Jardin Majorelle & Musee Yves Saint Laurent

The Jardin Majorelle is the most visited sight in Marrakech and one of the most photographed gardens in the world, and it earns that fame in the first few steps. The French painter Jacques Majorelle began creating it in 1924 around his villa and studio outside the Medina, collecting cacti, palms, bamboo, bougainvillea and water lilies from around the world and painting the walls, pots and pergolas in the intense cobalt now known as Majorelle blue, set off with lemon yellow. He opened it to the public in 1947. After his death the garden declined, and in 1980 the designer Yves Saint Laurent and his partner Pierre Berge bought it and saved it from development; Saint Laurent called the garden a source of inspiration, and after his death in 2008 his ashes were scattered here, with a simple memorial in the garden. Today the visit is a slow loop of shaded paths past giant cactus beds, a bamboo grove, lily ponds and fountains to the blue studio, which houses the Pierre Berge Museum of Berber Arts: a small, beautifully lit collection of jewelry, textiles, weapons and costumes from Amazigh communities across Morocco, with a dazzling room of silver jewelry. A short walk along the street, the Musee Yves Saint Laurent Marrakech, opened in 2017 in a striking terracotta-brick building, presents a rotating selection of the designer's garments and sketches, a temporary exhibition hall, a bookshop and a cafe. One QR-code ticket can cover all three, and the official museum site is clear that tickets come only from the official online ticket office and that tickets bought on unauthorized sites are not valid for entry. Prices for foreign visitors are among the highest in the city, with combined tickets costing more, and the garden is very busy by late morning.

How booking works now: buy on the official site, choose your slot and show the QR code at the gate; there is no ticket window to fall back on, and touts outside selling paper tickets should be ignored. The garden opens daily, while the Yves Saint Laurent Museum is closed on Wednesdays and opens from ten in the morning to six in the evening, with last entry half an hour before closing. Book the earliest garden slot you can, then walk to the museum when it opens, or reverse the order in the afternoon. Visiting both the garden and the Berber Museum takes about an hour and a half; add another hour for the Saint Laurent museum and its temporary exhibition.

Getting there and timing: the garden sits on Rue Yves Saint Laurent in the new town between Gueliz and the Medina, about a ten-minute taxi ride or a forty-minute walk from Jemaa el-Fna. Insist on the meter in petit taxis or agree the fare first. Morning is the best time for photos, before the paths fill and before the midday light flattens the blues; summer afternoons are hot. The garden is mostly level with gravel paths and some narrow sections, and it can feel crowded at the famous blue villa corner, so be patient for your picture. The Berber Museum is dimly lit and small; queues for it form inside the garden at busy times. Strollers are manageable on the main paths.

Why it matters: this is where Marrakech's twentieth-century story comes into focus. Majorelle was one of many European artists drawn to Morocco's light; Saint Laurent, who first came in 1966, said that Marrakech taught him color, and his collections show it. The garden is also a genuinely important plant collection, especially of cacti and succulents, and its upkeep is funded by visitor tickets through the foundation that runs it. Afterwards, Gueliz has some of the best contemporary galleries, concept stores and cafes in the city, a useful counterpoint to the Medina.