Suggestions for things to do in Marrakech

[GoneGirl1234]

DH & I have 7 nights booked in Marrakech in June (no DC) and looking for suggestions on what to do. Got an amazing deal on a lovely hotel with a pool and spending a few days lounging around is high on my agenda, but would love some suggestions for activities / day trips too.

Take extra money to buy leather handbags!
We arranged a quad biking day through hotel which was fun but please don't do a camel tour/safari thingy I thought the camels were badly treated. Not worth it.
Think you'll need time to chill out, we went in January and was bored as was too cold to just sit. We had a day trip to a beach resort too which was nice!

If you're a foodie I can recommend an amazing tour, but it's not for the faint hearted or anyone who has any food / dietary issues.

The Yves St Laurent gardens begins with an M! Also a hammam bath. Yakout restaurant!

Thanks for the tips!
kshaw I'm looking forward to checking out the leather goods, and the markets in general. I saw that a few companies do guided tours of the medina, wondering if that is worth it or if you just get taken to stalls that give them a kick back but aren't much better in quality than all the others.
I will have a look at quad biking, I know DH would love that. Happy to give camels a miss - I did a short-ish camel trip when I went to Egypt a few years ago and I hated it - I just couldn't get used to the way the camel moved and was convinced I was going to fall off!

Flis I'd be really interested in the food tour, that sounds fab!

Allthebest Is it the Majorelle Gardens? Sounds fab, will definitely check that out! Hammam is a must, I love them - was there one in particular that you really liked or are they all pretty good?

This is the one, we did the evening tour and it was amazing (though I have never been so full in my life!!). The company was set up by an American woman and her Moroccan husband (he did our tour and was awesome). You get to go to places you would never normally see and hear all about authentic Moroccan food, not just the stuff aimed and tourists.

marrakechfoodtours.com/

Second the Yves Saint Laurent gardens - they are lovely. Also the Saadian Tombs are v interesting. Mint tea in one of the cafes round the Jamaa el Fna at sunset and watch them set up the food stalls (then eat from the food stalls and never be sure whether or not you've eaten sheep brains!). Also there's a fab restaurant to the right of the square (on the second and third floors) just at the entrance to the medina. There's a mosque on the corner and we enjoyed a tagine there listening to the call to prayer and watching it get so full that men were spilling out and praying in the street. ''Twas lovely.

I didn't pay for a tour we just wandered around, felt lost a lot of the time but always seemed to find our way out! The tours I did do were just on the hard sell, the leaders obv got some commission so recommended them on that rather than the quality - be prepared to really haggle, walk away and don't give up!! Big regret not buying loads of bags, get compliments on the one I bought loads

Marrakech is wonderfull. I wouldn't book any sort of souk tour as the guide will just take you to shops were he gets a commission, therefore higher prices.
Just wander and soak up the atmosphere. The square is amazing, especially at night.
We did a day trip to Ouzoud falls which was a nice day out from the city and also a quad bike tour into the semi desert on the outskirts of Marrakech which was good fun.
I don't like camels but do horse ride and went on a lovely ride out from a stables with fantastic horses that had been used in many films, including 'prince of Persia'.

Take a tour into the Atlas Mountains.

Esaaouria (on the coast) is a brilliant day trip. Past the trees full of goats. Amazing seafood there.

Third the St Laurent gardens and 2nd the Atlas Mountains - a really good contrast to Marrakech which is a bit manic & mad (but interesting!). I would completely disagree on the tour of the medina though. I've lived in the Middle East & seen souks elsewhere, old Marrakech is a complete and utter maze. Much isn't on the map. Would be guides will follow you for 30 odd minutes if you make the mistake of asking them the way. A tour guide might take you to their mates stalls, however quite frankly you'll probably have a better experience without the hassle of continually getting lost & pestered.
It's a really interesting place, taxi's are quite cheap if you barter and worth taking rather than walking around in the sweltering heat dodging donkeys & mopeds etc.

Finally, take cash with you. The currency exchange bureau at the airport 2 years ago didn't take cards and you could only withdraw a certain amount at their ATM.

This is brilliant, thank you so much everyone! I'm even more excited about the holiday now

We did this a few years ago, and it was fab! They teach you about Moroccan cooking and spices and you cook your own meal and eat it in the orange grove outside, it was idyllic and really tasty.

www.faimdepices.com/

Go to Les Bains de Marrakech and do their half day couples' hammam. Amazing. You get a hammam, matching rose petal baths and a couples massage, and it's all cheap as chips by UK standards. We still talk about it!

Love Marrackech without a doubt indulge in tons of hammans and massage in hamman they scrub you - but choose nice ones.
you can usually go to any big hotels and get them or Les Bains Des Marrakch is gorgeous and far less like sweat shop.

Tons of gorgeous bars and restaurants to go too - relax....romance...its wonderful

^^ Oh and I had not even read post above mine

We had dinner at Maison MK, it was wonderful. Book now though as it gets booked six weeks in advance.

Cafe Zwin Zwin is lovely, particularly their rooftop balcony at sunset. I'll third of fourth or whatever the suggestion to do a day trip to the Atlas Mountains. We hired a fantastic guide who didn't do the tourist trail of tourist trap shops along the way. It was so much fun- he hired a local guide for the walk in the mountains and when we got worried about DD's ability to scramble over large boulders he just scooped her up and swooped her over. There's a bit where you hit a small cliff and there's a man with a ladder. Your guide will pay the man with the ladder and up you go to the next part. Great fun and glorious scenery!

The Marrakech Henna Art Cafe is nice too. It's run by an American woman and her Moroccan partner. They do a Tangia tour where you pop along at lunchtime, put your ingredients together and then they take you round the corner to the ovens of a public hamman where your pot goes in the ashes to cook all afternoon. You go collect it that evening and eat it on the terrace. So delicious (and better than the lamb we got in Mechouin Alley, we thought). They also do fantastic, reasonably priced henna (don't get henna done in the square!)

I love Marrakech! Am very jealous!