Jardin Majorelle

The blue is not Moroccan. It's the blue of a French painter's obsession — Jacques Majorelle spent forty years building this garden, mixing the exact cobalt pigment that now bears his name. When Yves Saint Laurent bought the property in 1980, he was saving it from a hotel developer's bulldozers. Majorelle arrived in Marrakech in 1919 to cure his tuberculosis. He stayed for the light. The garden began as a painter's studio surrounded by plants; it grew into twelve acres of cacti, bougainvillea, bamboo, and water. The blue walls came later — an attempt to capture the intensity of Moroccan sky in paint. The garden is dense, almost jungle-like in places. Paths wind between towering cacti and lily-covered pools. The Berber Museum inside the blue studio holds Saint Laurent's collection of North African textiles and jewelry. His ashes, and Majorelle's, are scattered here. Best time: Opening time (8am) or last two hours before close. Midday is crushed. Allow: 1-2 hours Combine with: YSL Museum next door. Book online to skip queues.