Visit the Majorelle Garden in Marrakech: info, tickets & schedules
Do you want to visit the Majorelle Garden during your stay in Marrakech? I explain everything you need to know in this article
Among all the magnificent places that you can discover during a stay in Marrakech, the Majorelle garden is one of those that will leave you with an unforgettable memory. If you don’t know what to do in Marrakech, visiting the Majorelle garden is a must for me!
In this little post, I invite you to learn more about this lush botanical garden, which is now one of the most popular sites in the city.
On the agenda of this article
- Schedules and prices for visits to the Majorelle garden
- Combined tickets for the visit of the Majorelle garden
- What to see in the Majorelle garden?
- The Berber Museum of Marrakech
- How to get to the Majorelle garden?
- The history of the Majorelle garden
- The other gardens of Marrakech
Schedules and prices for visits to the Majorelle garden
The visit of the Majorelle garden is possible all year round, from Wednesday to Sunday. The garden is accessible from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., and entry is no longer possible after 5:30 p.m. .
The Majorelle Garden is one of the most popular tourist sites in Marrakech, and it is not extremely large. To avoid having to wait in a long line and having to visit the places when they are invaded by crowds, I therefore strongly advise you to do your visit in the morning. If you are traveling during the high season in Marrakech (between March and May and between August and December), it may even be better to arrive before the opening time, if you do not have a skip-the-line ticket and that you want to buy your ticket on the spot.
As far as fares are concerned, the skip-the-line ticket will cost you 100 dirhams. You can also choose a combined ticket, which will also allow you to access the Berber museum and the Yves Saint Laurent museum for 220 dirhams, or around $20.
Holders of a student card, Moroccan citizens and people residing in Morocco can take advantage of a particularly attractive rate, since the single ticket will only cost them 20 dirhams, and the combined ticket 40 dirhams. Admission is free for children 8 and under.
Combined tickets for the visit of the Majorelle garden
It is also possible to combine the visit to the garden with other activities! Here I offer excursions or relaxing activities to complete your day.
Activity
Rate
Garden tour and camel ride
65 $
TO BOOK
Visit of the garden and hammam
80 $
TO BOOK
Full day private tour in Marrakech (garden included)
96 $
TO BOOK
Majorelle and Menara gardens and horse-drawn carriage ride
60 $
What to see in the Majorelle garden?
When you arrive in the Majorelle garden, you will be immediately surprised by this extremely luxuriant vegetation. In total, nearly 300 species of plants are present in this garden which extends over approximately 1 hectare. You will be able to admire in particular cacti, bamboo, palm trees, many aquatic plants and a lot of flowers which come to garnish the pots and bring a great diversity of colors.
Entrance
Depending on the time of year you come to Marrakech, the vegetation will be slightly different (or in bloom!). Remember to look at when to go to Marrakech so that the season is the most suitable for the activities you want to do.
The garden is also home to a variety of fauna, including many species of birds (falcons, collared doves, garden bulbuls, etc.). In addition to admiring the vegetation and enjoying the pleasant setting of this garden, you can also visit the Berber museum, the museum library and the Yves Saint-Laurent memorial. You will have the opportunity to follow a route designed to allow you to discover the cubist villa, the plant species, as well as the ponds and fountains that decorate the paths of the park. Throughout this garden, the famous Majorelle blue sets the tone.
This color so dear to the painter covers not only the villa, but also a large number of elements ranging from simple flowerpots to entire fountains. This deep blue, slightly purplish, creates a striking contrast with the greenery of the vegetation, the golden decorations and the much lighter blue of the sky of Marrakech.
You will be free to discover the garden in your own way, but if you follow the classic route, from the main entrance you will discover a fountain, then you will cross the area of cacti and cactaceae plants, before arriving at the famous fountain blue square which is just in front of the Berber museum. You will then have the opportunity to discover the water lily pond, the large palm grove, before ending your visit by going to the Yves Saint Laurent memorial and the small bamboo forest.
During your visit to the garden, you can take the time to sit on the terrace of the Café Majorelle, for a drink or a meal. A shop that offers many handicrafts from Moroccan culture is also available. The profits from this shop are entirely used to finance projects aimed at helping local development.
The Berber Museum of Marrakech
In what was once Jacques Majorelle’s painting studio, you can now visit the Pierre Bergé Museum of Berber Arts. In the galleries of this museum are exposed many objects of art and crafts, which highlight all the richness of the culture of this people who have lived in North Africa for centuries. In total, 4 galleries address different themes and tell the story of the largest Berber tribes using documents and projections.
Since 2017, a second museum, the Yves Saint Laurent Marrakech Museum, has opened its doors a few steps from the Majorelle garden. A large number of haute couture creations are exhibited in this sumptuous museum, which retraces the long career of the couturier.
How to get to the Majorelle garden?
The Majorelle garden is located in the Guéliz district, in rue Yves Saint Laurent. To get there, you can take the city bus and get off at the Boukar Majorelle stop. The garden is only a few minutes walk from the bus station. If you prefer to take a taxi to reach the Majorelle garden, as always in Marrakech, remember to check that the driver turns on his meter.
The history of the Majorelle garden
The Majorelle garden takes its name from its creator, the French painter Jacques Majorelle. Son of the famous cabinetmaker Louis Majorelle and a great traveler, Jacques Majorelle discovered Morocco in 1917 at the age of 31, at the time of the French protectorate. He quickly fell in love with this country, and more particularly with the city of Marrakech.
A few years later, the painter became the owner of 1.6 hectares of land located northwest of the Medina of Marrakech, where he built a Moorish-style villa (Villa bou saf saf) and a painting studio. Berber style.
In addition to painting, Majorelle is also a big fan of plants and flowers. In 1928, he acquired more land around his property (4 hectares in total) with the aim of creating a botanical garden. In 1931, he called on the architect Paul Sinoir to build another villa, in the Cubist style this time, around which he began to lay out a garden. Over the years, Majorelle has enriched its garden with plants from all over the world, such as cacti, coconut trees, banana trees and even yuccas.
For forty years, Majorelle has worked tirelessly to make his garden a place like no other. Thanks to his painter’s eye, the garden became a magical place, which the artist himself considered his most beautiful work.
After a few years, the maintenance of the garden became too heavy and too expensive a task, and the Majorelle garden was therefore opened to the public in 1947. After the death of the painter in 1962, the garden was practically abandoned.
In 1980, the famous fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent, who since 1966 has visited Marrakech several times a year with his companion Pierre Bergé, and has often drawn inspiration from the garden for his creations, becomes the new owner of the Majorelle garden and the Cubist villa. Under his leadership, the garden regained its splendour, and a museum of Islamic art was created inside the villa. In 2001, the Majorelle Garden Association was founded with the aim of safeguarding the historical and natural heritage represented by the garden.
In 2008, after the death of the couturier, a memorial consisting of a Roman column was set up in the heart of the Morelle garden. In 2011, the Museum of Islamic Art was replaced by the Berber Museum, which was inaugurated by the King of Morocco Mohamed 6. Among the objects exhibited in this museum, more than 600 belong to the collection of Yves Saint Laurent.
The other gardens of Marrakech
Majorelle is the best known and undoubtedly the most beautiful of the city’s gardens. However, if you want to discover other superb gardens during your stay in Marrakech, you can visit:
The Cyber Parc, a modern garden located in the city center of Marrakech between Guéliz and the Medina. Its real name is the Arsat Moulay Abdessalam park, but this large green space of 8 hectares is a space dedicated to new communication technologies. In the middle of the fountains and trees of many species (eucalyptus, palm trees, orange trees, etc.), there are self-service internet access terminals, which fit rather well into the landscape.
The Menara garden, which is a real oasis in the heart of Marrakech in the Hivernage district. It is one of the places favored by the inhabitants of the city who seek a little calm and freshness. More than forty varieties of olive trees are planted in this garden.
The Agdal Gardens, the oldest gardens in Marrakech, which were designed during the 12th century. Like the Menara garden, the plants and trees in this garden are irrigated thanks to a particularly ingenious system that brings water from the High Atlas to store it in large basins. Dozens of varieties of trees are present in this garden, such as pomegranate trees, orange trees and apricot trees.
The Koutoubia Garden, located right next to the Koutoubia Mosque, the largest religious building in Marrakech. This garden is not necessarily the best known to tourists, but you can discover a beautiful variety of trees arranged around magnificent fountains. This garden located a few steps from the Jemaa el Fna square is the ideal place to take a short break while visiting the different districts of the city.
We are coming to the end of this article! I hope you liked it and that you now know more about the Majorelle garden in Marrakech To prepare for your stay, I also advise you to read my articles on where to sleep in Marrakech and on the most beautiful beaches in Marrakech!
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