Last Updated on: 10th December 2023, 05:22 pm

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Majorelle YSL museum in Mmarrakech

Majorelle Garden & Palmeraie Camel Ride

  • ☑ Hotel pickup and drop-off.
  • ☑ Entrance fees to Majorelle Garden and Berber Museum
  • ☑ 1-hour camel ride with tea stop at local old house, if option small group tour is selected
  • ☑ A/C, Wi-Fi Car or Van with Friendly Multilingual tour driver at your disposal during your tour
  • ☑ Duration: 4 hours
  • ⭐️Rating: 4.7 out of 5 stars (179 reviews)

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Before getting to Marrakech this spring, I never heard about Jardin Majorelle, blue Majorelle, YSL Garden, or anything else related to the home of Yves Saint Laurent in the city of Marrakech.

Now I’m happy I had the opportunity to see this wonderful garden and private residence where nature meets architecture to create what I would have loved to be my own home and gardens.

Majorelle YSL museum in Marrakech

Majorelle Garden & YSL museum in Marrakech

Majorelle Garden is now on my list of best 10 things to do in Marrakech.

Who created Jardin Majorelle in Marrakech?

Jacques Majorelle, the Orientalist artist, and Paul Sinoir, the architect who created the villa, have done an awesome job. In the beginning, Jacques Majorelle started by buying this four-acre plot near the palm grove in Marrakech. He planted the wonderful garden and he built a Moroccan style house.

Later on, in 1931, he had Paul Sinoir design and build a Cubist style villa on this land. Majorelle was in love with the vibrant blue color of Moroccan tiles. He painted his villa and many of the features in his garden in this color. He bought more land and extended the garden.

In 1947, Majorelle turned his villa and the surrounding garden into a public museum, in order to afford the high maintenance cost of this venue (source of information: Wikipedia).

Three years later, Jacques Majorelle sold the property. The new owner didn’t bother with maintenance, so the site has been slowly turning into a ruin.

Over three decades later, Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Berge rediscovered and renovated the lovely property.

Majorelle YSL museum in Mmarrakech

Where Is Jardin Majorelle in Marrakech?

Jardin Majorelle is outside the Medina, on Yves Saint Laurent Street, not far from Gueliz. This is a good 30 minutes walk from Djema-el-Fna, if you want to have some exercise during your vacation.

The neighborhoods are nice and safe, so you don’t have to worry about being robbed or stuff like that. Anyway, since Jardin Majorelle closes by 5pm, you’ll walk in full daylight.

Unfortunately, mobile internet in roaming in Marrakech is incredibly expensive, so you should either have a paper map or save your route to be able to access it offline.

Your other option to get to Majorelle Gardens from Djema-el-Fna (or La Koutubia) is to take a taxi. The ride shouldn’t take more than 15 minutes.

In fact, it’s nicer to get to Majorelle by taxi and then take a walk back to the Medina.

What Is the Best Time To Visit Majorelle Gardens?

In my experience, getting there about 1.5-2 hours before the closing time is the best. The line is shorter, the waiting time is also shorter, and you have the opportunity to enjoy the golden hour, with its lovely, yellowish light that makes everything look so beautiful.

If you prefer the first part of the day to visit the gardens of Majorelle and the YSL museum, you’d better be there first thing in the morning, which is at 8-8:30am. During the day, the line is huge, and you’ll have to do it in full sun, as there’s not much of a shadow on that sidewalk.

There is a chance to skip the line if you buy the most expensive ticket that includes the garden and both YSL and the Berber museums.

Another good chance to skip the line and the walk from Medina to Majorelle is to purchase this tour that includes visits to Menara and Majorelle gardens, as well as pickup from your hotel or riad.

If you decide to take the tour, you won’t have to bother with anything else than showing up in front of your hotel by the right time. I’m not sure if they take you back to your hotel, but I went on other tours and the driver took us back.

Can You Buy Majorelle Garden Tickets Online?

One of the methods to avoid long waiting time in front of the ticket office is to buy a tour like this one, here. The tour I linked you to includes also a horse and carriage ride through Marrakech – this could be nice.

What Is There Inside Jardin de Majorelle?

The short answer is PEOPLE!

All those who flocked in front of the gates to buy a ticket are now inside of what is a relatively small space, walking on the narrow alleyways, some of them talking loudly, and almost all of them taking photos.

If you want to enjoy Jardin Majorelle, you must ignore the crowds. Fortunately, the beauty of the plants will help a great deal, so you’ll soon forget that you are in the middle of a crowd that barely moves.

This 12-acre landscape has enchanting corners to discover around every turn, revealing 300 plant species from five continents including cacti, bamboos, palms, water lilies, and more.

Visitors can easily spend a few hours escaping Marrakech’s hustle and bustle by getting lost in Majorelle’s almost surreal beauty.

As you step along the alleys, you’ll be impressed with the cool shade that makes you feel refreshed. After doing the line under the scorching heat of the noon sun, you’ll love this garden even more.

I didn’t count them, but I think there were hundreds of species of cacti, thorny, fat and beautiful, in all shapes and sizes, with or without cats sleeping in their shadow.

Jardin Majorelle Marrakech fat round cactus

Jardin de Majorelle - old cactus and orange flowers

The tall palm trees and the vividly colored bougainvillea are a match made in heaven.

Jardin Majorelle Marrakech palm trees and bougainvillea

If you visit the gardens on a sunny day, you’ll see the intricate designs created in the sand by the shadows of so many different types of leaves.

Majorelle Garden palm tree shadow

The trees and the flowers reflect in the pond, amplifying the effect of the shadows even more.

Jardin de Majorelle pond with flowers and sun

The blue and the yellow go hand in hand in a lively dance.

Majorelle garden in Marrakech - the koy fish tank with blue and yellow decorative pots

The bamboo forest is incredible. If you’ve already seen a lot of bamboo forests in your life, you may not be so impressed. However, this was my first time, so I couldn’t believe the beauty of these slim and yet so tough plants rising above everything else around.

Some of these reeds had names of people deeply engraved in their flesh. I don’t know what drives some to do this. Maybe sustainable tourism is just another myth. Anyway, Majorelle’s bamboo forest is amazing.

Majorelle Gardens bamboo forest

You don’t want to know how much I had to wait to take the photo below without people in it. The setting was so beautiful that all Instagram girls felt the urge to have a selfie in this spot.

Majorelle blue wall with windows

If you want to see a plan of the Majorelle garden, visit this web page.

You’ll notice that it includes a Cafe Majorelle – this is a beautiful enclosure where you can have a cup of coffee or a tea. However, you may have to wait for a table to become available.

If you don’t want to wait, you can have your coffee outside, just in front of the museum. There is a small restaurant that serves traditional Moroccan foods and drinks. Their lamb tajine with prunes is delicious.

Is Jardin Majorelle Marrakech Worth Visiting?

The Majorelle Garden is one of Marrakech’s most popular and stunning attractions.

Created in the 1920s by French painter Jacques Majorelle over a period of 40 years, this lush botanical garden features an electric shade of bold cobalt blue set against vibrant plants and palms. The gorgeous art deco villa and Berber Museum within the gardens add to its charm.

Majorelle Garden’s colorful array of plants, ponds, and fountains makes it an oasis of serenity amidst the city’s commotion. It also makes it one of the most beautiful Marrakech gardens, if not the best.

Despite the crowds, Jardin Majorelle has a unique charm that makes it worth visiting.

I would have loved more to be alone in there, to be able to stare for hours at those beautiful plants and to listen to the birds rather than to conversations about nothing.

In fact, I’m telling you that I’d love to have such an oasis all to myself. Until then, I’d visit Majorelle again if I returned, even if I only had 3 days in Marrakech.

Violeta Matei