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The Koutoubia minaret rising above palm trees and the garden beside it, with a tiled fountain, a bandstand and people walking in the sun

Where to stay in Marrakech

Photo: Jorge Franganillo, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Places to stay in Marrakech

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About Marrakech

The medina is a tangle of lanes inside the ramparts, so riad guests leave the car in a car park by a gate and walk in. Guéliz, Hivernage and the Palmeraie lie outside the walls and suit a trip built around the car.

Morocco. Guide last checked .

Facts and rules

Last checked . Each fact links to its source.

Airport
Marrakech Menara (RAK), 3 km from the city centre according to the airport authority; about 7 km by road to Jemaa el-Fna. Source
Tourist tax
Set by the commune, per person per night: riads, guest houses and 5-star hotels 15 DH; 4-star hotels 7 DH; 3-star hotels 5 DH; luxury hotels 30 DH; houses rented to tourists 20 DH. Source
Short-term rental rules
Riads and guest houses need an operating authorisation and an official classification under Law 80-14. At check-in each guest shows a passport and signs a registration form, which the host declares electronically every day. Source
Parking at the medina
The commune has finished car parks at three medina gates: Bab Lkhmis (222 places), Bab Ghmat (160) and Bab Ahmar (80). Source
Guarded parking fee
At the city's parking stations the commune's fee for parking and guarding a car is 2 DH for the day and 4 DH for the night. Source
Motorway tolls (car)
A7: Casablanca airport interchange to Marrakech 83 to 89 MAD, Marrakech to Agadir 79 to 98 MAD; cash, card or Jawaz tag. Source
Visa
Citizens of EU countries, the UK and the US are on Morocco's list of nationals exempt from an entry visa. Source
Monthly stays
A tourist trip lasts up to 90 days, with an extension of another 90 days requested at the nearest police station, so a month fits inside. Source
Emergency numbers
Police 19, Gendarmerie Royale 177 outside towns, fire brigade 15. Marrakech tourist police: 05 24 38 46 01. Source
Medical emergency
141, the national toll-free number. Source

Areas of Marrakech

A covered souk lane in the Marrakech medina with pottery, lanterns and robes on display, dyed wool hanging overhead and a moped parked by the wall
Photographed in 2017. Photo: Edviges, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Medina

The old city inside the ramparts, around Jemaa el-Fna, the Koutoubia, Mouassine and the souks, home to many riads: houses built around a patio. It suits a first visit on foot and a short stay; the lanes make it a poor base for daily drives.

Marrakech airport
about 8 km
Jemaa el-Fna
under 1 km
Essaouira beach
about 182 km

Car and parking

No car access to the lanes in practice: leave the car at a gate. The commune has finished car parks at Bab Lkhmis (222 places), Bab Ghmat (160) and Bab Ahmar (80), and its fee for guarded parking at city parking stations is 2 DH for the day and 4 DH for the night.

Bab Agnaou, the carved stone gate in the Kasbah wall, with visitors in front of it and mopeds passing on the road
Photo: Jakub Hałun, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Kasbah

The walled district in the south of the medina, entered through the carved gate of Bab Agnaou, with the Saadian tombs, the Kasbah Mosque and the ruins of the Badi Palace. It suits a riad stay near those sights, about a kilometre from Jemaa el-Fna.

Marrakech airport
about 7 km
Jemaa el-Fna
about 1 km
Essaouira beach
about 184 km

Car and parking

The commune's finished car park at Bab Ahmar has 80 places; OpenStreetMap maps a paid car park there, about 1 km east of the Kasbah Mosque in a straight line. Ask the riad where its guests park.

The roundabout at Place de la Liberté in Guéliz, with a fountain, palm trees, hotels behind, a taxi and mopeds on the road
Photo: Draceane, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Guéliz

The district outside the walls that the national tourist office describes, with Hivernage, as the modern face of the city, with boutiques and airy avenues. It suits a longer stay in an apartment and a trip that uses the car every day.

Marrakech airport
about 8 km
Jemaa el-Fna
about 2 km
Essaouira beach
about 181 km

Car and parking

The commune plans an underground car park with 457 places under Place du 16 Novembre; it is not described as open. No street-parking tariff was found, so ask whether a space comes with the flat.

Hivernage

The other modern district named by the tourist office, home to the Palais des Congrès on Boulevard Mohammed VI. It suits a hotel stay outside the walls, about 3 km by road from Jemaa el-Fna and close to the airport.

Marrakech airport
about 6 km
Jemaa el-Fna
about 3 km
Essaouira beach
about 181 km

Car and parking

No municipal car park or parking tariff for Hivernage was found. Ask the hotel whether parking is included before booking.

Date palms and low shrubs spread over dry, stony ground in the Palmeraie of Marrakech under a clear sky
Photographed in 2012. Photo: Alex, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Palmeraie

The palm grove north of the city, part of the natural setting that UNESCO lists with the medina and whose planting it attributes to the Almoravids. It suits a villa or hotel stay with space, for travellers who drive into town.

Marrakech airport
about 16 km
Jemaa el-Fna
about 11 km
Essaouira beach
about 186 km

Car and parking

No municipal parking rule was found for the Palmeraie. Jemaa el-Fna is about 11 km away by road, so the car makes every trip into the medina.

Guides

Questions

Can you drive to a riad in the Marrakech medina?

Plan on leaving the car at a gate. UNESCO describes the medina as a tangle of lanes, and the commune has finished car parks at Bab Lkhmis, Bab Ghmat and Bab Ahmar. Ask the riad which one is closest before you arrive.

How much is the tourist tax in Marrakech?

The commune charges per person per night: 15 DH in a riad, a guest house or a 5-star hotel, 7 DH in a 4-star hotel, 5 DH in a 3-star hotel and 20 DH in a house rented to tourists. Children under 12 pay nothing.

How far is Marrakech airport from the medina?

The airport authority puts Menara airport 3 km from the city centre; by road it is about 7 km to Jemaa el-Fna. At the arrivals exit, the kech.cab desk sells taxi rides at fixed fares, paid in advance.

Which area of Marrakech suits a month?

Guéliz, the modern district outside the walls, suits a month in an apartment with the car in daily use. The medina and the Kasbah suit shorter riad stays.