Marrakech: what to see in 1 day

The Koutoubia Mosque is visited best in early hours: the minaret, sixty-five meters tall, visible from much of the city, inspired Seville's Giralda and remains today the city's highest reference point.

From here you reach Jemaa el-Fna, the large square that by day hosts snake charmers and orange juice vendors, transforming into an open-air food market as evening approaches.

Venturing into the souks radiating from the square, the covered streets succeed each other dedicated to specific crafts: carpets, worked metal lanterns, spices and colored leather babouches find each in its own market section.

For lunch, the rooftop restaurants overlooking Jemaa el-Fna offer a tajine accompanied by views of the square below.

The Bahia Palace, built in the late nineteenth century for a vizier, has courtyards decorated with zellige mosaics and carved cedar ceilings.

Outside the medina, the Majorelle Gardens are the botanical garden painted in an intense blue that became famous worldwide, restored by fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent in the twentieth century.

As evening falls, returning to Jemaa el-Fna, the food stalls light up with grill smoke: dining among the tables of the open square remains the most natural way to close the day.

The Koutoubia, Jemaa el-Fna, and the souks allow you to grasp the beating heart of Marrakech's medina, while the afternoon choice between the Bahia Palace and the Majorelle Gardens adds its historic or more contemporary side.

A trip to the Atlas, the mountains visible on the horizon on clear days, and a night in a traditional riad in the medina remain chapters for a second trip. Watching Jemaa el-Fna fill with smoke and lights as darkness falls remains the photograph you take away from Marrakech.