Guided Tour Marrakech: Discover Hidden Gardens and Riads

Where are the hidden gardens and riads of the Marrakech Medina, and how do you get inside?

Behind the plain ochre walls of the Medina, the gardens are everywhere, but you only see them once a door opens. The best known are Le Jardin Secret in Mouassine, a restored palace garden with its tower and fountains, the gardens and courtyards of the Bahia Palace, the orange trees around the Koutoubia, and the green Arsat Moulay Abdeslam near the ramparts. The most magical ones are the riads themselves, family houses built around a planted courtyard, some open as guesthouses, some visited only with a local who knows the family. Our Private Medina Walking Tour takes you from the noise of the souks into these quiet courtyards, and our Private Souks Shopping Tour adds the artisans who decorate them, with their zellige, carved cedar and lanterns.

Private Medina Walking Tour

Your own local guide, every day at 9 am or 2 pm, about 3 hours, with pickup at your riad.

Included a relaxing stop at a traditional herbalist and spice cooperative, just to learn, with no obligation to buy, with a bottle of mineral water, a cup of mint tea and a small souvenir, all complimentary.

See prices and details on our Private Medina Walking Tour page.

Message Us On WhatsApp or use our Booking Form.

When we meet our guests at their riad or near Jemaa el-Fna, the first question is often the same. "Will we get lost in these alleys?" We smile and say, follow us, we'll take it step by step. Ten minutes later, a heavy wooden door opens on a courtyard full of orange trees, the noise of the souks disappears, and all you hear is water. A guest from Canada told us that entering the first hidden courtyard was magical, and by the end of the walk it was the highlight of her whole trip.

Visit Marrakech Medina, The Best Shopping and Walking Tour Company in Marrakech, has guided travelers through the Medina since 2004. Our Medina walking tour is featured by Daniel Jacobs in The Rough Guide To Morocco, which says our guide “guarantees (unlike most guides) not to stop at any shops”. Our guiding is also Recommended By Rick Steves.

Choose your tour

• Who Can Open The Hidden Courtyards Of The Medina For You? Our private walking tour, gardens, riads, derbs, the Mellah and the herbalist.

• Where Do Riad Owners Buy Their Lanterns And Zellige? Our private souks shopping tour, metal, ceramics, wood and textiles from the artisans.

• Which Berber Rug Fits A Riad Courtyard? Our private rug shopping tour, weaving cooperatives, Beni Ourain, Azilal and kilims.

• Can Your Family Visit The Gardens With Its Own Guide? All our tours are private, one guide, one group, one truly personal experience.

• Can You Walk The Hidden Gardens With A Guide Today? Last-minute private tours, often within the hour.

Why are the gardens of Marrakech hidden behind walls?

Because in the Medina, paradise is kept inside. The word riad comes from the Arabic rawd or rawda, the garden, an image of paradise. For Marrakchis, there is no real riad without water and greenery in its heart, a fountain, orange or lemon trees, jasmine climbing the walls. The family lives around this garden, turned inward, away from the street.

From the outside, you see almost nothing. The derbs are narrow, sometimes only 1.5 to 2 meters wide, the walls are plain and red, and the doors look modest. Many visitors think the houses behind them are poor. In reality, some of these doors open onto real palaces. The discretion is deliberate, for the privacy of the family and so as not to show off one's wealth. As we tell our guests, in the Medina the luxury is on the inside.

Look at the doors as you walk. Many have two knockers, one high and one in the middle, and often a big door with a small door cut into it. The story goes that you knocked high when you arrived on a mule or a horse, and the big door was opened, and low when you came on foot. Another version says the small door was for neighbours, so a knock on the big door told the women of the house that a stranger was there. Read more stories like this in What Can't You Find In Other Marrakech Guides?

Which gardens can you visit in and around the Medina?

Le Jardin Secret, in Mouassine

Right in the souks, Le Jardin Secret is a palace garden from the Saadian period, in the 16th century, when the Mouassine quarter was developed. It was carefully restored and opened to visitors. It has two gardens, an exotic garden with plants from around the world and an Islamic garden laid out in four parts around a fountain, plus a tower like a minaret with views over the rooftops and the Atlas. Water once arrived here through the khettaras, underground channels from the mountains, which fed its fountains and canals.

The gardens of the Bahia Palace

In the south of the Medina, the Bahia Palace was built in the 19th century for the grand viziers of the sultan. Its courtyards are planted with orange trees, banana plants, palms and jasmine, around zellige fountains and under painted cedar ceilings. Go early in the morning, before the groups arrive.

The Koutoubia gardens

Beside the great minaret, the Koutoubia gardens are rows of orange trees and roses, with benches and fountains. They're free, open to all, and the perfect place to rest after Jemaa el-Fna. The Koutoubia is part of the Medina Of Marrakech, A UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Arsat Moulay Abdeslam, the Cyber Park

Between the Koutoubia and Bab Nkob, this old royal orchard, an arsat, is today a public garden with olive and orange trees, palms and shaded paths, where Marrakchi families walk in the evening.

Dar Si Said and the small museum courtyards

Near the Bahia, the Dar Si Said museum keeps a beautiful planted courtyard with a fountain and a wooden pavilion. Many small palaces and museums of the Medina hide the same kind of garden.

Beyond the walls, the Agdal, the Menara and Majorelle

South of the Medina, the huge Agdal gardens are old royal orchards of olive, orange and pomegranate trees with great water basins, and to the west, the Menara garden is famous for its pavilion and pool facing the Atlas. Both are part of the same UNESCO listing as the Medina. In Gueliz, outside the walls, the Jardin Majorelle is the most visited garden of Marrakech, with its cactus, bamboo and famous blue villa.

What is it like inside a traditional riad?

You step out of the derb into a dark, narrow entrance that turns once, so nobody in the street can see into the house. Then the light. A square courtyard open to the sky, a fountain in the middle, four orange or lemon trees in the corners, zellige tiles on the floor and on the walls, carved stucco around the arches and painted cedar ceilings in the salons. The rooms open only onto the courtyard. On top, a rooftop terrace looks over the Medina, the minarets and, on clear days, the snowy Atlas.

In the old days, the whole extended family lived together in these houses, with many big rooms around the courtyard. Today, many riads are guesthouses, and others are still family homes. On some of our walks, we visit a riad that is not normally open to the public, when a family we know welcomes us. A couple from France told us that tasting pastries in the shade of a courtyard, listening to the fountain, was their favorite moment of the trip. A young traveler from Italy said he had never imagined such beauty existed behind such ordinary doors.

Planning to stay in one? Read Which Luxury Riads In Marrakech Are Worth It?

What do you see, smell and hear on a garden and riad walk?

• The smells orange blossom in spring, jasmine on summer evenings, mint and roses in the courtyards

• The sounds water from the fountains, birds in the orange trees, the call to prayer from the nearest mosque

• The colors green and white zellige, the red ochre of the walls, blue doors, the light through carved wood

• The details brass door knockers, carved cedar doors, stucco arches, old wells and fountains in the derbs

A guest from Australia said that walking quietly through a hidden courtyard, listening to the birds and watching the sun through the carved patterns felt like stepping into a painting. A family from Germany was amazed by how quickly the noise of the city faded once we left the main lanes. We always tell our guests, take your time, breathe, and look up.

Can you meet the artisans who build and decorate the riads?

Yes. Every riad is the work of craftsmen, the zellige makers who cut each tile by hand, the woodcarvers who shape the cedar doors and ceilings, the stucco carvers, the metalworkers who make the lanterns and the weavers who make the rugs and cushions. Many of the weavers are women from Atlas villages who work in cooperatives. On a tailor-made walk, we can visit their workshops on the way, where you can watch, ask questions and sometimes try a simple technique.

A group from Italy told us that this part of the walk made the whole day more meaningful. They left with a few treasures and a real sense of the people behind them. Another guest from Germany loved hearing about the women who weave the carpets in small workshops. Meet them in Who Are The Last Artisans Of The Marrakech Medina?

Where can you stop for tea in a garden or courtyard?

A garden walk always comes with a pause. A mint tea in a riad courtyard under an orange tree, Moroccan pastries with almonds and honey, freshly baked bread with olive oil, or a glass on a rooftop above the souks. One guest from Canada said sipping tea under an orange tree, with the scent of flowers and the sound of the fountain, was her favorite memory of Marrakech. See our favorite stops in Where Do Marrakchis Stop For Mint Tea In The Medina?

How far are the gardens from Jemaa el-Fna?

Each link opens the walking route on Google Maps. Distances are approximate.

• Jemaa El-Fna To Le Jardin Secret about 800 meters, 11 minutes

• Jemaa El-Fna To The Bahia Palace about 1 km, 14 minutes

• Jemaa El-Fna To Dar Si Said about 900 meters, 12 minutes

• Jemaa El-Fna To The Koutoubia Gardens about 400 meters, 5 minutes

• Jemaa El-Fna To Arsat Moulay Abdeslam about 1.2 km, 16 minutes

• Jemaa El-Fna To The Agdal Gardens about 2.5 km, 35 minutes, or a short taxi ride

• Le Jardin Secret To The Bahia Palace about 1.6 km, 22 minutes through the souks

Phone maps often get lost in the derbs. Read Why Does Google Maps Fail In The Medina? or follow our Main Routes From Jemaa El-Fna To The Souks

Which riads are close to the gardens?

Many travelers stay in the riads of Mouassine, close to Le Jardin Secret, or in Riad Zitoun, close to the Bahia. Each link opens the walking route from the riad to the nearest garden. We pick our guests up at their riad, wherever it is in the Medina.

• From Riad Akl To Le Jardin Secret about 5 minutes on foot

• From Riad Dar Mo'Da To Le Jardin Secret about 3 minutes on foot

• From Riad Dar Al Kounouz To Le Jardin Secret about 5 minutes on foot

• From Riad Chorfa In Mouassine To Le Jardin Secret about 4 minutes on foot

• From Palais Dar Donab To Le Jardin Secret about 8 minutes on foot

• From Riad Moulay In Riad Zitoun To The Bahia Palace about 8 minutes on foot

• From Le Riad Monceau To The Bahia Palace about 8 minutes on foot

• From Riad Nesma Suites To The Bahia Palace about 7 minutes on foot

• From Riad L'Emir In Kennaria To The Bahia Palace about 10 minutes on foot

Walking times are approximate and depend on the exact entrance of each riad.

When is the best time for a garden and riad walk?

• Spring, March to May orange blossom season, the whole Medina smells of flowers

• Autumn, October and November soft light, warm days and green gardens after the first rains

• Morning, from 9 am calm courtyards, fresh air and the best light for photos

• Summer walk early or late, and enjoy the shade of the courtyards in the hot hours

Every walk is shaped around you, gardens only, riads and architecture, artisans, food or a mix of all. A family once asked to combine hidden gardens, a riad visit and the artisans, and at the end they said they had seen Marrakech the way locals do, not as tourists. Read how we design it in How Do We Design Your Own Tour Of The Medina?

Is a garden and riad walk safe and comfortable?

Yes. We walk at your pace, on quiet and safe paths, with plenty of stops in the shade. Your guide explains the local etiquette, when to take photos and how to behave in a family home. Families, solo travelers and couples all tell us they feel relaxed with a local next to them. One guest from Germany told us she had never felt so safe exploring a foreign city. For more peaceful routes, see our Marrakech Medina Guide, Gardens And Quarters

What Happens On A Real Tour With Us?

Traveler from the United Kingdom

"Our guide made sure we saw the highlights and the hidden places too."

What Do Our Guests Usually Ask On The Tour?

Traveler from Ireland

"The tour was tailored to exactly what we wanted to see."

What Surprises Travelers Most On Our Walks?

Traveler from the United States

"Our guide's passion for the city really shows."

Our tours are rated 5 stars on Google. Read Our Google Reviews

Ready to step behind the walls of the Medina? Book On WhatsApp for a fast reply, or use our Booking Form.

Who Wrote This Guide?

This guide was written by the Local Team of Visit Marrakech Medina, Marrakchis who were born and raised in the Medina and have guided travelers through its gardens, riads and derbs since 2004. Our Medina walk is featured in The Rough Guide to Morocco, and our guiding is recommended by Rick Steves. Everything here comes from what we see and hear on our tours every day.

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Visit Marrakech Medina is an independent local specialist resource dedicated to discovering and understanding the Marrakech Medina. Our Marrakchi team has been guiding visitors through the Medina since 2004. We share firsthand local knowledge of its traditional souks, streets and derbs, neighbourhoods, historic gates, squares, monuments, artisan workshops, traditional crafts, architecture and everyday life. Our guides explore the history, geography, traditions and authentic character of the Medina, providing detailed information about the places, people and activities that make Marrakech's old city unique.

This guide is part of our coverage of the historic gardens and green spaces of Marrakech Medina.

Discover our full range of authentic Marrakech tours on our Visit Marrakech Medina homepage.