Although we were only in Marrakesh in October, a fantastic holiday package deal we found made it possible for us to return there this December. We grabbed the opportunity and flew out on Friday 13th (we’ve no qualms about travelling on that date) for a weeks holiday at our usual Marrakesh hotel, the TUI Blue Medina Gardens.

The hotel is situated in the heart of the Marrakesh Medina, less than ten minutes walk from The Jemaa el-Fnaa Square and the central souks. I think the hotel is the best all inclusive we’ve ever stayed in and I would have no problem giving it a five star review on Trip Advisor.

The package deal meant flying from Birmingham rather than our usual local Bristol Airport. A minor inconvenience but with a bonus in that the airport parking was about £100 cheaper than Bristol; and that was in a multi storey car park next to the main terminal. All went well with our outward journey although there was the usual delay getting through Marrakesh Passport Control.

That took about an hour (it was two hours on our last trip). There’s a further delay after collecting your luggage. They x-ray your cases and hand baggage before you’re allowed to leave the airport. There were lots of moans and complaints on the transfer coach in relation to the airport delays. Yes, it is annoying but everyone’s security is the important thing here. We arrived at the hotel at around 9.15pm, tired but happy to be back.

This is our third trip in the last eighteen months to Marrakesh, and I’ve still not had enough of it. The city is a fantastic place to visit, especially for any photographer. On the last two trips I’ve come back with plenty of great images. I wondered, as we flew out this time, where my pics on this holiday might come from. We’d visited most of the popular sites but I needn’t have worried. We found plenty of new places to explore and photograph.

Ville Nouvelle

Our first day we were up early and headed off to the local Carrefour Supermarket to pick up a few bits and pieces and draw out some cash from their cashpoint machine. We then wandered into Ville Nouvelle, the new, modern part of town for a walk-about. Here we bumped into a Moroccan man who engaged us in conversation.

The locals are brilliant at this. It’s usually done in the Medina so they can guide you to somewhere you’re looking for or guide you to a souk you didn’t know you wanted to go in. In return they expect a few Dirhams. You can either engage with them or not. We find, after a polite and firm ‘No Thank You’, they’ll usually leave you alone.

We decided to talk with this guy. He was keen to point out all the places we should see and visit whilst we were in Marrakesh, even producing a tourist pamphlet at one stage. I knew what he was angling for but he was entertaining and knowledgeable so I just pumped him for information. We stayed with the guy for about twenty minutes He did ask for a few Dirhams, to get a coffee, as we left which we were happy to give him.

We headed off further down Avenue Mohammed V to a Sky Bar, on the roof of Hôtel La Renaissance, for a coffee. That was a nice little stop with good rooftop views back towards the Medina and a few photo opportunities down onto the street below.

We headed out into Jemaa el-Fnaa Square in the evening. Being December there were less tourists around. However, the square and central souks were particularly busy with locals that evening. I can’t remember ever seeing it so crowded and getting around the narrow alleyways in the souk was hard work. We didn’t stay too long before heading back to the hotel.

El Badi Palace

We decided to use Sunday to walk out and try and find the El Badi Palace, one of the few attractions in the medina we hadn’t visited. I’ve mentioned before that locating some of the attractions in Marrakesh can be tricky as they’re not signed well. The streets and roads rarely have name plates and if they do, they’re in poor condition and written in Arabic.

We had paid for data roaming to help us navigate our way around but that was really patchy and failed us this time. Take a look at this map on the official page for the palace to see what you have to contend with. We did find it eventually, after a fifteen minute detour out of our way, using our patchy data roaming.

For me, the palace was a disappointment. I had made the mistake of reading a review in an old travel guide that said the views from the ramparts across the medina are impressive and worth the visit alone. However, these days you can’t go up onto the ramparts. They’re also repairing earthquake damage to the site and there’s very little to see. The entry fee is 100 Dirhams (about £8) and, for me, it would be at the bottom of my list of the popular attractions I’ve visited.

We used Monday for a walk out to Ville Nouvelle again and visit a cafe we like near Bab Doukkala, an entry gate on the North West side of the medina wall. We picked up some warmed monkey nuts on our way back to the hotel from a street vendor, a local treat we hadn’t tried before. Very nice. We had an excursion planned to the Ouzoud Waterfalls, in the Middle Atlas Mountains the next day. I’ll write a part 2 blog for that visit and the rest of our week in Marrakesh.

All images: ©Stephen Hyde 2007-2025 – All rights reserved.