TOP 5 GARDENS IN MARRAKECH

 

Gardens are key to Islamic culture and Marrakech is a city where it’s easy to access nature. Here’s our pick of the best gardens to visit in spring. 

 

ANIMA GARDENS

 

Plunge yourself in the beautiful world of the Anima Gardens where art meets horticulture. Created by Austrian multimedia artist André Heller, the gardens are filled with gazebos, ponds, giant art and zellige-tiled corners. Playful, colourful and wonderfully restful. There’s also a cute cafe. 

 

LE SECRET JARDIN

 

If you’re in the souk then Le Jardin Secret is the perfect place for a restful coffee or lunch. The grounds of a former nineteenth-century palace are now home to a huge – and beautiful – traditional Islamic garden and cafe. There’s also a fascinating water system on show – modelled on those that brought water for the first time into the medina in the eleventh century. 

 

MAJORELLE GARDEN

 

The colours and light of Morocco so entranced artist Jacques Majorelle that he moved to Marrakech in 1919 and spent years creating a garden that he later opened to the public. After they fell into disrepair following his death, Yves Saint Laurent bought and restored them. Today the Majorelle Garden is filled with dramatic cacti, cascading vines and buildings colour-blocked in Majorelle blue, yellow and mint. Insta-fabulous.

 

NECTAROME

 

Nectarome was one of the first organic beauty companies in Morocco and they’ve been growing aromatic, medicinal and ornamental plants in their Ourika Valley gardens since 1998. You can take a guided tour of the gardens and also do workshops in everything from Berber beauty to henna decoration. Then browse the shop that sells products from the Nectarome range including facial oils, bath salts and scrubs. 

 

MONTRESSO FOUNDATION

 

Get a culture fix in the exhibition spaces at the Montresso Foundation before visiting their stunning sculpture garden. Montresso has been nurturing talent since 2009 through residencies, exhibitions and partnerships. Today, it’s a really vital space filled with a permanent collection of contemporary art as well as temporary exhibitions.