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Marrakesh is a shopper's bonanza, full of the very rugs, handicrafts, and clothing you see in the pages of magazines back home. Most bazaars are in the souk, just north of Djemâa el Fna and spread through a seemingly never-ending maze of alleys. Together, they sell almost everything imaginable and are highly competitive. Bargaining here is hard, and you can get up to 80% discounts. So on your first exploration, it's often a better idea to simply wander and take in the atmosphere than to buy. You can check guideline prices in some of the more well-to-do parts of town, which display fixed price tags for every object.
There are a number of crafts and souvenir shops on Avenue Mohammed V in Guéliz, as well as some very good Moroccan antiques stores and designer shops that offer a distinctly modern take on Moroccan clothing, footwear, and interior decoration. These allow buyers to browse at their leisure, free of the souk's intense pressures. Many have fixed prices, with only 10% discounts after haggling. Most of these stores are happy to ship your purchases overseas. Bazaars generally open between 8 and 9 am and close between 8 and 9 pm; stores in Guéliz open a bit later and close a bit earlier, some breaking for lunch. Some bazaars in the medina close on Friday, the Muslim holy day. In Guéliz, most shops are closed on Sunday.
The highly respected Le Trésor des Nomades---often referred to just by the name of its owner, Mustapha Blaoui---extends over several floors and two adjacent properties. Here you'll find antique doors, lanterns, vintage tribal carpets, mats from Mauritania, Amazigh jewelry, and all kinds of crafted furniture, housewares, and textiles. It's so well-known that there is no sign over the door.
Shipping can be arranged for large purchases.
For design lovers, MORO is a dream come true and the perfect place to shop for souvenirs. It offers an incredible assortment of women and men's clothing and accessories, fragrances, and home decor. You can find incredible products made by talented local artisans, and many of the pieces here are limited-editions that ensure you have something truly unique and special. MORO also has a cafe that serves light dishes like Moroccan salads and sandwiches.
Just a quick turn right and then left out of the Souk Lghzal (via Rue Souk Semarine) is the large square called Rahba Qdima. This square is surrounded by small shops that sell everything from cure-alls to run-of-the-mill salt and pepper and just about everything in between. In the center of the square are lots of woven baskets and hats for sale. You'll also find ladies pounding henna leaves to create henna powder. If shopping isn't your for you, head to the rooftop of nearby Nomad for a glass of tea and a bird's-eye view.
This riad turned art gallery and tearoom is filled with original artwork by owner Hassan Hajjaj, who's known as Morocco's Andy Warhol. True to the artist's pop aesthetic, expect to find colorful portraits blending pop culture and the artist's own fashions. Smaller items include notebooks, posters, and upcycled lanterns made from sardine tins.
To get to the fabric and wool souk, use the Mouassine Mosque as a landmark, and keep the Mouassine fountain on your right while you continue until the street widens out with shops on either side. At the point where it branches into two alleys running either side of a shop selling handmade lamps and textiles, take an immediate sharp left turn. Follow that derb and look for the helpful word "teinturies" in spray paint and then head right. Souk des Teinturiers is also called Souk Sebbaghine. The main square for fabric dyeing is hidden down a little shimmy to the right and then immediately left, but anyone can (and likely will) direct you. Here you'll see men dipping fabrics into vats full of hot dye. Look up to see scarves and skeins of wool hanging all over, in individual sets of the same bright colors.
For the best view, head into the dyers' square and ask to be led into the boutique. A dyer can show you the powders that the colors come from. A lovely bit of magic involves the fact that green powder dyes fabric red; red powder dyes things blue; and yellow powder dyes things purple. Head up the steep stairs and onto the roof if you're allowed—a spectacular view of industry unfolds, with headscarves and threads of every color hanging up to dry in separate color blocks all over the rooftops.
From Rue Souk el-Attarine, follow that main souk street as faithfully as possible and it will take you north, looping clockwise to the east, and through the ironmongers' souk, where you'll see blacksmiths at work, hammering out lanterns and wrought-iron chairs.
This gallery houses a permanent exhibit of Orientalist paintings, ornate inlaid furniture, and antique ceramics. There is a constantly changing program of exhibitions and works for sale by top-notch Moroccan artists and foreign painters living in the kingdom.
