Many guests to Marrakesh spend most of their time dropping themselves in the traditional medina.
This maze of slender alleyways surrounded by pink-hued partitions, with Africa’s most well-known sq. – Djemaa El Fna – at its coronary heart, was made for strolling.
To discover past the medina, you can take an environmentally pleasant bike tour, or hop in a ubiquitous yellow petit taxi to achieve the Ville Nouvelle (new city) and stroll around the accessible avenues of neighborhoods resembling Gueliz and Hivernage.
Pack a pair of comfy footwear and prepare to discover the Crimson Metropolis. Listed below are our suggestions for getting around in Marrakesh.
Meander around the medina
Marrakesh’s medina is compact and automobile-free, and its jumble of thin alleyways is made for idle wandering – uncover historical palaces showcasing Morocco’s most interesting ornamental arts, and store til you drop in the souqs (markets) and designer boutiques. However make sure you be careful for scooters, carts and the occasional donkey as you discover.
Obtain Maps.Me earlier than you set off, however for those who get misplaced – and also you most likely will – ask a shopkeeper for instructions. Children could supply to take you to your vacation spot for a small tip.
Within the Ville Nouvelle, the neighborhood of Gueliz – house to should-see sights such because the Jardin Majorelle and Musée Yves Saint Laurent – is about out with broad boulevards and spacious sidewalks lined with boutiques, galleries, eating places and cafes. However lack of shade means pounding the pavements can get sizzling, particularly in summer season.
Be part of the locals in a taxi
Experience-hailing apps, resembling Uber, Lyft and Careem, will not be accessible in Marrakesh however pockets-pleasant petit taxis are all over the place. In concept, there’s no haggling or set costs because the fare is set by the meter, however typically you’ll must insist the motive force places it on – many “neglect” or declare that it’s “damaged” and quote inflated vacationer fares. Be ready to haggle arduous or get out of the taxi.
It’s additionally common for the taxi to select up different passengers going in the identical path. To keep away from confusion, it may be helpful to write down down the identify and deal with of your vacation spot to indicate the motive force. And so they not often have change, so be sure to do.
In case you’re in a gaggle or going additional afield – petits taxis keep throughout the metropolis limits – you possibly can take a shared grand taxi that runs alongside particular routes. You may pay to take six seats for those who’d like a non-public experience; simply flip up on the taxi terminal and ask for a “place” to a selected vacation spot.
Tour town by bike
This metropolis’s pancake-flat terrain is bike-pleasant, however you must be a assured rider to circumnavigate the tumultuous visitors. Pikala Bikes – a tour firm and social undertaking – and AXS supply two-wheel metropolis excursions and lease out good-high quality bikes and helmets.
Hop right into a horse-drawn carriage
Outdated-faculty horse-drawn carriages, referred to as calèches, are a leisurely means of seeing the sights, particularly for those who keep away from the push-hour visitors around 8am and 6:30pm. They’ll take as much as 5 folks, and the speed is around 200 MAD ($20) for a 60-minute experience; extra to the Palmeraie – repair the value in advance.
The inexperienced carriages collect between Djemaa El Fna and Koutoubia Mosque and around Jardin Majorelle. Test your horse’s leg for a SPANA tag; the animal welfare charity microchips the horses to make sure they’re nicely cared for and has arrange water troughs throughout town.
Buses are the most effective price range choice
Alsa runs town buses, however they don’t seem to be particularly customer-pleasant and are sometimes sizzling and overcrowded. However bussing is reasonable; tickets value four MAD ($0.40) and you purchase them on board – have small change useful.
Line 1 connects the medina to Gueliz, and line 10 goes to the prepare station and Bab Doukkla for the bus station. There’s a pockets-pleasant airport shuttle for 30 MAD ($3); it runs each 20 minutes between 6am and 11:30pm. And for those who’ll be in Marrakesh for some time, Alsa’s Ikhlas Card provides you 17% off fares.
Driving around Marrakesh is not simple
Driving in Marrakesh just isn’t for the faint of coronary heart. Roads will be chaotic with bumper-to-bumper visitors and drivers who weave between lanes with out indicating, all to a soundtrack of honking horns. And also you additionally must deal with wayward pedestrians, hordes of scooters, calèches and donkey carts.
In case you’re street-tripping around Morocco, decide up your rental automobile in your means out of town. But when you must park up in Marrakesh, select lodging with non-public parking, or on the outskirts of the medina or in the Gueliz neighborhood near a public car parking zone – use Waze to seek out your means around. Relying on the placement, count on to pay around 50 MAD ($5) for 24-hour parking.
Some streets in Gueliz have pay-and-show parking meters, which value around 2 MAD ($0.20) per hour, though areas refill rapidly. In case you discover avenue parking with no meter, a parking attendant – referred to as a guardian – will count on around 3–5 MAD ($0.30–0.50) to keep watch over your automobile; pay them whenever you go away.
There’s not loads of accessible transportation in Marrakesh
Whereas Marrakesh has restricted accessible services, it isn’t essentially off-limits for vacationers with mobility points and a way of journey.
Within the medina, wheelchair entry will be difficult, however neighborhoods such because the excessive-finish Hivernage and Gueliz are simpler to navigate. Public buses and petits taxis will not be wheelchair pleasant, however grands taxis are, or organize a non-public automobile and driver by way of your lodging.
Morocco Accessible Journey specializes in accessible excursions to Morocco, together with Marrakesh, together with mobility tools rental. Moroccan information Houssaine Ichen additionally comes extremely really useful. Obtain Lonely Planet’s free accessible journey information for extra data.