This is Part 2 of the 2-Part guest post by Lynn on travel attractions in Morocco. Lynn likes shiny things (aka luxury travel), photographing animals and ticking places off her bucket-list even though she hopes not to die so soon. If you liked this article, do visit her website at www.thetravelynn.com. Follow her @thetravelynn on instagram, facebook and twitter!

Recently voted as the favourite travel destination in the world, the distinctly discernible ash-pink, clay colour of Marrakesh is now instantly recognisable everywhere. Marrakesh offers a multitude of exciting activities— from exploring the gastronomical delights of Moroccan cuisine to walking in gardens sprinkled with human remains, there is something to do for everyone!

I’ve had the privilege of visiting the beautiful city of Marrakesh recently and here is a continuation of the honest review of the 6 attractions I’ve visited and how it compares to the rest.  

4. El Badi Palace

Ruins of El Badi Palace

Source: Shutterstock

In ruins, I find that El Badi is one of the most underrated attractions in Marrakesh. The TripAdvisor rating is poor, with many complaining that it’s in derelict. Well duh, it’s in ruins?

El Badi Palace

I found it to be extremely beautiful to photograph, and haunting as well. It reminded me of Shelley’s Ozymandias. Oh, the minuscule nature of man, no matter how great or how wealthy the civilisation, time erodes all. We are all little specks of dust floating on an unremarkable rock, floating around among more unremarkable rocks and in time, we are all nothing.

Deep.

El Badi Water Feature

El Badi also has a museum exhibit attached to it. Unfortunately, I do not have any photographs of the exhibit at the time of my visit but I thought it was quite enjoyable and kept to the “we are all unimportant in the grand scale of things” theme. But I’ve seen reviews on TripAdvisor which were complaining about the exhibit. But then again, there were reviews complaining that El Badi was in ruins.

Not quite sure what happened here but it is an amazing spot for more tourist shots.

Entrance fees to El Badi are not expensive at about 20 dirhams if I remember correctly. I would definitely recommend you to visit.

5. Bahia Palace

Marrakesh Bahia Palace

Source: Shutterstock

Ok, this was the only attraction that I didn’t enjoy one single bit. According to the official website, the Bahia palace is a big old house and a set of houses which were collected and converted into a palace. It was messy, disjointed and we were just lost going around. When we were there, they were doing a rehearsal for an event which entailed loud, deep booms of confused bass. There were impossible crowds, the signs weren’t clear or tourist-friendly and compared to the Ben Youssef madrasa, the architecture was nothing spectacular. I only managed to get ONE semi-decent shot because the place was crawling with tourists.

Bahia Palace

This cat is accurately expressing my discontent upon leaving the palace.

The entrance fee is relatively low, maybe that’s why there’s a tourist infestation. There needs to be serious signages regarding what is going on and some crowd control. Do not recommend.

6. Jardin Majorelle

Jardin Majorelle

Source: Shutterstock

The Jardin Majorelle is currently ranked #1 on TripAdvisor and is scattered with the ashes of the late Yves Saint-Laurent. Unfortunately, I didn’t like it as much as I thought I would have, even taking into consideration that Jardin Majorelle is essentially a holy site for YSL fanatics. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not that I hate the cobalt blue that is excessively splashed on all the walls. Or the unimpressive fountains.  

Fountain in front of Jardin Majorette

Jardin Majorelle Bookshop entrance

No, but really, everything was blue

I didn’t like it because it’s a sad excuse of a garden. Ok fine, maybe I’m a little biased. Having lived in Singapore all my life, surrounded with lush greenery and prime breeding locations for mosquitoes, Jardin Majorelle just didn’t appeal to me as a garden.

Jardin Majorelle Gardens

I wouldn’t recommend this attraction if you just want to see some greenery, there are many better places to go. I found this attraction to be exceptionally underwhelming, especially since we’ve heard so many locals gushing about it. I would recommend it if you’re a huge YSL fan, like the colour blue or phallic objects.

So there you go, 6 attractions in Marrakesh! From one of the first universities in the world to a garden scattered with human remains, I hope this will help you make a decision on what to look out for in Marrakesh. Happy travels!

*All images were taken by thetravelynn.com unless stated otherwise.

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