Adventures with a kid

Top 10 Toddler-Friendly Things to Do in Marrakech (Family Guide)

🐪Exploring Marrakech 🇲🇦with a toddler? Here are some of our favourite places from our adventure! 🐫

1. Le Jardin Secret 🪴This was our favourite garden as there were fewer crowds and more space to ourselves. They have fish in a (tiny) pond, and an irrigation system that runs along the pavement, which is a great spot for playing Pooh sticks / leaves to see how far they can travel!
2. Jardin Marjoelle. This is the YSL garden that’s beautifully set up. It was so busy when we visited (4:30pm on a Friday), and everyone seemed to have main character energy ensuring there was only space for them to have photos, but had started emptying out by the time we left, so I think a later in the day booking is best. Also make sure you pre-book your tickets well in advance, as we were limited (plays the museum isn’t open on some days). We loved the museum and seeing all of Hamish Bowles YSL collection on display.
3. The souks! 🛍️What trip to Marrakesh would be complete without a trip to the Souks? We had our toddler in a carrier (we used an Oscha ring sling, but we also use a Integra Solar) to keep him out of the way of the motorbikes but really we didn’t find it too crowded/dangerous (or any of the scare stories you see online!). Definitely haggle though – and start at about 30-40% of the price they initially state.
4. Rooftop bars, restaurants and ice cream. We went to an amazing ice cream restaurant called Argana Marrakech which has ice cream and sorbet on the top floor overlooking the main square. We also ate at a few other rooftop restaurants which were great.
5. Dar el Bacha. So the main draw of this is the Bacha Coffee shop, but that’s not really our jam, so we just visited the house / museum. Bit of a weird one as everything is pretty much from the 50s or younger, but the actual architecture is beautiful. We got there about 11am and all the tickets for the coffee shop were sold out, but the line into the museum went quickly.
6. Visiting Camels. This was probably our highlight. We rode camels, but actually I don’t really know how I feel about it, but I would ride a horse, but not an elephant, so was conflicted with a camel, but the ones we rode appeared healthy, well looked after and were calm, plus they were great with the toddler – he gave them a massive hug at the end, which was very cute. Our hotel also had 3 camel, so we went to visit them daily! Camels are a new family fave!
7. Bahia Palace. This was our favourite stately building of them all. It had a bit of earthquake damage from the 2024 earthquake, but the majority of the building was both spectacular and in good condition.

• A trip to the Atlas Mountains. We booked a private tour through Airbnb (as we thought with a toddler it would be easier to go at our own pace). The drive was a bit long, so next time we would look to spend a night in the mountains, but it was doable for a day trip, especially with someone else driving! We hiked up to a waterfall (which was quite busy and had some tricky parts, like uneven grounds, drops
• A pool day. We stayed in a hotel (Club Med La Palmeraie – let me know if you want a referral code for £200 discount!), which had an amazing kids pool area, then multiple other pools. We had a few pool only days, and would also pop to the pool before or after a trip into central Marrakech.
• Dinner at Narwama. Or a similar show type restaurant. But don’t make the same mistake we did – the shows don’t start until later (9:30ish), so don’t book dinner at 7pm like we did, as that’s a really long time to keep a toddler entertained! There was dancing, fire, etc!

Final thoughts: is Marrakech a good holiday for a toddler?

Yes! Mainly as the people we met were so friendly and welcoming to our son.

It’s so different in terms of culture, architecture, climate to the UK, and it feels like it’s the closest place you can have such a different experience.

If you’re not ready for Marrakech, why not take a trip to Grenada, and visit the Alhambra instead?

✈️ Planning a trip soon?

Let me know what you’ve got planned!