Last verified: October 16, 2026. On 16 October I read every ticket price in this guide from the operator’s own page. For the state monuments that’s the Ministry of Culture’s Khadamat Culture ticket platform. For the rest it’s the Jardin Majorelle foundation’s official checkout and the websites of Le Jardin Secret and the Maison de la Photographie. I also read six popular online guides to Marrakech on the same evening. I re-read all of it every 60 days.
The Bahia Palace costs a foreign adult 100 dirhams. I know because the Ministry of Culture prints it on its own ticket page. Three popular guides to things to do in Marrakech print three different prices for it: 70, 100 and 110. So I priced the whole list from the source.
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The short answer: five of the best things in Marrakech cost nothing. Twelve more are worth paying for, and the in-town tickets add up to 700 to 840 dirhams for two full days. Three popular extras don’t earn their price. (You’ll also see the city written Marrakesh. Same place.)
Key Takeaways
- Five of the best things to do in Marrakech are free: Jemaa el-Fna, the souks, the Koutoubia gardens, Cyber Park and the Mellah
- The state monuments cost 100 dirhams each for foreign adults, on the Ministry’s own page. Guides printing 70 are two years out of date
- Book Jardin Majorelle on its official site only. Reseller tickets can be refused at the gate
- Agafay is a stony plateau 30 km out, not the Sahara
- Two full days of tickets cost 700 to 840 MAD
Table of Contents
What are the best things to do in Marrakech, and what do they cost?
Of the best things to do in Marrakech, the sights cost 0 to 170 dirhams each for a foreign adult, read on 16 October 2026 from each operator’s own page. Five cost nothing. Eight in-town tickets total 840 dirhams if you buy them all. Ben Youssef’s price has no operator page, and I’ve marked it.
“Official” means I read the price on the operator’s own page. “Secondary” means no operator page exists, so the figure comes from guides that agree with each other.
| # | Thing to do | Foreign adult | Source | Time | Go at |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jemaa el-Fna | Free | 1 to 2 h | dusk | |
| 2 | The souks | Free | 2 h | morning | |
| 3 | Koutoubia gardens | Free | 30 min | late afternoon | |
| 4 | Cyber Park | Free | 30 min | midday | |
| 5 | The Mellah | Free | 1 h | morning | |
| 6 | Bahia Palace | 100 MAD | Official | 1 h | 9h opening |
| 7 | Saadian Tombs | 100 MAD | Official | 30 min | late morning |
| 8 | El Badi Palace | 100 MAD | Official | 1 h | late morning |
| 9 | Ben Youssef Madrasa | 50 MAD | Secondary | 45 min | late morning |
| 10 | Le Jardin Secret | 100 MAD | Official | 1 h | midday |
| 11 | Maison de la Photographie | 80 MAD | Official | 1 h | afternoon |
| 12 | Jardin Majorelle | 170 MAD | Official | 1 h | 8h opening |
| 13 | Musée YSL | 140 MAD | Official | 1 h | not Wednesday |
| 14 | A hammam | 40 MAD and up | Listings | 1 to 2 h | evening |
| 15 | A cooking class | about 300 MAD | Listing | 3.5 h | morning |
| 16 | Agafay at sunset | 173 to 299 MAD | Listings | half day | sunset |
| 17 | Essaouira | coach fare | full day | early start |
Why does the source column matter? Because the guides disagree. On the same evening I read six popular online guides to Marrakech. Three print no prices at all. All three of the others get at least one of Bahia, the Saadian Tombs or the Maison de la Photographie wrong, by 10 to 30 dirhams. One still prints Bahia at 70, the price before June 2024.
If you haven’t settled where to stay yet, whether Marrakech or Fes should be your base is its own decision. This list assumes you’re coming here. Two full days cover it, and how many days to give Marrakech depends on what else is on your route. Going on to Fes? The Fes list, priced the same way covers the next stop.
What can you do in Marrakech for free?
Five of the best things in Marrakech cost nothing, and the first is the reason most people come. UNESCO proclaimed Jemaa el-Fna a masterpiece of intangible heritage in 2001 and inscribed it in 2008. The square, the souks, the Koutoubia gardens, Cyber Park and the Mellah need no ticket.
The Koutoubia minaret from the road along its gardens. Photo: IssamBarhoumi, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
1. Jemaa el-Fna at dusk
Free · 1 to 2 hours · go at dusk
The square is a car park of juice stalls by day and a theatre by night. After dark the food stalls go up in rows, and the storytellers and musicians draw their circles until late. UNESCO lists it on its Representative List of intangible heritage for the storytellers, musicians and food stalls that fill it after sunset. Watching costs nothing. What costs money is anything that touches you: a monkey on your shoulder, a henna hand. Those prices are set after the fact, and the henna and animal-photo demands are worth reading before you go.
2. The souks, on foot
Free · 2 hours · go in the morning
The covered markets north of the square are free to walk, and walking is the point. Get lost on purpose. You’ll be invited into shops, and saying no is normal. When you do want something, what the first price in the souk means will save you more than any discount code.
3. The Koutoubia gardens
Free · 30 minutes · go in the late afternoon
The Koutoubia’s 12th-century minaret is the landmark you’ll navigate by. The gardens on its south side are open to everyone, free, with the best view of the tower.
4. Cyber Park
Free · 30 minutes · go at midday
Arsat Moulay Abdeslam, known as Cyber Park, is an old royal olive garden between the medina and Gueliz. Entry is free, and guides list it as open from 7h to 19h. It’s the shade you’ll want at 1 pm.
5. The Mellah
Free · 1 hour · go in the morning
The old Jewish quarter sits south-east of the Bahia, and its streets are free to walk. The Lazama synagogue inside it usually asks a small entry fee, which guides put at about 10 dirhams, paid to the caretaker. No official tariff is published, so take small change.
Which paid sights in the medina earn their ticket?
Six do, and three of them are priced by the state. The Ministry of Culture’s Khadamat Culture platform lists Bahia, El Badi and the Saadian Tombs at 100 dirhams for a foreign adult. A child aged 7 to 13 pays 50. The two private sights charge 80 and 100, and Ben Youssef about 50.
That 100 is not new. A joint decree in the Bulletin officiel of 6 June 2024 set it, Le Matin reported, and in Marrakech it took effect on 13 June 2024, according to Médias24. The old price was 70. All three open 9h to 17h. The Ministry now publishes and sells the tickets itself, so there’s no reason to trust a blog over the state.
6. Bahia Palace
100 MAD · Official · 1 hour · go at 9h
A vizier’s palace built in two phases in the second half of the 19th century, on eight hectares, the Ministry’s own page says. Come for the painted ceilings and the zellige courtyards. Go at opening, before the tour groups. Worth the 100.
The great court of the Bahia Palace. Photo: Val Traveler, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
7. Saadian Tombs
100 MAD · Official · 30 minutes · go late morning, after El Badi
The 16th-century Saadian dynasty’s burial chambers, beside the Kasbah mosque. The famous room is seen through a doorway, so the visit is short. The Ministry lists it at the same 100. Earns it if you’re already at the Kasbah. It isn’t worth a separate trip.
8. El Badi Palace
100 MAD · Official · 1 hour · go late morning
The ruin of a 16th-century palace, stripped of its marble a century after it was built. What’s left is scale: sunken gardens, storks on the walls and a view from the ramparts. Same 100 dirhams, same Ministry page format. Yes, and give it an hour.
9. Ben Youssef Madrasa
50 MAD · Secondary · 45 minutes · go late morning
A former Koranic school whose carved cedar and stucco courtyard is the single best room in the medina. Its price is the one I couldn’t read from an operator: no official page exists, and the site that looks official calls itself a visitor guide. Every guide I read agrees on 50 dirhams and reports cash only. The best 50 dirhams in the medina.
The Ben Youssef Madrasa courtyard. Photo: R Prazeres, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
10. Le Jardin Secret
100 MAD · Official · 1 hour · go at midday
Two restored riad gardens in the middle of the medina. Its own site lists 100 dirhams, 80 for anyone up to 24, free under 12, and 40 more for the tower. It’s open 9h30 to 18h00 from October to February. Earns it as a midday refuge. The tower is optional.
11. Maison de la Photographie
80 MAD · Official · 1 hour · go in the afternoon
A private collection of photographs of Morocco taken up to 1960, with a rooftop café. Its website lists 80 dirhams for adults and 50 for residents, open daily 9h30 to 19h00. Two widely read guides print 60. Worth the 80.
If you hire a guide for the medina, hire a licensed one. Why the guide’s licence matters explains what the unlicensed offer really costs.
Is Jardin Majorelle worth it, and how do you book it?
Yes, if you book the first slot on the official site. The foundation’s checkout lists the garden at 170 dirhams for a foreign adult, read on 16 October 2026. L’Economiste reported 1.2 million visitors in 2023 for the garden alone, so the hour you choose decides the visit.
Jacques Majorelle’s studio and its garden. Photo: Viault, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
12. Jardin Majorelle
170 MAD · Official · 1 hour · go at 8h
The painter Jacques Majorelle bought the land in 1924, L’Economiste notes. Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Bergé later restored the garden, and it now holds the Pierre Bergé Museum of Berber Arts too. The official ticket office opens the garden from 8h00 to 17h30, last entry 17h00. Tickets are sold online, and L’Economiste reported that holders of tickets from unauthorised third-party sites are refused entry. Earns it, if you book the 8h slot.
13. Musée YSL
140 MAD · Official · 1 hour · closed Wednesdays
The Yves Saint Laurent museum, a few steps up the street, opens 10h to 18h and closes every Wednesday. The checkout doesn’t spell out the combinations:
| Ticket, foreign adult | Price |
|---|---|
| Garden only | 170 MAD |
| Garden + Berber museum | 230 MAD |
| Musée YSL only | 140 MAD |
| Combined: garden, Berber museum, YSL | 330 MAD |
The combined ticket saves 40 dirhams against buying all three separately. But the garden and YSL alone cost 310, so the “combo” costs you 20 more than the two things most people came for. Buy it only if you want the Berber museum. YSL earns it if fashion means something to you.
Majorelle is in Gueliz, outside the medina walls, and what the taxi to Majorelle should cost is worth knowing before you flag one.
Which experiences are worth paying for?
All four do, with conditions. In August, Airbnb Experiences listed a 3.5-hour Marrakech cooking class at 300 dirhams and Agafay sunset packages at 173 to 299. A public neighbourhood hammam costs 40 to 80 dirhams to enter, and a palace spa starts at 1,300.
The first three aren’t tickets. They’re services with listed prices, collected on 9 August 2026 for my price index, so check them again before you book.
14. A hammam
40 MAD and up · listings · 1 to 2 hours · go in the evening
Three tiers. A public neighbourhood hammam costs 40 to 80 dirhams to enter, with a scrub from about 170. A riad’s hammam package runs 290 to 990. La Mamounia listed its 60-minute hammam at 1,300 dirhams in August 2026. The attendant is tipped, and what to tip the hammam attendant has the median: 35 dirhams. The public hammam earns it if you go with someone who has been.
15. A cooking class
About 300 MAD · listing · 3.5 hours · go in the morning
The top-listed class ran 3.5 hours for 300 dirhams on 9 August, with more than 2,000 reviews. You eat what you cook, so it doubles as lunch. Earns it.
16. Agafay at sunset
173 to 299 MAD · listings · half a day · go for sunset
Agafay is a stony plateau about 30 km from Marrakech. It’s beautiful at sunset, with the Atlas behind it, and it is not the Sahara. Evening packages with a camel ride or a quad and dinner listed at 173 to 299 dirhams. Merzouga’s dunes are about 560 km away by road, and the real Sahara trip is a separate decision. Earns it, priced as a dinner, not a desert.
Agafay: stone and hills, not dunes. Photo: Jakub Hałun, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
17. Essaouira for the day
Coach fare · full day · start early
The coast is a long drive west, and there are seven coaches a day to Essaouira on Supratours’ October 2026 timetable, so you don’t need a tour. As a day trip, though, a long share of it is spent on the bus: the 07:30 out and the 18:30 back give you 8 hours in town, and the Essaouira day trip, priced and timed has the working. Earns it, but better as an overnight.
Three things in Marrakech that don’t earn their price
The balloon, the animal photo and the “free” guide. The dearest is the balloon. On 9 August 2026, three separate Airbnb Experiences listings offered a Marrakech hot-air balloon flight with breakfast at exactly 1,400 dirhams each. That’s more than every in-town ticket on this list put together.
The identical price across three sellers looks like one operator behind several shopfronts. The Atlas view at dawn is real. But is it worth more than every ticket in the city combined? The same mountains are free from the Agafay road at sunset.
The other two are cheaper and more common. The first is the animal photo on Jemaa el-Fna, where a monkey lands on your shoulder before you’ve agreed to anything. The second is the “free” guide in the souk, whose fee arrives at the end, often in a shop. Neither is a scam by default. They’re the places where the price is set after the service, and that’s the whole problem.
When should you do things in Marrakech?
At opening, mostly. The state monuments open at 9h, Majorelle at 8h, and NOAA’s 1991 to 2020 climate normals put Marrakech’s average July afternoon at 37.7°C. Morning tickets beat the heat and the groups. Save the square for after 17h.
Crowds are growing too. The Observatoire du Tourisme counted 3.218 million nights in Marrakech’s classified hotels to the end of March 2026, up 11% on a year earlier, Hespress reported. More hotel nights means more people at 10h.
Three timing traps. First, Musée YSL closes on Wednesdays. Second, Morocco moved to permanent GMT on 20 September 2026, as Hespress reported the decree, so check any opening hour against the site’s own page. Third, Moroccans enter the state monuments free on Fridays, the Ministry’s page notes, so expect them busier. For the other eleven months, see the best time to visit Morocco, every month honestly ranked.
How do you fit the things to do in Marrakech into two days?
Split the city in two. Day 1 is the medina’s south: three state monuments for 300 dirhams. Day 2 is the north and Gueliz: four tickets for 400 dirhams, or 540 with YSL. That’s 700 to 840 dirhams a person, before any hammam, class or day trip.
Day 1, the south. Bahia at 9h, then the Mellah on foot. El Badi late morning, the Saadian Tombs after it, both a few minutes apart in the Kasbah. Lunch, then Cyber Park or the Koutoubia gardens in the heat. Jemaa el-Fna at dusk.
Day 2, north and Gueliz. Majorelle at 8h, and YSL when it opens at 10h if you want it (not on a Wednesday). Back into the medina for Ben Youssef, then Le Jardin Secret at midday and the Maison de la Photographie in the afternoon. End in a hammam.
A third day is Essaouira or Agafay. For anything beyond that, the rest of the plan starts with the route.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much are entrance fees in Marrakech?
Bahia, El Badi and the Saadian Tombs cost 100 dirhams for a foreign adult. A child aged 7 to 13 pays 50, on the Ministry of Culture’s own ticket page. Private sights charge 50 to 170. Two full days of tickets cost 700 to 840 dirhams a person.
Do you need to book Jardin Majorelle in advance?
Yes. Tickets are sold online through the foundation’s official ticket office, at 170 dirhams for the garden and 330 for the garden, Berber museum and YSL together. L’Economiste reported that tickets bought from unauthorised resellers are refused. Book the 8h slot: the garden drew 1.2 million visitors in 2023.
What is free to do in Marrakech?
Five of the best things are free. Jemaa el-Fna has been on UNESCO’s intangible heritage list since 2008. The souks, the Koutoubia gardens, Cyber Park and the Mellah, the old Jewish quarter, need no ticket either. Only the Mellah’s synagogue asks a small fee, which guides put at about 10 dirhams.
How many days do you need in Marrakech?
Two full days cover everything in town: the three state monuments on one day and four more tickets on the other, for 700 to 840 dirhams in total. Add a third day for Essaouira or Agafay. Anything longer depends on the rest of your route through Morocco.
Is Agafay the Sahara?
No. Agafay is a stony plateau about 30 km from Marrakech, with low hills and the Atlas behind it. The Sahara’s dunes at Merzouga are about 560 km away by road. Agafay sunset packages listed at 173 to 299 dirhams in August, and they’re worth it as an evening, not as a desert.
Where to start
Do the free things to do in Marrakech first. Then buy the tickets that earn their price, at opening, from the operator. That’s 300 dirhams for the state monuments and 400 for the rest, plus 140 if you want YSL.
What I didn’t measure: these are published prices read on one evening, not receipts from the gate. Ben Youssef’s price comes from guides, because it has no operator page. The experience prices are from August listings. I’ll re-read every one of them in December.
