Marrakech · Things to do

The covered lanes running up from the main square, still organised roughly by trade - leather, metal, dyers, slippers. Free to walk, busiest late morning and again after 17:00, and prices are negotiated. Fix a landmark to navigate back to, because the alleys do not run straight.

The cobalt-blue garden Jacques Majorelle laid out and Yves Saint Laurent later bought, in Gueliz, with the Berber arts museum inside it and the YSL museum next door. Garden 08:00-18:30 daily; the YSL museum 10:00-18:30 and closed Wednesdays. Buy timed tickets on the official ticket site only.

A restored riad garden at 121 rue Mouassine in the middle of the medina, with an Islamic garden, an exotic garden and a tower you can climb for a fee. 100 dirhams entry, 40 for the tower, open daily from 09:30 with closing between 18:00 and 19:30 depending on the month.

Three floors of Moroccan photography from the 1870s to the 1950s in a restored fondouk at 46 rue Ahl Fes, near the Ben Youssef quarter. Open daily 09:30-19:00, 80 dirhams for adults and free under 15, cash on the door - tickets are not sold online.

The late 19th-century vizier's palace in the Mellah, a sequence of courtyards, painted cedar ceilings and zellij rooms rather than furnished interiors. It is one of the monuments UNESCO cites for the medina; go early, as the courtyards get crowded and there is little shade.