My guide to Marrakesh!

Hi it's me again! Want to know about my mini break in Marrakesh? With all this spare time in lockdown I’ve finally got round to writing my tips - my experience, what to expect & fashion tips for my break in Marrakesh. Hope you enjoy !!  

I'll start off at the beginning - I travelled out to Marrakesh on my own as I was meeting my sister at the hotel. I was slightly nervous as I've never flown by myself, I wasn't particularly concerned about the flight, it was just getting from the airport to the hotel in a country I'd never visited before. So anyway, my sister had booked me a taxi, I walked outside of the airport, found the hotel sign and then a guy took me to the taxi (I wasn't enjoying this experience at all) all I kept thinking about was my favourite film Taken - nightmare ha ha. 

I eventually got to our Riad which was down this black alley way and oh my gosh if I hadn't of watched a video of it before I got there I would of thought it was the Taken moment😂. We stayed in the Medina which is the old part of town. In the Medina cars can't drive around, it's little narrow streets it has impressive arches, tiles and pretty shops. Scooters wizzing around, donkeys pulling things around - the traffic is crazy. The Medina also has lots of mosques, you hear them several times throughout the day depending where you are. I didn't realise there was a call to prayer at 5am, people we spoke to said they heard it every morning but personally it didn't wake me up.

We stayed at Riad Ghali & Spa and it was so lovely, if you want the proper experience of Marrakesh I'd definitely book a Riad. Our Riad was a 2-minute walk from the Jammâ El Fna Square and a 10 minute walk from the Koutoubia Mosque. The staff were friendly, it had a rooftop terrace and a plunge pool which was so pretty but it was in the centre of the hotel so it wasn't in the sun. The decor was amazing, it had beautiful doors, mirrors, tiles and lights. Although I wouldn't say this was a summer holiday kind of place.

A lovely way to start the day...

They served us a Moroccan breakfast every morning and it was so good, it's basically pancakes and muffins with jam and lots of other little things. However, my sister is celiac and she couldn't eat anything other than the fruit which was disappointing.

What to wear in Marrakesh 
This was one of the things that was worrying me when reading about Marrakesh. I didn't know what clothes to take because obviously everybody says you have to be covered. I searched Instagram to see what sort of things people were wearing.

Honestly, after going there now I wouldn't worry, we saw so many people with strappy tops and short skirts on. Although, I wouldn't advise that as me and my sister wore long skirts and scarfs around us and personally I felt much more comfortable because the men still shout/look at you. In the Riad we obviously wore bikinis to sunbathe in, this is absolutely fine. Take a look at my instagram @tiamillington for some inspo.

What to do in Marrakesh
Out and about in the town - Finding your way around the Medina is confusing, I mean I'm good with directions but even I got lost. Make sure you take note of a few landmarks that will help you find your way back. I would maybe avoid walking home too late at night, I wasn't keen. 

Marrakesh is one of the countries were we can't use our mobile data without getting a massive bill at the end so we had to look for wifi everywhere we went - ANNOYING. We found out that if we downloaded Google Maps we could use it for free with no data so we was able to get a map up whilst walking around.

Male Harassment 

Whilst walking around the town you get looked at and shouted at, mainly because they are wanting you to come in their shop. All you have to do is smile and carry on walking, and then they don't bother you too much. We kept pretending we didn't hear them or just start talking to each other or looking around as if we was stupid so they'd think we was in our little own world. We got shouted at 'Hey Shakira' or 'Beautiful' and a lot of them said 'oohhhh la la' but you just have to smile at them and carry on walking or just pretend you didn't hear. I think the best advice for this is to just keep covered up and don't rise to it, I however defiantly wouldn't walk anywhere alone.

Jamaâ El Fna Square 

It's definitely an experience, but if you go to Marrakesh you should visit and just experience it. The square is always crowded, it isn't unsafe it's just very different to what we are used to, just be careful. The first day I got there we walked round and I didn't feel comfortable at all but then once you have a few days there you get used to it and you know how to act. One thing I really don't like about the square is the men with chained up monkeys which clearly don't want to be there as they kept getting themselves into the shade, and also the snake charmers. It's just so cruel. My sister took a picture of the snake and a man grabbed her phone out of her hand, took a close up picture and then demanded money but luckily my sister knows how to be firm and got her phone back without paying.

Haggling 

A lot of the shops sell the same stuff so you can defiantly get a good price if you wanted to. Dirhams is very confusing it's totally different to our currency and it did get a bit much for me, I didn't know if I was spending lots or not to be honest.

YSL Gardens & Museum
Definitely worth the visit, especially if you’re into fashion like me!! Amazing pretty gardens ... just look at the photos! 😍

Hamman
Now this was an experience. For everyone unfamiliar with a hamman: It's a sort of (same sex only) public bathhouse, where you go in, strip naked, and a little old lady covers you in soap and scrubs you with a glove till your skin peels off, whilst yabbering in Arabic at you for an hour. Let's just say every inch of me is now very much exfoliated 😂

Where to eat 
We decided to browse Instagram as always and find the best Restaurants, you'll defiantly be able to find a nice tagine 😛 I'll include the best restaurants we visited below.

Tip -Don't drink tap water

Where to find alcohol in Marrakesh

Now this was a difficult task... bars and restaurants are so expensive for alcohol. Marrakesh isn’t really a place to party, in all the little food shops we couldn’t find any alcohol being sold. 

Terrasse des Epices

On the first night we found Terrasse des Epices, tucked away in the souk, with a roof top location, the view was great. The food was excellent, we both had different Tagine's and they were both delicious. 

L’adresse jemmaa El-fna

We visited twice and sat on the terrace it was lovely looking over at the view of the square. They serve Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, Brunch and Drinks. The food was lovely and a good price. It was such lovely restaurant and staff, they even let us print off our boarding passes in the back as all the places which had a printer were shut - they literally saved us. 

Tip for travelling home - Make sure you print off your boarding pass before arriving to the airport!! Otherwise you will get a lovely £55 fine at Marrakesh airport 

NOMAD

This was one of Instagrams best known restaurants in Marrakesh, we ate on the rooftop, we throughly enjoyed it, great atmosphere. Although we went on a night of storms, definitely best to go on a clear night to get the full experience of the view over the rooftops. 

I fell in love with Marrakesh and will definitely be visiting again! 

Love T x