By late evening the food stalls in Jemaa el-Fnaa are lit and busy, musicians and performers hold pockets of the square, and the lanes of the medina behind them thin out into quiet, walled alleys. In the newer parts of the city, rooftop terraces and lounges fill more slowly, and some keep going into the early hours.
Marrakesh nights divide between the medina, where the evening is built around the square, the souks and courtyard riads, and the districts outside the old walls, where bars, lounges and nightclubs are concentrated. It suits travellers who want a lively, walkable evening in the old city, and those who prefer to eat late and then move on to a bar or club. Alcohol is not widely available in the medina, so the choice of where to drink shapes the night.
Where to go out in Marrakesh
1. Jemaa el-Fnaa and the medina
The main square of the medina is the centre of the evening. It is surrounded by souks and alleyways, and there is always something to watch, whether snake charmers, acrobats, soothsayers or musicians. As it gets dark the square fills with food stalls and the music and crowds grow louder and denser.
This suits an evening of wandering, eating at the stalls and watching rather than sitting in a bar. Note that there is only a very limited selection of places selling alcohol inside the medina.
2. Rue Bab Agnaou and the Kasbah
Directly south of Jemaa el-Fnaa, Rue Bab Agnaou runs for about five minutes to the Bab Agnaou gate, the most impressive of the medina's rampart entrances, which leads into the Kasbah district. The Kasbah is calmer and less abrasive than the streets around the square, and holds the Royal Palace, the former El-Badi Palace and the Saadian Tombs, along with its own small bazaars, food stalls, restaurants, hotels and riads.
It suits a quieter evening: a walk through the gate, dinner, and a drink at one of the medina's few licensed spots. Hotel Grand Tazi on Rue Bab Agnaou has a public bar serving beer and wine that is not overly expensive.
3. Licensed bars and lounges in the medina
Because alcohol is scarce inside the old city, the handful of licensed places tend to be destinations in themselves. Chesterfield Pub (Bar Anglais), in the Hotel Nassim on Avenue Mohammed V, is styled as an English pub but serves Moroccan lager and has an outside pool in a courtyard with palm trees; it draws a mainly local clientele and is less touristy than it sounds. Le Salama, on Rue des Banques off Jemaa el-Fnaa, has a happy hour from 17:00 until closing, shishas, belly dancing and waiters in fezzes, with a relaxed-to-party atmosphere and space for groups of up to about ten.
These suit a group that wants a fixed base for the evening rather than moving between venues. Narwama, on Rue Koutoubia, is a restaurant and bar with a fire fountain in the centre and an open roof around the patio, chilled in atmosphere and good for pre-dinner drinks.
4. Guéliz and the districts outside the medina
Outside the old walls the nightlife is more conventional, with cocktail bars, lounges and nightclubs. Montecristo on Rue Ibn Aicha is a nightclub with a rooftop terrace. Jad Mahal on Rue Haroun Errachid is a lounge bar and formal restaurant. Sky Lounge, at the Pearl Hotel on Rue du Temple, is a rooftop lounge. Comptoir Darna on Avenue Echouhada is a cocktail bar and nightclub with an elegant dress code.
This suits a later, dressier night and anyone who wants to drink without the constraints of the medina. Expect to travel between venues by taxi rather than on foot.
5. Hammams and spa evenings
Hammams are baths, often placed near mosques to make ablutions easier, and they remain part of how an evening or late afternoon can be spent. Les Bains de Marrakech, on Derb Sedra inside Bab Agnaou, is tourist-oriented in a good sense: couples can take a hammam together in a private room, there is a long list of massages and treatments from thirty minutes to a full day, and reception staff speak English, though the scrubbing and massage staff have only basic vocabulary. Booking two days ahead is required.
Traditional neighbourhood hammams such as Hammam Dar el-Bacha on Rue Fatima Zohra and Hammam Bab Doukkala on Rue Bab Doukkala keep separate hours for men and women, and Hamam Essalama on Rue Moulay Abdellah has friendly staff but no English or French. This suits an early evening, before dinner, rather than a late night.
6. Chez Ali Fantasia, La Palmeraie
About ten kilometres north of the city, Chez Ali Fantasia puts on a night-time show with horses, acrobats on Arabian horses firing rifles in the air, horseback acrobatics and belly dancing, staged in a large imitation of an old castle.
It suits an evening when you want a set-piece spectacle rather than a bar or a square, and it is best treated as a booked outing with transport arranged.
How a night out unfolds
The sources describe the medina's evening as building gradually: the square is active day and night, but it comes alive as darkness falls, with people drawn toward the food stalls and the music growing louder as the night goes on. Licensed venues in and around the city tend to open in the late afternoon or evening and run late, with happy hours in the early evening and clubs continuing into the small hours. Hammams are generally a daytime or early-evening activity, with some traditional ones closing in the late afternoon. Beyond this, the sources do not give detailed timings for eating and going out.
Festivals and events worth timing a trip around
- Unity Day, 31 October
- Anniversary of the Green March, 6 November
- Independence Day, 18 November
- New Year's Day, 1 January
- Anniversary of the Independence Manifesto, 11 January
- Amazigh New Year, 14 January
- Ramadan start, February (tentative)
- Eid al-Fitr, March (tentative), with a holiday the following day
- Labour Day, 1 May
- Eid al-Adha, May (tentative), with a holiday the following day
Frequently asked questions
Can you drink alcohol in the medina?
There is only a very limited selection of places selling alcohol inside the medina. Licensed options include Chesterfield Pub in the Hotel Nassim, Le Salama on Rue des Banques, Narwama on Rue Koutoubia and the public bar at Hotel Grand Tazi on Rue Bab Agnaou.
What is there to do in the evening without drinking?
Jemaa el-Fnaa is the main option, with performers, musicians and food stalls active into the night. You can also walk from the square down Rue Bab Agnaou to the Kasbah, which is calmer and has its own bazaars, food stalls and restaurants, or book a hammam or spa treatment earlier in the evening.
Do hammams have separate times for men and women?
Some traditional hammams do. Hammam Dar el-Bacha lists men at 12:00–13:00 and women at 13:00–21:00, and Hammam Bab Doukkala lists women at 07:00–19:00 and men from 20:00. Les Bains de Marrakech offers private rooms where couples can take a hammam together.
Where do people go later at night?
The nightclubs and lounges are outside the medina. Montecristo, Jad Mahal, Sky Lounge and Comptoir Darna are among the named venues, and Comptoir Darna applies an elegant dress code.
Decide before you set out whether your evening belongs to the square and the medina or to the lounges beyond the walls, and plan your transport accordingly.