Jemaa el-Fna Ben Youssef Madrasa Route
How do you walk from Jemaa el-Fna to the Ben Youssef Madrasa?
It's a walk of about 1 km, around 15 to 20 minutes, from the great square north through the souks to Place Ben Youssef, in the oldest heart of the Medina. There are two good ways. The souk street of Semmarine, straight and lively, or the quieter route through Derb Dabachi, Rahba Kedima and Sidi Ishak, where the crowds thin out and the real neighbourhood begins. Both end at the same small square, with the Ben Youssef Mosque, the Madrasa, the Almoravid Koubba and the Marrakech Museum around you. Our Private Medina Walking Tour follows this route with the stories behind it, and our Private Souks Shopping Tour stops with the artisans along the way.
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.
The Ben Youssef Madrasa is one of the most beautiful buildings in Morocco, and one of the hardest to find on your own. The souks twist, the phone map jumps from street to street, and friendly strangers offer to “show you the way” to a shop instead. This is the route we walk with our guests, with every turn explained, so you arrive calm and still have energy for the carved cedar and the zellige.
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 Lead You To Ben Youssef Without Getting Lost? Our private walking tour, the souks, Sidi Ishak, Ben Youssef, the Kasbah, the Mellah and the herbalist.
• Which Artisans Work Near Ben Youssef? Our private souks shopping tour, metalworkers, woodworkers, leather, lanterns and spices.
• Where Can You Find A Rug On The Way Back? Our private rug shopping tour, weaving cooperatives, Beni Ourain, Azilal and kilims.
• Can Your Family Explore The Old Medina With Its Own Guide? All our tours are private, one guide, one group, one truly personal experience.
• Can You Walk To Ben Youssef With A Guide Today? Last-minute private tours, often within the hour.
Which route should you take to Ben Youssef?
• Route 1, Souk Semmarine the easiest to follow, about 1 km, 15 to 20 minutes, straight through the main souk street, busy with shops
• Route 2, Derb Dabachi, Rahba Kedima and Sidi Ishak about 1.2 km, 20 minutes, quieter and more local, passing the spice square and a neighbourhood market
Our tip, go by one and come back by the other. Together they make the loop we call The Secret Loop Of The Marrakech Medina, the walk most visitors never do.
• Jemaa El-Fna To The Ben Youssef Madrasa On Google Maps about 1 km, 15 to 20 minutes
• Jemaa El-Fna To Rahba Kedima about 500 meters, 7 minutes
• Rahba Kedima To The Ben Youssef Madrasa about 600 meters, 9 minutes
What is the route by Souk Semmarine, step by step?
Step 1, start at the Café de France
Stand with your back to the main entrance of the Café de France. In front of you, across the small open space by the Kharbouch Mosque, is the entrance to Souk Semmarine, the main street of the souks.
Step 2, go through the great gate of Semmarine
Walk in and keep straight. After about 400 meters from the café, you pass under the big arched gate of Semmarine. Locals say the name comes from smar, the nails, because this is where horses, mules and donkeys from the Atlas were once shod. Read more in What Is Souk Semmarine Like?
Step 3, keep straight, don't turn
The covered street runs for about 1 km, lined with lanterns, babouches, scarves and leather. Shopkeepers will call to you. A smile and a “la, shukran” is enough. Ignore the side streets for now and stay on the main axis.
Step 4, follow the narrow end, Souk Anaal
Toward the end, the street narrows. This last stretch is Souk Anaal, from na'al, the word for babouches. It brings you out onto Rue Azbezt, near Kaat Benahid.
Step 5, turn right onto Rue Azbezt to Place Ben Youssef
Follow Rue Azbezt a short way to Place Ben Youssef. The Madrasa entrance is in the lane beside the Ben Youssef Mosque, with the Marrakech Museum next door and the Almoravid Koubba facing them.
What is the quieter route by Rahba Kedima and Sidi Ishak?
Step 1, take Derb Dabachi
From the Café de France, walk up the right side of Jemaa el-Fna and take the second street on the right, Derb Dabachi. It's a local shopping street, with clothes and kaftans for Marrakchis rather than souvenirs.
Step 2, turn left onto Biadine
After about 200 meters, turn left into Rue Biadine. Here the small bazaars begin. Follow it, then Znikat Rahba, for about 400 to 600 meters.
Step 3, cross Rahba Kedima, keeping right
You arrive at Rahba Kedima, the old spice square, the second largest square of the Medina after Jemaa el-Fna. Don't turn left into the busy shopping corner. Keep right and follow the flow of people. Look up and you'll see a mosque on your right.
Step 4, follow Rue Sidi Ishak
Leave the square on Rue Sidi Ishak and stay on the main street, careful not to take the small derb on the right. The street narrows from about 4 meters to 3, but it remains the main axis. You reach Place Sidi Ishak, a real neighbourhood square, with vegetable sellers, stacks of tagines, butchers and a ferran, the public bread oven.
Step 5, turn left onto Rue Azbezt
From Sidi Ishak, take Rue Azbezt on the left. It brings you straight to Place Ben Youssef. By now, the crowds are almost gone, and you're walking where the Medina began.
Lost for a moment? It happens to everyone. Read Why Does Google Maps Fail In The Medina? and Main Routes From Jemaa El-Fna To The Souks, which explains The H Rule, the simple trick that keeps you oriented between Semmarine and Rahba Kedima.
What will you find at Place Ben Youssef?
This small square is surrounded by four of the most important buildings of the old city. It's also the oldest part of the Medina, the heart of the first city, where the water of the khettaras, the underground channels from the Atlas, once arrived.
• The Ben Youssef Madrasa the old Quranic school, rebuilt by the Saadians in the 16th century, with its marble courtyard, its pool, carved cedar, stucco and zellige, and the tiny rooms where students once lived
• The Ben Youssef Mosque one of the oldest mosques of the city, closed to non-Muslims, admired from outside
• The Almoravid Koubba a small domed pavilion from the 12th century, the oldest monument of Marrakech and the only Almoravid building still standing in the city
• The Marrakech Museum in the 19th-century palace of Dar Menebhi, with a vast covered courtyard and a huge brass chandelier
Plan about 45 minutes to 1 hour for the Madrasa. For the full story of the building, read What Should You Know Before Visiting The Ben Youssef Madrasa? The Madrasa and the square are part of the Medina Of Marrakech, A UNESCO World Heritage Site.
What can you see around Ben Youssef after your visit?
Around the square, the lanes of the oldest artisans begin. This is a maze, so the local rule is simple, look, then come back to the square before setting off again.
• The metalworkers the hammering of Souk Haddadine, where iron is still shaped by hand
• The woodworkers turning and carving cedar in the souks toward Rahba Kedima
• The dyers skeins of colored wool hung above the lanes, see Where Can You Watch The Dyers Of Marrakech?
• The last workshops crafts that are slowly disappearing, see Who Are The Last Artisans Of The Marrakech Medina?
Fewer than 1 in 100 visitors come this far into the Medina, and that's a chance. It's what allows the artisans to keep working here, with space and calm.
• Ben Youssef To Le Jardin Secret about 600 meters, 8 minutes
• Ben Youssef Back To Souk Semmarine about 700 meters, 10 minutes
Which riads are close to Ben Youssef?
The quiet quarters of Derb El Cadi, Azbezt and Kaat Benahid are only a few minutes from the Madrasa. Each link opens the walking route from the riad. We pick our guests up at their riad, wherever it is in the Medina.
• From Riad Jnan El Cadi In Azbezt about 4 minutes on foot
• From Riad Les Ammonites In Derb El Cadi about 4 minutes on foot
• From Riad Maizie about 5 minutes on foot
• From Riad Johara On Rue Azbezt about 3 minutes on foot
• From Riad Zineb about 5 minutes on foot
• From Riad Dar Rassam about 5 minutes on foot
• From Riad Tibibt In Kaat Benahid about 4 minutes on foot
• From Dar Assiya In Kaat Benahid about 4 minutes on foot
• From Le Farnatchi about 3 minutes on foot
Walking times are approximate and depend on the exact entrance of each riad.
What should you know before you go?
• Go early or late the Madrasa is calmest at opening time and in the last hour before closing
• Bring cash for the entrance tickets, and check the opening hours on the day
• Wear comfortable shoes the lanes are uneven and the walk is about 2 km there and back
• Keep to the main axis look into the side lanes, then come back to the main street, the way locals explore
• Ignore “it's closed today” people who tell you the Madrasa is closed and offer another way usually want to lead you to a shop
• Ask before photographing artisans most are happy to say yes with a smile
• Take a tea break see Where To Stop For Mint Tea During A Medina Walk
What do travelers ask about walking to Ben Youssef?
Can you get lost on the way?
A little, and that's part of the fun. Stay on Semmarine or on the Rahba Kedima and Sidi Ishak axis, and ask a shopkeeper for “Ben Youssef”, everyone knows it.
Can you take a taxi to the Madrasa?
Not really. Cars can't enter these lanes, so you'll walk at least part of the way. From Jemaa el-Fna, walking is the simplest.
Is it a good walk for families?
Yes. Children love the spice square, the woodworkers and the pool in the Madrasa courtyard. Watch for motorbikes in the narrow lanes.
How long should you plan?
About 20 minutes to walk there, 1 hour in the Madrasa, and another hour for the square, the Koubba and the artisans. A half day is perfect.
Explore every quarter of the old city in our Marrakech Medina Guide, Quarter By Quarter, and for the stories behind the names of the streets, read What Can't You Find In Other Marrakech Guides?
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?
Family from Canada
"He explained the history in a way that kept our whole family engaged."
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 walk to Ben Youssef with a local? 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 souks, squares 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 geography and walking routes of Marrakech Medina.
Discover our full range of authentic Marrakech tours on our Visit Marrakech Medina homepage.