Marrakech for Art and Design Lovers: A 2026 Guide
For art and design lovers, Marrakech comes down to five addresses and two districts: the Yves Saint Laurent Museum and the Jardin Majorelle, MACAAL for contemporary African art, the Maison de la Photographie and Dar El Bacha in the medina, the galleries of Gueliz and the design studios of Sidi Ghanem. Two full days cover them well, and the 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair, held at La Mamounia from 18 to 21 March 2027, is the busiest week of the city’s art calendar.
In short
- Jardin Majorelle: 170 MAD in 2026, tickets online only; the Yves Saint Laurent Museum next door is closed on Wednesdays.
- MACAAL: contemporary African art at Al Maaden, 120 MAD, open Wednesday to Sunday, 10:00 to 18:00.
- Maison de la Photographie: 80 MAD, open daily 9:30 to 19:00, with a rooftop café over the medina.
- 1-54 Marrakech 2027: 18 to 21 March at La Mamounia; public days Saturday 20 and Sunday 21 March.
- Sidi Ghanem: the industrial district north-west of the city where designers have their showrooms, about 20 minutes by car.
Yves Saint Laurent Museum and the Jardin Majorelle
The painter Jacques Majorelle began his garden in 1923; Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Bergé bought and restored it in 1980. Its blue studio, a piece of Art Deco architecture in itself, houses the Pierre Bergé Museum of Berber Arts (open 8:30 to 17:00, separate ticket). The garden opens daily from 8:00 to 17:30, with last entry at 17:00, and costs 170 dirhams in 2026.
Next door, the Musée Yves Saint Laurent Marrakech opened in 2017 in a building by the Paris architects Studio KO, its facade a lattice of local terracotta brick inspired by the weave of fabric. Inside: a rotating selection of haute couture pieces, sketches and a temporary exhibition hall. It is open 10:00 to 18:00 and closed on Wednesdays.
Every ticket (garden, Berber museum, YSL Museum and combined) is sold only on tickets.jardinmajorelle.com, with timed entry, and the garden warns that tickets from other sites are refused. Take the 8:00 garden slot, then the museum at 10:00. The private garden of Villa Oasis, Saint Laurent and Bergé’s former home, opens on a separate ticket, every day except Wednesday. Our full guide: Jardin Majorelle tickets and tips.
MACAAL, the museum of contemporary African art
The Museum of African Contemporary Art Al Maaden, a project of the Fondation Alliances, sits beside the Al Maaden golf estate south-east of the city, about 20 minutes from the medina. It reopened in February 2025 after repairs following the 2023 earthquake, with its permanent collection newly rehung across seven themes. Admission includes the Al Maaden sculpture park.
Programme for autumn 2026: a solo show by the Moroccan photographer and film-maker Daoud Aoulad-Syad (18 September to 29 November 2026), and Yassine Balbzioui’s in-situ installation Crazy Lines, on until 8 January 2027. Check the current programme on the MACAAL website.
| Venue | Area | Adult ticket, 2026 | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jardin Majorelle | Majorelle | 170 MAD, online only | Daily 8:00 to 17:30 |
| Musée Yves Saint Laurent | Majorelle | Online, on the same site | 10:00 to 18:00, closed Wed |
| MACAAL | Al Maaden | 120 MAD | Wed to Sun, 10:00 to 18:00 |
| Maison de la Photographie | Medina (north) | 80 MAD | Daily 9:30 to 19:00 |
| Dar El Bacha | Medina (north) | About 60 MAD | 10:00 to 18:00, closed Mon |
| Le Jardin Secret | Medina (Mouassine) | 100 MAD, tower +40 | Daily from 9:30 |
In the medina: photography, a pasha’s palace and a restored garden
Maison de la Photographie
Opened in 2009 in a restored funduq (a former merchants’ inn) at 46 rue Ahl Fes, near the Ben Youssef Madrasa, it shows photographs taken in Morocco from the late 19th century to 1960, including early albumen prints and glass plates. Tickets are bought at the door (80 dirhams; residents 50; under-15s free). Finish on the roof terrace café. More: our Maison de la Photographie guide.
Dar El Bacha, Musée des Confluences
The early 20th-century palace of Thami El Glaoui, pasha of Marrakech, is now a museum of the cultures that shaped Morocco. Come for the building: painted cedar ceilings, carved plaster and zellige courtyards that rank among the finest craft work open to the public in the city. Closed on Mondays; the Bacha Coffee house inside queues by late morning, so arrive at 10:00.
Le Jardin Secret
On Rue Mouassine, a 19th-century palace garden restored and opened to the public, with an Islamic garden and an exotic garden. For design lovers, the interest is in the restoration: water channels, pavilions, plasterwork and painted wood brought back to life. The tower (40 dirhams extra) has one of the best views over the medina’s roofs.
The galleries of Gueliz
Gueliz, the new town laid out under the French Protectorate, is where most of the commercial galleries are, within walking distance of each other. A few to start with:
- Comptoir des Mines Galerie, Rue de Yougoslavie: contemporary Moroccan and African artists in an Art Deco building with its period staircases and mosaic floors
- David Bloch Gallery, Rue des Vieux Marrakchis: a loft-style space for painting, sculpture and photography, with shows that often transform the whole room
- Galerie Siniya28, Rue Tarik Ibn Ziad
- Loft Art Gallery, the Marrakech space of the Casablanca gallery, which showed the photographer Mous Lamrabat in 2025
Opening days and hours vary, and several galleries close at lunchtime or on one day of the weekend, so check before you go. Our Gueliz guide covers the cafés and shops between them.
Sidi Ghanem, the design district
An industrial estate about 20 minutes from the centre, Sidi Ghanem is where many designers keep their workshops and showrooms: ceramics, lighting, textiles, furniture and fashion, often made with local artisans. Among the best known is LRNCE, the studio of the Belgian designer Laurence Leenaert, known for its boldly painted ceramics and textiles. Chabi Chic is another name for tableware.
The streets are wide and taxis rarely wait, so go with a driver. Full addresses and opening days: our Sidi Ghanem guide.
The 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair
1-54, the fair dedicated to contemporary art from Africa and its diaspora, holds its Marrakech edition at La Mamounia. The fair has usually taken place in February (the 2026 edition ran from 5 to 8 February), but the official 1-54 website lists the 2027 edition for March:
- VIP and press preview: Thursday 18 and Friday 19 March 2027, 11:00 to 19:00
- Public days: Saturday 20 March, 11:00 to 19:00, and Sunday 21 March, 11:00 to 18:00
- Venue: La Mamounia, Avenue Bab Jdid
Around the fair, galleries, MACAAL and other venues across the city usually run openings and parallel events. Villas fill quickly that week: book early if you plan to come.
Artisan workshops: where the craft comes from
Contemporary Marrakech design is built on its crafts, and the medina is still a working city of makers. North of Jemaa el-Fna, the souks are grouped by trade: metalworkers hammering lanterns, dyers hanging skeins of wool, woodturners, leatherworkers and slipper makers. Watching them work is free; buying directly from the workshop is often better than from the stall in front.
Outside the walls, the government-run Ensemble Artisanal on Avenue Mohammed V gathers crafts under one roof at fixed prices, useful for judging quality and price before the souks. Our guides: shopping in the medina souks and luxury shopping in Marrakech.
A two-day design itinerary
- Day 1, 8:00
Jardin Majorelle
The first slot of the day, before the garden fills. Then the Berber museum in the blue studio.
- Day 1, 10:00
Yves Saint Laurent Museum
Allow an hour and a half, including the temporary exhibition. Not on a Wednesday.
- Day 1, 12:00
Gueliz galleries and lunch
Comptoir des Mines before its lunchtime break at 13:00, lunch nearby, then David Bloch.
- Day 1, 16:00
MACAAL
About 20 minutes by car. The galleries and the sculpture park in the late light. Wednesday to Sunday only.
- Day 2, 9:30
Maison de la Photographie
The archive, then mint tea on the roof.
- Day 2, 11:00
Dar El Bacha and Le Jardin Secret
Painted cedar, carved plaster and a restored garden, ten minutes apart on foot. Dar El Bacha is closed on Mondays.
- Day 2, 15:00
Sidi Ghanem
An afternoon in the showrooms with a driver waiting, for ceramics, lighting and textiles to ship home.
With a third day, add the palaces and tombs of the southern medina: see places to visit in Marrakech.
Staying in a design-led villa
If architecture and art are why you come, the house you stay in should be part of it. Four from our catalogue, chosen for what their own descriptions say:
- Villa Arwa: a 1950s villa near the Jardin Majorelle, redesigned by the architect Roger Herrera; 4 bedrooms, from €1,280 a night
- Villa Aria: designed by the Beja-Pujol studio in the Palmeraie, with floor-to-ceiling windows and a courtyard around a century-old olive tree; 5 suites, from €2,200
- Villa Savannah: more than 60 works of art by internationally known artists across 18,000 m², and a jacuzzi with a portrait of Fernando Pessoa by Júlio Pomar; 22 bedrooms, from €4,800
- Palais Melody: architecture that mixes kasbah, caidal tents and Le Corbusier-inspired lines, with African art and paintings by Moroccan artists; 21 bedrooms, from €5,900
Villa ArwaFrom €1,280 a night
Villa AriaFrom €2,200 a night
Villa SavannahFrom €4,800 a night
Palais MelodyFrom €5,900 a night
Unlimited MarrakechCome for the art, stay in a house worth seeing
Tell us your dates, how many you are and what you want to see. We suggest the villas that fit; ask us if you would like a driver for the galleries and the design district.
Frequently asked questions
When is 1-54 Marrakech in 2027?
The official 1-54 website lists the 2027 Marrakech edition from 18 to 21 March at La Mamounia. Thursday 18 and Friday 19 March are for VIP and press; the public days are Saturday 20 March (11:00 to 19:00) and Sunday 21 March (11:00 to 18:00). Earlier editions were usually held in February.
How much does the Yves Saint Laurent Museum cost and when is it closed?
The museum is open 10:00 to 18:00 and closed on Wednesdays. Tickets, including combined tickets with the Jardin Majorelle (170 dirhams for the garden alone in 2026) and the Berber museum, are sold only online at tickets.jardinmajorelle.com, with timed entry. There is no ticket desk on site.
Is MACAAL worth the trip out of the centre?
Yes, if contemporary art interests you. MACAAL, at Al Maaden about 20 minutes from the medina, is the city’s main museum of contemporary African art, with a permanent collection rehung after its 2025 reopening and a sculpture park included in the 120-dirham ticket. It opens Wednesday to Sunday, 10:00 to 18:00.
Where is the design district in Marrakech?
Sidi Ghanem, an industrial estate on the north-western edge of the city, about 20 minutes by car from the centre. Designers such as LRNCE have workshops and showrooms there for ceramics, lighting, textiles and furniture. Taxis rarely wait in the area, so it is easiest with a driver.
Which villas suit art and design lovers?
In our catalogue, Villa Arwa (a 1950s villa near the Jardin Majorelle redesigned by Roger Herrera), Villa Aria (designed by the Beja-Pujol studio), Villa Savannah (more than 60 works of art on the estate) and Palais Melody (Le Corbusier-inspired architecture and African art) are the most design-led.
Marrakech rewards a visit planned around its art: a morning at Majorelle, an afternoon at MACAAL, a day in the medina’s workshops and studios. Tell us when you are coming, and we will suggest a villa that is part of the experience.
