Your essential guide to Marrakech

Find your bearings

Think of Mandarin Oriental, Marrakech, as a luxury retreat from this most spirited of cities – a haven of still pools, calming willow trees and rose gardens. If you do fancy a walk, stroll down the palm-fringed drive and head to the Museum of African Contemporary Art Al Maaden next door. It features modern works by some of Africa’s most exciting artists, and a store selling products from local designers. If you feel like a fix of culture and energy, take a 15-minute cab ride to the Medina (the city’s walled old city), or to the commercial, and increasingly hip, Guéliz quarter in the New Town

Feed your mind

A number of small but ambitious galleries have launched in Guéliz in recent years. The minimal David Bloch Gallery shows new local and international art, while nearby Comptoir des Mines Galerie also promotes contemporary work. Open from October 2017, Musée Yves Saint Laurent Marrakech is a celebration of the couturier Yves Saint Laurent’s four decades of game-changing fashion design and love of the Moroccan city he made his second home. It’s housed in a statement building designed by the architects behind London’s Chiltern Firehouse and the Balmain store in New York.

Shop like a local

Marrakech is more than its souks. Of course, a visit to the city without stepping into its labyrinth of stalls (buy slippers, rugs, and the city’s famous black soap) would be an oversight. But there is also a wealth of interesting stores and highly skilled artisans to discover outside the Medina. Guéliz has international brands and local heroes. Yahya, run by a London-born Moroccan designer, makes exquisite one-of-a-kind homewares such as lighting and decorative art using traditional jewellery-making techniques. A few doors down, Kaftan Queen produces garments that are chic, not costume-y. Also head to 33 Rue Majorelle, one of a number of Marrakech concept shops, offering quirky homeware and local up-and-coming designer pieces. The modest Al Mazar shopping centre is home to the http://www.riadyima.com/Nectarome boutique, the brilliant Moroccan skincare brand, some of whose products are used in the treatments at The Spa at Mandarin Oriental, Marrakech.

See some sights

For the last thousand-plus years, the Jemaa el-Fna square has been a meeting place for all of life – head here after dark for the full atmospheric experience, where crowds gather around dancers, musicians, acrobats and storytellers, and Marrakchis eat at the food stalls. In the daytime, escape the heat with a visit to the subtropical Jardin Majorelle. Created by French painter Jacques Majorelle, this small but lush garden was bought in 1980 and restored by Yves Saint Laurent. There are numerous beautiful and historic sites, such as the 19th century Bahia Palace, but for a modern contrast, also keep a look out for examples of Marrakech’s burgeoning street art scene.

Toast your arrival

The Kechmara is a lively bar and restaurant on several levels – join the hipsters on the roof terrace.

Dine in style

And finally...

Be wowed by colourful Riad Yima, with its gallery and tea room, restored by the famed Marrakech-born pop artist Hassan Hajjaj.