Top things to do in Marrakech | Marrakesh Travel Guide

This Marrakech Travel Vlog is packed with tips and things to do Marrakech! Marrakech is also called Marrakesh which is the French name of the city and I recently spent 10 days exploring this melting pot of food, culture and language.

In this trip I visit Jardin Majorelle, El Badi Palace, Bahia Palace, Atlas Film Studios, Ouarzazate, Jewish Quarter, Jemaa el-Fnaa, Koutoubia Mosque, Tizi n’Tichka mountain pass in the Atlas Mountains and finally enjoy Afternoon Tea at The Royal Mansour Hotel.

★ WHERE I VISITED: ★
Hot Air Balloon: https://gyg.me/IAfI9SGv
Jardin Majorelle: https://gyg.me/QuBSGKf7
El Badi Palace/Bahia Palace: https://gyg.me/7Y3vUWyG
Atlas Film Studios: https://gyg.me/rafDErXh
Koutoubia Mosque: https://gyg.me/AKrGzyat

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Well with my double vaccination status my kobe test in the case and my arrival health form completed it’s off we go so in today’s vlog i’ve come along to the former imperial city of marrakech in the foothills of the atlas mountains in north africa now it’s famous for being a

Melting pot of food culture and language so let’s go check it out so after landing at manera airport it’s a short 15 minute drive to the hotel hey guys so i’ve just checked into my accommodation here in marrakech and i’m sitting in a hotel called the medina

Gardens right in the heart of the old city in fact just a short walk from the market outside and this is my home for the next 10 days a luxury junior swim up room with pools so let me give you a quick guided tour you’ve got the two

Sinks and a nice big walk-in shower the wc behind the door and of course as you can probably tell by the bags under my eyes i’m gonna need some sleep it was a late flight to that queen-sized bed definitely going to come in handy a little bit later and as i

Mentioned it is a swim-up room so just beyond the curtains is the pool and we’ll check that out tomorrow now i did contemplate staying in a riyadh but with its lush gardens this place has one of the best addresses in marrakech then you’ll quickly find yourself in the

Place they call the red city and the main landmark could to be a mosque it’s here that one voice rises above any other five times a day with a call to pray from there it’s just a short walk to a place which has been a hive of activity

Since way back in the 11th century so as the sun sets and the temperature cools it’s time to visit the busiest market in north africa jamaa elfina and here you can pretty much pick up anything you need from leather bags to shoes ceramics to food there’s so much on offer but

This place doesn’t really liven up until early evening escargot snails now you’ll pay a moroccan dirhams which is a closed currency and can only be bought in morocco but most hotels share the same government-controlled exchange rates all right okay so maybe i was being a bit polite but if snails aren’t your

Thing there’s a vast array of food on offer including um they think the balls out the balls yeah the balls not the balls come on now that would have been a very different dish so it’s 8 30 here in marrakech and despite the hustle and bustling here in

Jamaa elfina where it’s pretty busy in the sake of 30 minutes this place will become so quiet that’s because there’s a curfew in marrakech now it was 11 o’clock it’s now 9 p.m and these guys are packing up pretty quick those restrictions are constantly under review so it’s worth checking before you travel

So it’s just gone 5 a.m with the hotel lobby waiting to be picked up for the hot air balloon flight now it’s a 45 minute drive out to marrakech to watch the sunrise of the atlas mountains so if you fancy breath taking views of marrakesh from the air then in my

Opinion this has to be on your list of things to do when you visit after watching the team prepare the balloon for departure you’re soon up in the air on a journey which will cover a distance between 9 and 15 miles that depends on the wind speed that day

It’s here you see the amazing contrast between morocco’s urban and city life and even though it’s a shared flight with other guests there’s still plenty of space and it’s soon time to descend to wherever the wind takes you so with the crew packing up the balloon there’s just enough time to admire the

Amazing sunrise afterwards it’s back to the berber tent for minty and a delicious breakfast next up i’m heading to one of the must-see attractions in marrakech if you love your instagram photos let’s go inside so next up i’m checking out jardin margerell on mozzarella gardens owned by the famous painter jacques marsharell

But that property there later became the home of eve celeron the famous french fashion designer and it’s like a mini oasis in the middle of marrakech this art deco electric blue studio is pretty unique and the gardens include over 300 plant species from five different continents

And if you fancy staying a little longer there’s a neighboring museum devoted entirely to the work of the fashion icon instead i’ve chosen to see more of the amazing heritage of marrakech with a trip to an area which dates back thousands of years so if you’ve come to marrakech in search

Of world flavors my top tip check out the jewish quarter now this market runs once a week as you can probably tell behind me there’s next to no tourists and it’s where all the locals come to buy their giant bags of spices to sell all across marrakech so it’s super cheap

Now in the labyrinth of alleyways this place can be hard to find but i think that’s always the best way to stumble across some amazing experiences including this a community oven it’s here many bring their delicious food prepared at home to be cooked in a communal oven and this includes a

Delicious bread which is sold nearby fresh bread is so good or if you fancy even more culture there’s a nearby palace ruin being watched over by some nesting stalks so el badi palace was once the most opperland and splendid palace in all of morocco and today only its ruins remain That said the vast courtyard and its four sunken gardens and reflecting pools still give you a hint of this once former majestic appearance for the best view head upstairs to see the amazing skyline from the ramparts After yet another amazing sunset it’s a 7am pickup for our next trip and one which involved quite a scenic but long drive so today we’re heading high up into the atlas mountains to a place called wazazet to check out the hollywood of morocco before that though there’s a stop off

For the point which translates roughly to difficult mountain pasture so at four hundred and fifteen feet you definitely feel the altitude difference at tg natiska the highest mountain pass in north africa and the gateway to the sahara desert then it’s under somewhere which might look a little familiar

So that there is the kasbah of ain’t been hadoo and as well as gladiator it’s appeared in jewel of the nile the bond film the living daylights more recently the live-action remake of aladdin and game of thrones and it’s easy to see why this unesco world heritage site and

Fortified village has been the go-to site for filmmakers worldwide ever since lawrence of arabia today though only five families are still living inside this giant fortress which grew as a waypoint for travellers transporting everything from salt and spices to gold along the major trans-saharan route so it’s right there we first see russell

Crowe in the arena in the gladiator film and film fans might also want to check out the nearby atlas film studios which happens to be the biggest in north africa it’s here you can find film props and sets including the plane from the jewel of the nile cages from gladiator and the

Chariot from ben hur with its reliable weather and a huge amount of local extras it’s here you can step back in time to ancient egypt and the backdrop to films such as the mummy Or you can swing open the doors to sets from cleopatra and alexandra the great they’ve been making films here since way back in the early 80s and the area can mimic a variety of countries around the world and if rome is more your thing the caesar’s house from brutus Then there’s the room where the slaves waited patiently below the arena in gladiator for a chance to go on and compete in rome’s famous coliseum or there’s the street of afghanistan which was the set of black hawk down and the 2006 film days of glory and just around the corner this backdrop

Has appeared in everything from aladdin to the 2010 film prince of persia with jake gyllenhaal and when famous director martin score says he couldn’t film at an ancient buddha temple in tibet he chose to come here to film condon so atlas film studios is like the hollywood of morocco

But it gets even better so there’s a sandstorm about to arrive so i’m gonna give you a quick tour of this it was the jerusalem castle in the film the kingdom of heaven now you might recognize it as the place that ridley scott brought orlando bloom

And liam neeson but it’s also been the backdrop to so many more hugely popular films and tv shows with just a few small changes inside this is epic in fact this was the backdrop to tv series vikings but you might recognize it for a show which has an army of fans world over

Morocco doubled as astapor and yunkai one of the great cities in slaves bay of a well-known tv series so this is the set of game of thrones it’s right here in series three of game of thrones that amelia clark’s character rises to power in the epic dragon scene

When she goes on to command an army this set is a few kilometers away from the main backlot studios and just when the movie buff inside me thought i’d seen enough i stumbled across this on the way back to the hotel so this american style gas station on

The outskirts of wazette is so authentic apparently people forever stop here trying to grab fuel but actually is part of a film called the hills have eyes in 2006 it’s a horror film and in the film the people stop here only to take a gruesome and gory shortcut only i hope i

Know one because it’s four hours back to marrakech the film is a remake of wes craven’s 1977 film of the same name and it made nearly 16 million dollars in the us alone in its opening weekend in the film a retired detective and his wife are traveling between cleveland to

San diego through the desert for a wedding anniversary when they stop off here at this gas station and what happens next is for those who love a horror movie it’s pretty cool now as luck would have it i’m allowed inside this place is normally locked up

But after tipping a local who saw my camera he decided to give us an entry to explore she’s kind of been left really it’s mad it’s at the gas station they find news clippings detailing disappearances in the area after a nuclear test by the u.s government all fake of course

So after a long day which was worth a drive it’s time to head back over the atlas mountains to marrakech as the sun sets After some rest we’re off to see another nearby palace one which means brilliance in arabic and which is perhaps one of the best preserved historical sites in the area this sprawling palace is set over two acres in the middle of marrakech medina and features 150 rooms and a sun-filled

Court of honor but much of the building is now closed off to the public so this place is bahia palace which was once the royal residence here in morocco very opulent and when morocco gained independence from france in 1956 the palace was handed over to the moroccan ministry of culture

As well as being a historical museum the palace has now become famous as a tourist hotspot for instagrammers due to the rooms and buildings being colorfully decorated in a different elegant moroccan style The palace also houses council rooms with impressive fireplaces flooring and painted cedar work and a large riyad surrounded by citrus trees and finally well if you’re looking for the pinnacle of luxury surely this hotel is it it is a medina set within a medina in the old

City of marrakech and this place was designed and overseen by king muhammad himself now there’s 53 individual riyads inside and they’ll set you back anything from 1 000 to a staggering 35 000 pounds a night but that does get you their very own bentley to and from the airport and

An express lane through security no wonder then this place is a go-to for a-listers prime ministers and even royalty so let’s go check it out This isn’t just the most luxurious hotel in marrakesh in some guides it’s among the top in the world when it comes to afternoon tea you can choose between sitting in the bar or in the open air lobby and it’s the perfect way to end the trip to this centuries-old trading hub

Welcome to afternoon tea at the royal mansour so sandwich is done what’s next shall we go cake which which cake sugar cookie i think it’s cookie i think it’s cookie no pastry then there’s just time to get used to the new norm of travelling so just before we go home we’ve got to

Do the rapid antigen test to make sure that we can fly home so here comes the tricky bit of each nostril a moment of truth after a short wait the results are in you then take a photo and send it off to the testing company responsible then after filling in your passenger

Locator form you should receive your certificate to show you can travel home both of which they’ll want to see at the airport and that’s it just enough time then to enjoy the evening sunset at our favorite rooftop overlooking the medina called el fenn as always if you found the video useful

Please do like and subscribe using the button below for more travel and of course feel free to ask any questions in the comment section below After flying home to the uk there’s just one more test to do at home which needs to be sent off by post and you’re done