Marrakech Shopping

Marrakech Shopping information

Best Areas

You can enter the souks from Djemaa el Fna and walk around for the rest of your life and not see everything. If you have a good map, you won't need a guide, or, if you prefer just to wander around and get lost, which can be quite entertaining, you can pay a small child a tip to lead you out. It is a never-ending maze of products, usually grouped together. Each souk, or market, is named after its product such as the Souk Cherratine (leather), Souk Rahba Qdima or La Criée Berbère (auction), Souk Smata Babouches (slippers) and Souk as-Smarrine (fabrics and souvenirs). The souks are generally open every day from 08h00/09h00-20h00/21h00. You will of course have to haggle when making a purchase: to get a good idea of what prices simple crafts should be, visit the government-run Ensemble Artisanal, on Avenue Mohammed V. There are some more sophisticated outlets for shopping if you are looking for the best quality and have the money to spare. You will need to venture outside of the Medina to shops located in and around the large hotels, particularly in the Gueliz area where you can even find boutiques with air conditioning. For Berber rugs try La Porte d'Or in the Souk as-Smarrine or Dar El Kasbah (41 Rue Arsat El Maach) in the Medina. Handmade and antique jewellery can be found at Jewellery Saharian (176 Rahba Lakdima). If you're looking to update your palm fringed riad in the Medina or you just want to find some new ornaments for your flat, check out Porte d'Orient (9 Blvd Mansour Eddahbi, Gueliz), which specialises in woodwork, embroidery and pottery; much of it custom-made. Again in Gueliz, Scenes de Lin (70 Rue de la Liberté) is a good place to hunt for textiles and furniture in modern designs with a Moroccan flair.

What to Buy

Marrakech is arguably the best place in Morocco for buying a handmade Berber rug. The pile rugs of the High Atlas, which are what you will mainly find in Marrakech's souks are generally made of wool and have geometric designs, many of them decades old. For good rugs expect to pay anywhere from several thousand dirhams. The buying process is usually long and tiring: first you'll be shown 50 rugs until you find the one you like. Then you may drink mint tea for a while, talk with the salesman about random topics such as the weather and your country. All the while the bargaining process is going on, slowly back and forth. It may take hours, and although the salesman may try to make you think he's lost money on the deal - don't believe a word of it! Other finds in the markets include slippers, or babouches, brightly coloured, pointy-toed footwear that strike up images of Arabian princesses. Spices and incense of all sorts can be found in huge overflowing baskets. Pottery is also worth looking out for if you can transport it without breaking it. Iron mirror frames and ornaments are also quite charming albeit somewhat heavy to carry home.

Opening Hours

In general, shops and boutiques open between 08h00/09h00-12h30 and 14h00-19h00. The souks are generally open every day from 08h00/09h00-20h00/21h00. Most shops/souks are closed on Fridays.

Tax Refund

There is currently no tax refund system in Morocco.