5 Best Sights in Marrakesh, Morocco

Filled with green bamboo thickets, lily ponds, and an electric-blue gazebo, the Jardin Majorelle is a stunning escape. It was created by the French painter Jacques Majorelle, who lived in Marrakesh between 1922 and 1962, and then passed into the hands of another Marrakesh lover, the late fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent. There's a fascinating Amazigh museum housed within the painter's former studio, with a permanent exhibit of tribal jewelry, costumes, weapons, ceramics, and rustic household tools and implements. There is also a shop and a delightful café. The Musée Yves Saint Laurent is next door.

Try to visit the gardens in the early morning before the tour groups—you'll hear the chirping of sparrows rather than the chatter of humans.

Signposted on the Route de Fes as you head out to the Palmery, this enchanting walled garden with a contemporary art gallery is the creation of Marrakesh-born Abderrazzak Benchaabane—an ethnobotanist, perfume maker, garden designer, and local legend. The garden adjoins his home and exhibits his own collection of contemporary Moroccan art, paintings, and sculptures. Benchaabane was responsible for the restoration of the Jardin Majorelle at the request of Yves Saint Laurent in 1998, and the garden designs here clearly reflect his passion for creating beautiful natural spaces. The indoor gallery and arcades open out to a water garden with pergolas and pavilions, rose beds, and cactus gardens.

The Secret Garden, or Le Jardin Secret, opened to the public in 2016 after several years of intensive excavation, restoration, and planting. Once one of the largest private riads in the medina, the 16th-century site is home to beautiful Islamic architecture, the lush Exotic and Islamic gardens, an ancient, but still operational, water management and irrigation system, and the original watchtower that has commanding views over the whole medina. The restored Pavilions, which were once formal reception rooms, now house a small café and an exhibit of photographs that show the property's excavation and reconstruction. There are areas to sit and relax, a bookshop, café, and exhibition rooms. Well-informed guides are on-site and provide free tours of the gardens. Entry to the Tower is an extra 40 DH.

Stretching a full 3 km (2 miles) south of the Royal Palace, the Jardin de l'Aguedal comprises vast orchards, a large lagoon, and other small pools, all fed by an impressive, ancient system of underground irrigation channels from the Ourika Valley in the High Atlas. Until the French protectorate's advent, it was the sultans' retreat of choice for lavish picnics and boating parties. Sadly the Agdal Gardens have suffered from neglect in recent years and now have little charm for visitors. The largest basin, the 12th-century "Tank of Health," and the small pavilion next to it are still accessible on Friday and Sunday, but the vast orchards and olive groves, where Moroccans once strolled, are now closed to the public.

The Menara's vast water bassin and pavilion are ensconced in an immense olive grove, where pruners and pickers putter and local women fetch water from the nearby stream, said to give baraka (good luck). The elegant pavilion—or minzah, meaning "beautiful view"—was created in the early 19th century by Sultan Abd er Rahman, but it's believed to occupy the site of a 16th-century Saadian structure. In winter and spring snowcapped Atlas peaks in the background appear closer than they are; you might see green or black olives gathered from the trees from October through January. Moroccan families swarm here during the holidays and weekends to picnic. Come prepared as there's little shade in the main walking areas.