How to Spend 24 Magical Hours in Marrakech (A Slow, Soulful One-Day Itinerary)

Marrakech is one of those cities that pulls you in fast... the colour, sound, movement, magic. It’s exciting, intoxicating… and for many travellers, completely overwhelming. 

The truth is, you can’t truly “do” Marrakech in a day. But if 24 hours is all you’ve got, you can experience something real... the rhythm of the medina, the calm behind carved wooden doors, and the quiet moments that live between the chaos.

In this episode, I’m sharing a relaxed, experience-first guide to spending one magical day in Marrakech. It’s designed for time-poor travellers who want depth over checklists... without feeling rushed, stressed, or like they’ve missed the point of the Red City. 

What You’ll Learn in This Episode

• How to experience Marrakech in one day without burning out
• Why starting early (and slow) changes everything in the medina
• The best way to balance iconic sights with quiet, grounding moments
• How riads, rooftops, and hammams shape a more meaningful experience
• Where to pause, reset, and soak up the soul of the city

Helpful Resources & Links

• Blog: How to Spend 24 Magical Hours in Marrakech - dive deeper into the itinerary covered during this episode 
• Blog: Morocco Destination Guides - my full series of blogs on visiting Morocco 
• Destination Guide: The Ultimate Morocco Travel Guide - everything in one place for planning a smooth, meaningful trip

Locations Mentioned In This Episode

• Koutoubia Mosque
• Ben Youssef Madrasa 
• Accommodation: Riad Dar Rayane, Palais Sebban, Riad Eloise 
• Le Jardin Secret
• Lunch spots: Nomad, Atay Cafe, Cabana Food & Cocktails 
• El Badi Palace
• Hammams: Les Bains Du Lotus, Heritage Spa, Mythic Oriental Spa 
• Rooftop bars: El Fenn, Kabana Marrakech 
• Dinner spots: Le Jardin, Dar Moha, Puls61 
• Bahia Palace 
• Saadian Tombs 
• Marrakech Museum 
• Batcha Coffee 

Connect & Explore

Find destination guides, travel planning resources and more at touristtotraveller.com, and follow along on Instagram @_touristtotraveller for behind-the-scenes planning and future travel inspiration. 

Transcript

Speaker 0:00

Welcome to the Tourist to Traveller Podcast, the show that helps you go beyond the guidebook and turn your bucket list dreams into real adventures. I'm Tahnee, a travel blogger, podcaster, and everyday explorer who's been ticking off epic destinations for over 20 years while balancing a 9 to 5. Each week I'll bring you inspiring stories, destination deep dives, and practical tips to help you plan smarter, travel deeper, and capture those unforgettable moments along the way. So, grab your passport, pack your curiosity, and let's get started. If you've ever looked at Marrakech and thought, this place looks incredible, but also completely overwhelming. Well, you're not alone. Marrakech is loud, layered, chaotic, beautiful, and honestly, there's no way you can truly do it in a day. But here's the thing, you don't need to. Even with just 24 hours, you can still experience the soul of this city if you approach it in the right way. Today I'm walking you through how to spend one magical unhurried day in Marrakesh. From quiet Medina mornings to mosaic-filled courtyards to rooftop lunches, traditional hammams, and golden hour views over the Red City. This episode is for you if you want depth over checklists, moments over madness, and an itinerary that helps you feel something, not just check things off your bucket list. Morocco is a really bucket list travel destination for so many people, and for good reason. The country is absolutely stunning, and it has a lot more variety and diversity than you might think. Even though there are so many incredible places you can visit in Morocco, the one place that most people start or end their trip is Marrakesh. With a lot of conflict around the world at the moment, we're also seeing a lot of people fly through Marrakech as a stopover instead of places in the Middle East. And while you could really easily spend a week here, I'm here today to help you plan 24 magical hours in Marrakech. Because let's face it, sometimes that is all we have. Before we even get into the itinerary, there are a couple of things that I wanted to point out. First of all, where should you actually stay in Marrakesh if you are spending the night? And while there are some beautiful destinations, my recommendation would be in the Medina. Because most of the top sides in Marrakech are in the Medina. I stayed outside the Medina area and found myself going to and from my accommodation and spending way more time in transit than I would have liked to have done. So stay in the Medina in a Riad if you can. Not only will you be in the hustle and bustle of Marrakech, but you'll also have that sense of real tradition and culture staying right in the center in a Riad. There is a lot to see in Marrakech, and because of this, it is impossible to see it all in a day. So I'm going to take you through an ideal itinerary for how to spend 24 hours, but I'm also going to give you a couple of different options because at the end of the day, you want to create the itinerary that is best suited to you and your travel style. Because what you're looking for from your trip might be very different to what I look for in my trip to Marrakech. So the perfect 24 hours would start waking up in a riad in the middle of the Medina. Some great options include Riad Dar Bayane, Palais Sebban, and Riad Eloise. Yeah, I'm really terrible at pronouncing things, so I am so sorry if I've completely butchered those words. Don't worry, I'll pop them in the show notes. Morocco reminded me very much of other locations in Africa and in Europe in the sense that people don't tend to rise early. As an Australian, we are very familiar, especially in Queensland, with rising at 5 or 6 a.m. and being out and about really early. And that's not the case in a lot of countries around the world. Because of this, I highly recommend in Morocco, regardless of where you are, get up early, get up to see the sunrise because you're going to have really quiet streets, a really quiet medina, perfect, beautiful golden lighting, and you will have the best photography opportunities throughout your entire day. Personally, I love neutrals or block colours. So after a quiet morning waking in your Medina, having breakfast, sipping on a coffee or a mint tea, which you are going to see everywhere in Morocco, I recommend starting to wander around the Medina at around 8 a.m. This is your opportunity to wander all of the quiet streets that will be full of chaos just hours later. I recommend making your way to Koutoubia Mosque. This is Marrakech's tallest and most iconic minaret. You can't go inside if you're not Muslim, but it is a really beautiful photo opportunity early in the day. And if you miss this early in the day, you can capture this opportunity later in the afternoon. But here you can capture it without the crowds. Personally, I think the perfect photo opportunity here is behind the mosque on the side of the Medina. There is an archway that you can shoot through where you're going to capture the tower behind, the archway in front, and a couple of palm trees. It is definitely an Instagram-worthy shot. And don't worry if there's people there. I guarantee if you wait five to ten minutes and just be patient, you will have an opportunity to capture that shot without crowds in the background. But if you're super early, you won't even have to worry about it. Next, I recommend heading down to Ben Youssef Madrasa. This is where you're also going to see some Instagram famous alleyways with arches. Once again, beautiful lighting without the crowds. You'll also find some beautiful traditional doors as you're wandering through this pathway. The reason why we're starting here is because it is going to be almost impossible to capture these shots later in the day. And it means you are able to go into Ben Youssef Madrasa the moment that it opens around 9 a.m. So take the opportunity to capture the beautiful alleyways whilst it's quiet and get ready to be one of the first people in the doors at around 9 a.m. to Ben Yusuf Madrasa. This is an old Islamic college that has really beautiful architecture and mosaics. Once again, this is a spot that is very uh insta famous, and I guarantee the moment that you walk in, you are going to recognize it. This spot is bigger than you actually think that it is. So I would recommend spending at least an hour here. But capture that iconic shot the moment that you walk in before it is busy with crowds. Right in the center, there is a um, it's water. It's kind of like a little fountain or a little pool. If you capture a shot shooting over the water where you're standing behind it and in front of an archway surrounded by architecture and mosaics, that is the money shot. Capture it before the crowds come in. Once you're happy and you've got your iconic shot, you can wander around the hallways and all the rooms on the many floors in the Ben Youssef Madrasa. By the time you leave, chances are it is chaos. There will be people everywhere, both in and outside the madrasa. So this is a perfect opportunity to take a quiet moment by heading to Le Jardin Secret. This is a beautiful garden that is actually inside the Medina, and it's harder to find than you might think, but it's definitely worth it. There is also a really beautiful cafe in there so you can chill, have a local coffee or mint tea, and just escape the chaos of the morning. Next, I recommend wandering through the Medina to find a really great spot to have a rooftop lunch. This is your opportunity to explore some of the local produce and the ceramics and textiles and everything that they have to offer in the Medina while you're finding the perfect rooftop. It's your opportunity to get above the hustle and bustle and really taking the Medina from a different perspective. A couple of great options are Nomad, Atay Cafe, and Kabana Food and Cocktails. Of course, on the rooftop, sipping your mint tea. This is another Instagram-worthy photography moment. And also a great opportunity to capture a flat lay of your mint tea and any other snacks that you've got for your lunch on the rooftop. After lunch, I recommend heading to El Badi Palace. This is a much older palace that is now left in ruins. So it is much older than a lot of the other structures in the Medina and definitely worth a look. I'll give you a heads up here. We found the entrance to El Badi Palace really difficult to find. We probably circled around it for a good 45 minutes before we actually found the entrance to go in. We're pretty resourceful and we were asking locals, and they we could tell that they were trying to misguide us in where to go. We could tell that they weren't being honest, they were telling us um the wrong information, and many of them told us that it was closed and that we couldn't enter, and we knew that that wasn't true. So we stuck to it, we kept wandering around, and finally we found the entrance. This is another place where you probably need to give it more time than you're expecting because the complex is quite large. But I recommend exploring the underground section first. By now, you've probably been walking around for quite a while. Your feet might be getting a little bit tired, and you might be getting over the hustle and bustle of the Medina. Because trust me, it feels like a lot. It can feel very overwhelming. So this could be a good opportunity to get some energy back by relaxing at a traditional hammam. If you're not familiar with a hammam, it's I guess Morocco's version of a day spa, but the tradition behind it is deeply ingrained. The processes around uh bathing, around scrubbing the body is something that they've carried on um for generation after generation, and it's still practiced today. This typically involves a steam, a black soap scrub, potentially a massage, and you're gonna leave feeling really relaxed. The scrubbing can be really intense, but it's essentially exfoliating all of the dense skin soles. So you will walk out of your hamam experience, not only feeling relaxed, but your skin will feel incredibly smooth and beautiful. I am not typically a day spa person, especially when I'm traveling, because I always want to make the most of the time that I have in a destination. And sometimes I think that going to a day spa is a bit of a waste of time. I know, I know I'm on holidays. People go on holidays to relax, but the way that I see it uh in my mind is that, well, I could relax, but I could also go to a day spa at home. Whereas when am I going to be back in this destination where I can be out and about and exploring? But I will say Morocco, in particular, Marrakech, is different because the Hammam is actually part of the historic cultural experience itself. And it's definitely something worth trying. A couple of great options here are Les Bains Du Lotus, Heritage Spa, and Mythic Oriental Spa. Once again, I'm terrible at pronouncing things. I will pop the names in the show notes. Some of these are mom's book out days in advance, so I definitely recommend booking in ahead of time. Otherwise, you might miss out on a more high-end experience. After your spa, you can wander around the Medina a little bit more, do your shopping, or just wander around and explore. And then at around five o'clock, it's a great opportunity to find another rooftop for a couple of cocktails at Golden Hour. Something to note about Morocco is that alcohol is not consumed as frequently or as openly as it is in other countries. And as such, a lot of the cafes, the bars, the restaurants are actually dry. So it's really important to check that if you would like an alcoholic cocktail, you actually check that they do serve alcohol. It's not too hard to find, but in my experience, about 50% of the menus that we looked at did not serve alcohol. So just check in advance. Some great options here are El Fenn and Kabana Marrakech. The sun typically sets a little bit later here, but the reason I recommend going up at around 5 is to get a great seat with a great view so that you can soak in the surrounding areas and of course capture some beautiful golden shots. In Morocco, locals tend to eat dinner a little bit later. So after the sun is set, you still will have time to wander around the Medina before you actually find your spot for dinner, depending on how late you want to eat, of course. Now I should note the Medina itself most nights is actually open till midnight. And when we were there at night, it was actually open until about 1.30 in the morning. And yes, we were there at around 1.30 in the morning until all of the vendors were closing up. Because we wanted to make the most of it, of course, and we might have had a cocktail or two in our system. But uh I recommend wandering through the Medina at night. It is a different experience, but then it is time to find some dinner. Some great dinner options here are Le Jardin, Dar Moha, or Pulse 61. The Medina really does come alive at night. You're gonna hear, you know, music, you're gonna smell all of the smells. There's going to be people everywhere. It definitely does not slow down after dark. So, you know, you could absolutely go back to your Riad and have an early night, but I think you're missing something really special if you do. Now you're probably looking at that itinerary thinking, well, it sounds like a pretty awesome day, but we didn't actually get to see that much. And you would be right, because some of these, some of these places, such as the Ben Youssef Madrasa, they're large, and to see them properly, you do need one to two hours sometimes, and you don't want your day to be rushed. And I think it would be a shame to miss out on those little opportunities to go to the hamam, have you know, your mint tea or coffee on a rooftop during the day, your cocktails at sunset on a rooftop as well, and just to really take in the essence of Marrakech. However, I'm also going to give you some other things that you can add into your itinerary or swap out if some of those other items are not for you. Starting off with the Bahia Palace. Now, this is a much more, when I say modern palace, it is more modern than the one that we added into the itinerary. It is still an old palace, but it's uh in, you know, it's it's more recent and in much better condition and quite colourful and well preserved. You can go to the Saadian Tombs. This is fairly, it felt fairly quiet, and the lines to see the actual tombs were really lengthy. So I do want to just give you a heads up that you do need a bit of time here just to line up to see the tombs. Uh, I don't typically line up in long lines for many things, but I do think it was worth it because they were beautiful, but just the surrounding areas were beautiful as well. Because these are tombs, it is important, of course, to be respectful. Next is the Marrakech Museum. Uh, this was actually quieter than I had expected. And museum aside, there's some really beautiful courtyards that you can wander around as well. So the building itself was also beautiful. And also Batcha Coffee. This is a very uh very trendy photogenic cafe that is sitting near the Madrasa. If you do wander outside of the Medina, you can actually find some very trendy bars, restaurants, and cafes there. Uh, we went to an underground bar, and I cannot for the life of me remember the name of it. I'm so sorry, so I can't tell you what it was called. But it was such a cool vibe. It was underground and the cocktails were 10 out of 10. They were so elaborate and impressive. Um, you wouldn't think that you were in Morocco or in Marrakech, a location that's not known for their drinking culture because of the quality of the cocktails there. So if you are looking for something more quiet or more high-end, more luxurious, you can still find those experiences in Marrakech. Now, if the Medina is not for you at all, or if you're looking for a bit of a different experience or you have more time to spend in Marrakech, there are some other options. One of those is to take a sunrise hot air balloon ride. If you do this, you will be getting up quite early in the morning because you need to travel outside of the city and be up in the air by sunrise. While I'm sure this is a really beautiful experience, we just didn't have the time to do this. Uh, so we prioritize other options over the hot air balloon ride. The second one is an Agafay Desert Dinner Experience where you can do a day trip out to the desert. You'll see a lot along the way, get to the desert itself, which is stunning, and be able to spend uh a little bit of time having dinner in the desert. This is a massive day trip and can be quite expensive. So just something to be wary of. And because so many people do this instead of going all the way to see the larger dunes, it can be busy and really popular. So if you want to go and see the desert, this is an incredible experience. But if you have more time, I recommend doing it properly, going all the way to see the big, beautiful dunes and spending a night or two there. But it is, of course, an option. And another option here is a Moroccan cooking class. I didn't do this in Morocco and I I do kind of regret it because look, I really don't enjoy cooking, but I love Moroccan food. I am a little bit obsessed with it, and I wish I knew how to cook it. So I do kind of regret not doing a Moroccan cooking class. Oh the the couscous, the tagines, it's just so beautiful, and I wish I'd learned how to cook it properly. So another great option is to do a Moroccan cooking class. So there you have it, a magical 24 hours in Marrakech, Morocco, waking up in a traditional Riad in the Medina, wandering around at sunrise, heading to the Koutoubia Mosque, and then wandering the archways and the alleyways to see all of the big, beautiful Moroccan doors before you head into the Ben Youssef Madrasa, stepping away from the madness as you walk through Le Jardin Secret Gardens, having a rooftop lunch in the Medina, explore the El Badi Palace, recoup in the afternoon with a traditional Hammam experience before golden hour cocktails at another rooftop bar or cafe, and then dinner and a night stroll through the Medina before heading back to your accommodation. If you have more time in Morocco and you're looking to dive even deeper into where else you should visit, how to spend your time, what are some great itineraries in Morocco? I have written I've written multiple different articles on the Tourist to Traveller website. So head there for more information if you'd like to dive deeper. So if there's one thing I hope you take away from this episode, it's this. You don't need more time in Marrakech to feel it. You just need to find the right rhythm. Even just 24 hours in Morocco can shift something in you if you give yourself the time to slow down, stay curious, and let the city meet you where you are. Sip the mint tea. Wander without a plan. Say yes to a rooftop view. If you're planning a Morocco trip and want to feel confident before you go, grab my free Morocco destination guide. It'll help you turn your inspiration into something that actually works with real life and limited time. And if you want all the spots I mentioned today, plus extra tips, I've linked my full Marrakech and Morocco guides in the show notes. Alright, go dream up your own magical day in the Red City. And I'll see you in the next episode. Thanks for tuning in to the Tourist to Traveller podcast. I hope today's episode has inspired you to travel more authentically and plan your next adventure with confidence. Don't forget to head to touristtotraveller.com for today's show notes, resources, and free guides to help you plan like a pro. And if you love this episode, please hit subscribe and leave a review. It helps more travelers like you discover the show. Until our next adventure. Go beyond the tourist track and level up your travel experiences.