Marrakech in three days, from the souks to the Atlas

Start at Djemaa el-Fna before 9 am, while the square still belongs to the orange-juice carts and locals cutting across to work. Walk north into the souks with a licensed guide for your first two hours — the tanners' quarter near Bab Debbagh, the dyers' alley, the spice sellers around Rahba Kedima. By late morning, pause in a rooftop café over the square.

After lunch, visit the Ben Youssef Madrasa — a superb example of the medersa tradition (you will recognise the same carved cedar, stucco and zellige craft that fills the Bou Inania in Fes), restored and well worth the entry fee. Give the late afternoon to the Mouassine quarter with no map at all. Take dinner in a neighbourhood restaurant rather than one of the grand spectacle places on the square; your riad host will know one that suits your pace.

Come back to Djemaa el-Fna after dark, when the square becomes a vast open-air kitchen and theatre. Walk through it rather than sitting — you read it better in motion.

Book Majorelle Garden for 8 am — tickets sell out and the light is kindest early. Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Bergé rescued the garden from dereliction in 1980; the cobalt-blue Villa Bou Saf Saf at its heart and the Berber Museum inside warrant at least 90 minutes. The adjacent Musée Yves Saint Laurent Marrakech (YSL Museum) is architecturally striking and worth it if fashion history interests you — it shares the same entrance area. Plan two hours for the garden quarter in all.

In the afternoon, cross into the southern medina for the Saadian Tombs and El Badi Palace. The tombs are a short visit (20 minutes) but the craftsmanship of the Chamber of Twelve Columns is extraordinary — Carrara marble and honeycomb muqarnas worth lingering over. El Badi is a ruin, yet the scale of what was once among the most lavish palaces in the Islamic world is still legible in the foundations, storks nesting along the walls. For the evening, Gueliz, the modern quarter, offers a different rhythm and good contemporary tables.

Leave by 8 am in a private vehicle. The destination follows the group: Ourika Valley (60 km, paved road to 1,800 m, the waterfalls at Setti Fatma) suits a relaxed day with a riverside lunch. Imlil (90 km, 1,740 m base altitude) suits walkers — a three-hour loop above the village through Amazigh hamlets and walnut orchards gives a real highland day without any technical climbing.

We steer first-timers to Ourika and send repeat visitors to Imlil to venture further. Both return you to Marrakech by late afternoon, with time to take in the Agafay Desert en route if you choose the Imlil road. Browse our Atlas day tours for itinerary options.