Getting Around Marrakech

1. Getting around the city

**On foot, in the medina.** The medina is the city's best walking ground. Jemaa el-Fna square, the souks, Ben Youssef Madrasa and the gates of the ramparts connect on foot, with no transport needed between stops. Cars cannot enter many lanes, and a taxi drops you at the nearest accessible point, never at every door. In the souks you share the way with pedestrians, bicycles, motorbikes and carts. In the evening, the landmarks to walk by are Jemaa el-Fna square and the Koutoubia minaret.

**On foot, in Guéliz and Hivernage.** Guéliz is laid out in wide streets, with pavements and crossings. You walk between shops, cafés and the train station, and neighbouring Hivernage works the same way. The walk between the medina and Guéliz follows the main avenues, but it becomes long with luggage or in full heat.

**Petit taxis.** Petit taxis run inside the city limits. They carry a maximum of three passengers. The law requires the meter, and a passenger may ask for it to be used before getting in. A petit taxi may pick up another passenger heading the same way: this is normal practice, with no extra charge for the first passenger. A petit taxi does not leave the city.

**Grand taxis.** Grand taxis are larger cars, often older Mercedes saloons or Dacia Lodgy models. They do not use meters. They leave from a fixed station, towards a fixed destination, and they leave when the car is full, up to six passengers. They serve trips outside the city, to the airport or to nearby towns and villages. The main station is at Bab Doukkala, near the bus station. A private departure is possible by paying for the remaining seats, after agreeing the price before getting in.

**City buses.** A bus network covers Guéliz, Hivernage and the outer districts, and it runs along the edge of the medina without entering its lanes. It is the cheapest mode in the city, useful for a direct trip between two known points. Bus route maps found online are often old: check the route for the day before relying on a particular line.

**Calèches.** Calèches, horse-drawn carriages, wait near Jemaa el-Fna square and along the ramparts. They serve a tourist loop around the ramparts, not a practical trip from one district to another. Agree the price before boarding.

**What does not exist.** Marrakech has no tram and no metro. The city's public transport rests on buses and taxis. There is also no railway station at the airport: trains leave from the city station, in Guéliz.

2. Getting to and from the city

**By air.** Marrakech Menara Airport, code RAK, is the city's international airport. It lies a few kilometres south-west of the centre, towards Menara. Morocco's airport authority, ONDA, runs the airport. In front of the terminal there is a taxi station and a bus stop. The airport has no rail link: you reach the city train station by road.

**The airport bus.** A bus line links the airport to Jemaa el-Fna square, to Guéliz and to Marrakech train station. It has long been known as line 19, and its stop stands in front of the terminal.

**By train.** Marrakech train station, in Guéliz on Avenue Hassan II, is the southern terminus of the national rail network run by ONCF. Trains run north, to Casablanca, Rabat, Fes and Tangier, with connections depending on the destination. Marrakech is not on the Al Boraq high-speed line, which links Tangier to Casablanca: Marrakech trains are conventional trains. There is no railway line south of Marrakech. To go south, to Agadir, Essaouira or the desert, you need a coach or a car.

**By coach.** Intercity coaches leave from several points, and the stations must not be confused. Bab Doukkala bus station, outside the ramparts, serves local companies and small destinations. The CTM company has its own depot near Bab Doukkala, and Supratours, the ONCF coach arm, has its station beside the train station. Both companies serve the country's main cities. A taxi driver must be given the exact station name, or he may drop you at the wrong bus station.

**By road.** Marrakech is reached by road from the north, from Casablanca and Rabat, and from southern towns by the road axes. Car rental exists at the airport and in town, but driving in the medina makes no sense: the lanes are not made for cars, and parking there is difficult.

3. Commuting in general terms

For a resident, the pattern is simple. Short trips in the medina are made on foot. Trips between the medina, Guéliz and Hivernage are made by petit taxi or bus, depending on distance and time of day. Trips to the Palmeraie, further north, go by road, by taxi or car, because life there is not lived on foot between villas set far apart.

In the morning and evening, the main roads of Guéliz carry the city's traffic, and the edges of Jemaa el-Fna square fill with pedestrians, motorbikes and carts. A trip that looks short on a map can take longer at busy hours or in full heat. For an important appointment, it is better to leave early and keep a margin.

Residents who work in Guéliz and live in the medina, or the other way round, often combine walking and petit taxi: walk in the medina to a gate or a main avenue, then taxi for the new-city part. This split, walking then car, is the daily shape of getting around Marrakech.

4. What a newcomer needs to know first

• **Walk in the medina, ride outside the medina.** Do not look for a taxi for every lane: walk to a gate or an avenue, then take a taxi.
• **Ask for the meter in a petit taxi.** Before getting in, ask for the meter to be used. If the driver refuses, wait for the next taxi.
• **Agree the price before boarding a grand taxi or a calèche.** Neither mode has a meter: the price is fixed before departure, not on arrival.
• **Name the right coach station.** Bab Doukkala, the CTM depot and the Supratours station near the train station are three different points. Give the taxi driver the exact name.
• **Check the bus for the day.** Lines and operators change: check the route and the stop before relying on a bus, especially for the airport.
• **Carry small cash and allow time.** Small shops and taxis often work in cash, and a trip in the medina always takes longer than the distance suggests.
• **This page gives general information.** It sells no ticket, guarantees no timetable, and checks no particular carrier. Current timetables and fares are checked with the operator concerned: ONCF for trains, CTM and Supratours for coaches, and the city network operator for city buses.