the second day of January; our short flight from Amsterdam was filled with a diverse group of travellers; from the world wanderers, people visiting family and people on a shopping trip; it was all there. Upon arrival, we had to wait in line at customs, but even though the line was long, it all moved quickly. We arranged a shuttle with the riad (hotel) to pick us up from the airport. A lot of riads offer this service. Just make sure you bring cash to pay once you reach the riad.
Our driver brought us close to our riad, where the riad's manager picked us up. We walked through some of the narrow streets to reach our destination.
After a welcome with a cup of Moroccan mint tea, we decided to go and explore. We stayed in the old centre, and we just walked for 2 minutes to reach the narrow streets.
We planned to visit a coffee place called Bacha Coffee which you might have seen on social media. It looked amazing, but when we arrived, there was an enormous lineup, and it was inside a museum, so you had to buy a ticket to enter. We didn’t want to wait an hour, so we found a coffee spot nearby that had delicious coffee, and we sat down in the sun, watching the daily hustle and bustle of the old street passing by.
We also ate lunch and then roamed around in the streets to see if we could find a lantern we liked (more on that in my upcoming blog about Merzouga, Morocco).
We took it slow, and that evening, we ate dinner at a rooftop nearby, watching the sunset that filled the sky with tones of orange and pink. We returned to this restaurant multiple times, and the food and vibe were amazing.
The following day, we woke up early to visit Madrasa Ben Youssef.
Madrasa Ben Youssef, known for its incredible architecture, was the most prominent Islamic college in the Maghreb (area mainly Northwest Africa) and was taken in commission between 1564-65. Now you can visit every day from 9 am- 7 pm for 50 DH per person.
We walked from our riad to the Madrasa and arrived before anyone else did. The courtyard is beyond stunning, with all its architectural details. I was in awe of the building's reflection in the pond and the big chandelier in the middle.
We wandered around the building and loved the details and stunning architecture.
After visiting the Madrasa, we felt we needed some caffeine. After a nice cup of coffee, we explored the souk in the Medina. The small streets take you along shops with lanterns, rugs, spices, pottery and many more. The smell within the souk was a mixture of cigarettes, spices, perfume and food. While I read a lot about how it is part of the culture to haggle about the pricing, it was not entirely in line with how we experienced it in Marrakesh. Some stores didn’t want to negotiate. We found a lantern we sought, and Waleed bought a traditional winter djellaba.
Some of you might know my love for (sustainable, slow) fashion. I studied for 4 years about its history, materials and the iconic designers that influenced the direction of fashion. Marrakesh has always inspired many artists and fashion designers, including YSL, who owned Majorelle Jardin. I ordered the tickets 2 months in advance so we wouldn’t miss visiting this iconic villa and 1-hectare botanical garden. 170 DH per person, open every day of the week from 8.30 am to 6 pm.
Waiting in line while the cold morning breeze gently moved my skirt while I searched for our tickets on my phone. After 15 minutes we entered the garden. The lush green garden surrounded us while the sun shined through the palm trees.
After a walk towards the villa, we passed by the YSL monument. A row of people was near the villa as it was already busy, even though it was January, and it was 8.30 in the morning.
The blue of the villa always intrigued me. It is called Majorelle Blue and was named after the French orientalist painter Jacques Majorelle, who invented this colour almost 90 years ago and created Jardin Majorelle nearly forty years ago. French architect Paul Sinoir designed the Cubist villa in the 1930s.
We waited a bit to let a big group pass by as we captured some shots from the villa to the garden.
As we woke up quite early to be on time, we skipped breakfast at our riad, so we found a nice rooftop restaurant near the Majorelle Jardin for brunch and enjoyed the sun and the hazy view (top photo blog). That evening, we had dinner at our favourite restaurant, and we watched the sunset with a cup of Moroccan tea and discussed the next part of our trip to Ait-Ben-Haddou.
With a smile - Nicole