1. Jemaa el-Fnaa Square
The medina's main square
Accessibility: Easy
Popularity: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Best time: Sunset / Dusk
Duration: 30 min | 60 min
Entry: Free
Ideal for: Street life / Night shots
Jemaa el-Fnaa is the open heart of the medina, and its storytellers, musicians, and food stalls are why UNESCO named the square a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity in 2001. By day it belongs to juice carts and henna artists. At dusk the grills fire up and smoke drifts across the square under the Koutoubia minaret.
📍 Wowtographer Tip: We shoot the square from above first: café terraces on its edges look over the food stalls with the Koutoubia behind. Then we head down for movement shots as the lamps come on. Snake charmers and monkey handlers expect payment if they end up in your photo, so we frame around them. Keep a hand on your bag in the crowd and wear flat shoes for the uneven paving.
📍 Wowtographer Tip: We shoot the square from above first: café terraces on its edges look over the food stalls with the Koutoubia behind. Then we head down for movement shots as the lamps come on. Snake charmers and monkey handlers expect payment if they end up in your photo, so we frame around them. Keep a hand on your bag in the crowd and wear flat shoes for the uneven paving.
2. Koutoubia Mosque
12th-century Almohad mosque
Accessibility: Easy
Popularity: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Best time: Golden hour
Duration: 30 min | 60 min
Entry: Free
Ideal for: Architecture / Couples
The Almohads built the Koutoubia in the 12th century, and its 77-meter minaret is still the landmark you navigate the old city by. The sandstone tower and its carved arches shift color through the day, from pale pink to deep orange. Its proportions became a model for later minarets, including the Giralda in Seville.
📍 Wowtographer Tip: Only Muslims may enter the mosque, so we work outside. The Koutoubia Gardens let us frame you between palms and rose beds with the minaret behind, and the excavated ruins of the first mosque next door add old-stone texture. Late afternoon puts warm light on the tower. We keep clear of the entrances at prayer times, and modest clothing is a must this close to an active mosque.
📍 Wowtographer Tip: Only Muslims may enter the mosque, so we work outside. The Koutoubia Gardens let us frame you between palms and rose beds with the minaret behind, and the excavated ruins of the first mosque next door add old-stone texture. Late afternoon puts warm light on the tower. We keep clear of the entrances at prayer times, and modest clothing is a must this close to an active mosque.
3. Bahia Palace
19th-century vizier's palace
Accessibility: Easy
Popularity: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Best time: Opening time
Duration: 60 min | 2 hours
Entry: Paid
Ideal for: Architecture / Fashion
Bahia means brilliance, and this palace, built for the grand vizier Si Moussa and expanded by his son Ba Ahmed in the late 1800s, lives up to it. Zellige tiles, painted cedar ceilings, and carved stucco surround a huge marble-paved courtyard. Rooms open onto riad gardens full of orange trees and banana plants.
📍 Wowtographer Tip: Tour groups fill Bahia by mid-morning, so we arrive as the doors open and go straight to the Grand Courtyard while it's still empty. The arched doorways in the smaller courtyards frame full-length portraits nicely. Light inside the covered rooms is soft and flattering. With so much pattern on the walls, a plain dress in one color reads best, and staff do not welcome tripods or bulky rigs.
📍 Wowtographer Tip: Tour groups fill Bahia by mid-morning, so we arrive as the doors open and go straight to the Grand Courtyard while it's still empty. The arched doorways in the smaller courtyards frame full-length portraits nicely. Light inside the covered rooms is soft and flattering. With so much pattern on the walls, a plain dress in one color reads best, and staff do not welcome tripods or bulky rigs.
4. Majorelle Garden
Cobalt-blue artist's garden
Accessibility: Easy
Popularity: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Best time: Opening time
Duration: 30 min | 60 min
Entry: Paid, book ahead
Ideal for: Couples / Color / Gardens
French painter Jacques Majorelle spent decades growing this garden from the 1920s, and he painted his studio the intense blue now named after him. Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Bergé bought and saved it in 1980. Cactus groves, bamboo, and lily ponds sit against yellow pots and that unmistakable shade of blue.
📍 Wowtographer Tip: Tickets are sold online for timed slots and often sell out, so we book the first slot of the day and go straight to the blue villa before it gets crowded. Tripods, filming gear, and flash are not allowed, and the paths are narrow, so we keep the session light and quick. White, yellow, or terracotta outfits pop against the blue; avoid matching it.
📍 Wowtographer Tip: Tickets are sold online for timed slots and often sell out, so we book the first slot of the day and go straight to the blue villa before it gets crowded. Tripods, filming gear, and flash are not allowed, and the paths are narrow, so we keep the session light and quick. White, yellow, or terracotta outfits pop against the blue; avoid matching it.
5. Medina of Marrakesh
Walled old city
Accessibility: Moderate
Popularity: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Best time: Morning
Duration: 60 min | 2 hours | 3 hours
Entry: Free
Ideal for: Street style / Doors
Founded by the Almoravids in the 11th century, the medina is still wrapped in kilometers of red earthen walls, and UNESCO listed it in 1985. Inside, a maze of derbs, the narrow residential lanes, hides carved doors, tiled fountains, and pink walls that bounce warm light onto faces.
📍 Wowtographer Tip: The quiet derbs around Mouassine and Riad Zitoun work better for portraits than the main shopping streets, and painted doors there are easy to find. Mopeds zip through even tiny lanes, so we always keep an eye behind us. Ask before photographing residents and children. Mornings are cooler and calmer. Ignore anyone who says a street is closed and offers to lead you.
📍 Wowtographer Tip: The quiet derbs around Mouassine and Riad Zitoun work better for portraits than the main shopping streets, and painted doors there are easy to find. Mopeds zip through even tiny lanes, so we always keep an eye behind us. Ask before photographing residents and children. Mornings are cooler and calmer. Ignore anyone who says a street is closed and offers to lead you.
6. Ben Youssef Madrasa
Saadian Quranic school
Accessibility: Easy
Popularity: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Best time: Opening time
Duration: 30 min | 60 min
Entry: Paid
Ideal for: Architecture / Symmetry
Once the largest Quranic school in Morocco, Ben Youssef Madrasa was rebuilt by the Saadian sultan Abdallah al-Ghalib in the 1560s. Students lived in small cells around a courtyard of carved stucco, cedar, and zellige with a long marble pool in the middle. That symmetry makes it one of the most photographed interiors in the city.
📍 Wowtographer Tip: The classic frame looks down the length of the marble basin, with you at its edge and the arch of the prayer hall doubled in the water. We get there at opening to take it before the courtyard fills. The upstairs student cells look down on the courtyard and give framed portraits through their small windows. Tickets are sold at the entrance. Neutral or jewel-toned outfits suit the stucco.
📍 Wowtographer Tip: The classic frame looks down the length of the marble basin, with you at its edge and the arch of the prayer hall doubled in the water. We get there at opening to take it before the courtyard fills. The upstairs student cells look down on the courtyard and give framed portraits through their small windows. Tickets are sold at the entrance. Neutral or jewel-toned outfits suit the stucco.
7. Le Jardin Secret
Restored riad garden
Accessibility: Easy
Popularity: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Best time: Morning
Duration: 30 min | 60 min
Entry: Paid
Ideal for: Gardens / Couples / Calm
Behind a plain wall in the Mouassine quarter lies a palace complex whose story goes back to the Saadian era. Restored and opened to visitors in 2016, Le Jardin Secret has two gardens: an Islamic garden laid out in four parts around a central fountain, and an exotic garden of plants from around the world. Water channels run through both.
📍 Wowtographer Tip: The pavilion in the Islamic garden, with its carved arches mirrored in the basin, gives our favorite portraits. The tower is a separate timed ticket; up top, the medina's rooftops and minarets spread out, with the Atlas behind on a clear day. Kids under six can't go up. It is a small, enclosed garden and the paths fill up quickly once the tour groups arrive, so we book the first entry of the day.
📍 Wowtographer Tip: The pavilion in the Islamic garden, with its carved arches mirrored in the basin, gives our favorite portraits. The tower is a separate timed ticket; up top, the medina's rooftops and minarets spread out, with the Atlas behind on a clear day. Kids under six can't go up. It is a small, enclosed garden and the paths fill up quickly once the tour groups arrive, so we book the first entry of the day.
8. Souks of Marrakesh
Covered market lanes
Accessibility: Moderate
Popularity: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Best time: Late morning
Duration: 60 min | 2 hours
Entry: Free
Ideal for: Street style / Color
North of Jemaa el-Fnaa, the souks split into lanes by trade: leather, lanterns, rugs, spices, and the dyers' souk where skeins of wool hang to dry overhead. Slatted reed roofs over the main lanes cut the sunlight into thin stripes. Every stall works as a backdrop, and the colors change every few steps.
📍 Wowtographer Tip: Late morning is when the light falls in stripes through the reed roofs of Souk Semmarine. Lantern shops look best with their lamps lit inside. Many vendors don't want photos without a purchase or a tip, so we ask first or keep the stall soft in the background. Keep moving in narrow lanes so carts can pass, and wear shoes with a good grip.
📍 Wowtographer Tip: Late morning is when the light falls in stripes through the reed roofs of Souk Semmarine. Lantern shops look best with their lamps lit inside. Many vendors don't want photos without a purchase or a tip, so we ask first or keep the stall soft in the background. Keep moving in narrow lanes so carts can pass, and wear shoes with a good grip.
9. El Badi Palace Ruins
Saadian palace ruins
Accessibility: Easy
Popularity: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Best time: Late afternoon
Duration: 60 min | 2 hours
Entry: Paid
Ideal for: History / Fashion / Ruins
Sultan Ahmad al-Mansur began El Badi, 'the Incomparable', after the Battle of the Three Kings in 1578, paying for it partly with Portuguese ransom money. A century later it was stripped of its marble and gold. What survives are huge earthen walls, sunken orange gardens, and a giant central pool, with white storks nesting on the ramparts.
📍 Wowtographer Tip: We climb to the terrace on the ramparts for a wide view over the courtyard and the stork nests, then shoot portraits along the empty pools below. Late afternoon turns the walls deep ochre. There is almost no shade inside, so midday is hard on skin and eyes. The open space suits flowing dresses and bold colors, and there's room to move without crowds behind you.
📍 Wowtographer Tip: We climb to the terrace on the ramparts for a wide view over the courtyard and the stork nests, then shoot portraits along the empty pools below. Late afternoon turns the walls deep ochre. There is almost no shade inside, so midday is hard on skin and eyes. The open space suits flowing dresses and bold colors, and there's room to move without crowds behind you.
10. Medina Rooftop Cafés
Terraces over the spice square
Accessibility: Easy
Popularity: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Best time: Sunset
Duration: 30 min | 60 min
Entry: Paid, book ahead
Ideal for: Couples / Sunset
Marrakesh unwinds on the flat roofs of the medina. Nomad, a restaurant on Rahba Kedima, the old spice square, has terraces looking over the stalls and baskets toward the rooftops. Similar terraces nearby face the minarets as they change color at sunset, which makes them a natural fit for a relaxed couple session over mint tea.
📍 Wowtographer Tip: We reserve a table for the hour before sunset and ask for a spot at the edge of the terrace. Restaurants are usually fine with a short session when you order, but they are working places, so we never block waiters or other guests. On clear winter days the snowy Atlas appears to the south. Bring a light layer: rooftops cool down fast once the sun is gone.
📍 Wowtographer Tip: We reserve a table for the hour before sunset and ask for a spot at the edge of the terrace. Restaurants are usually fine with a short session when you order, but they are working places, so we never block waiters or other guests. On clear winter days the snowy Atlas appears to the south. Bring a light layer: rooftops cool down fast once the sun is gone.
11. Royal Palace Gates
Kasbah gates and palace walls
Accessibility: Easy
Popularity: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Best time: Morning
Duration: 30 min | 60 min
Entry: Free
Ideal for: Architecture / Portraits
The Royal Palace, Dar el-Makhzen, is a working royal residence closed to visitors, but its long ochre walls and grand gates make strong, formal backdrops. In the kasbah next to it stands Bab Agnaou, a carved stone gate from the Almohad era of the 12th century. Ornate doors, tiled arches, and wide squares give the area a calm, stately mood.
📍 Wowtographer Tip: We shoot outside the palace walls and keep guards and police out of the frame; they don't like being photographed and may ask you to move along. Bab Agnaou is easiest early in the morning, before traffic builds around it. The wide squares near the palace work well for long walking shots. Dress elegantly here: tailored looks and long dresses suit the formal setting.
📍 Wowtographer Tip: We shoot outside the palace walls and keep guards and police out of the frame; they don't like being photographed and may ask you to move along. Bab Agnaou is easiest early in the morning, before traffic builds around it. The wide squares near the palace work well for long walking shots. Dress elegantly here: tailored looks and long dresses suit the formal setting.
12. Agafay Desert
Stony desert near the Atlas
Accessibility: Moderate
Popularity: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Best time: Sunset
Duration: 60 min | 2 hours | 3 hours
Entry: Free
Ideal for: Couples / Desert / Sunset
Agafay is a rocky desert of rolling stone hills roughly 30 to 40 kilometers southwest of Marrakesh, close enough for an afternoon trip. There are no big sand dunes, but bare golden hills, scattered olive groves, and the High Atlas peaks behind them make a wide, quiet landscape. Tented camps dot the plateau.
📍 Wowtographer Tip: We drive out in the late afternoon and shoot through sunset, when the hills turn gold and the Atlas glows pink. A camp or a camel ride can add props, and some camps welcome sessions when you book dinner or an activity. The last stretch is on dirt tracks, so a driver who knows the area helps. Evenings get cold, even after hot days, so bring a shawl.
📍 Wowtographer Tip: We drive out in the late afternoon and shoot through sunset, when the hills turn gold and the Atlas glows pink. A camp or a camel ride can add props, and some camps welcome sessions when you book dinner or an activity. The last stretch is on dirt tracks, so a driver who knows the area helps. Evenings get cold, even after hot days, so bring a shawl.