Immersive Marrakech Experience: Cooking Class, Hammam & Massage
8 hours
From 09:30
Group 1+
8 hours
09:30
8
What you'll do
Discover a myriad of Marrakech’s wonders on this full-day private experience, including a guided tour of the city’s highlights, a delicious food tasting, a cooking class and traditional Moroccan lunch, and afterwards relax in a luxurious traditional Hammam. On your private tour, you will: Discover a myriad of Marrakech’s wonders on this full-day private experience, including a guided tour of the city’s highlights, a delicious food tasting, a cooking class and traditional Moroccan lunch, and afterwards relax in a luxurious traditional Hammam. On your private tour, you will: Enjoy a private vehicle throughout the day for a hassle-free experience;Explore the highlights of the Medina— the beautiful, bustling old town;Walk around the famous Djemaa El Fna Square and pass by Koutoubia Mosque;Immerse yourself in the vibrant atmosphere of the souks and food markets.Soak up the sights, smells, and sounds of Marrakech!Enjoy a delicious food-tasting tour, stopping at the famous street food vendors;Take part in a fabulously tasty cooking class for lunch;Enjoy traditional, refreshing Moroccan teas including mint, wormwood, sage, wild thyme, and geranium;Spend the afternoon relaxing in an iconic Hammam, a long-standing tradition in Moroccan culture;Enjoy a traditional Morrocan Massage with argan oil;Return to your hotel by private transfer. Bustling Marrakech is a byword for joyous chaos: a crowded tangle of souks, a maze of cobbled alleyways, and jostling vendors vying for trade. On this full-day experience, you will discover the myriad of marvels that Marrakech can boast! After being picked up from your hotel, begin with a guided walking tour of the Medina with your expert English-speaking private guide. The Medina is the medieval centre of Marrakech, filled with markets and open-air stalls, souks, traders, snake charmers, and so much more! Take in the vibrant atmosphere filled with plumes of grill smoke and the beguiling melody of the snake charmer’s flute amidst the throngs of people. Cries for custom echo around a zillion stalls piled high with spices, live chickens, richly-woven rugs, coffee pots, and silken slippers. Next, your guide will show you around the vast Djemaa El Fna Square for a food-tasting tour of the thousands of street food vendors. Morocco’s favourite spices are cinnamon, ginger, cumin, turmeric, paprika, coriander, saffron, anise, nutmeg, cayenne pepper, fenugreek and caraway to name a few. Marrakech cuisine is diverse and peppered with a unique mix of cultures. Your chef, a veteran of private dining experiences, will teach you how to create a delicious lunch. Each dish blends Berber staples with Arabic nuts and dried fruit, the cooking styles of the Ottoman Turks and the olives and citrus fruits of the Moors with plenty of Gallic culinary twists. Family, kinship, and the warmth of shared meals are highly prized in Moroccan life and are as central to the culture as another ancient tradition: the indulgent and sensuous Hammam. After lunch, you will be taken to a traditional Hammam, and spend the afternoon relaxing in the aromatic steam baths with Moroccan botanicals such as rose, patchouli, jasmine, geranium, bergamot, and eucalyptus. In ancient times, a copper gong sounded at dawn, heralding the opening of the baths. Today the gongs have long gone, yet the baths remain an integral part of the social fabric of Marrakech communities. Interiors are largely unchanged by time, with dazzling wall-to-ceiling tiled mosaics, ornate gilded domes and gleaming marble. Note: Please be sure to bring swim trunks, and a towel for the hammam experience. You can leave these in the vehicle throughout the day before the hammam experience. Bustling Marrakech is a byword for joyous chaos: a crowded tangle of souks, a maze of cobbled alleyways, and jostling vendors vying for trade. On this full-day experience, you will discover the myriad of marvels that Marrakech can boast! After being picked up from your hotel, begin with a guided walking tour of the Medina with your expert English-speaking private guide. The Medina is the medieval centre of Marrakech, filled with markets and open-air stalls, souks, traders, snake charmers, and so much more! Take in the vibrant atmosphere filled with plumes of grill smoke and the beguiling melody of the snake charmer’s flute amidst the throngs of people. Cries for custom echo around a zillion stalls piled high with spices, live chickens, richly-woven rugs, coffee pots, and silken slippers. Next, your guide will show you around the vast Djemaa El Fna Square for a food-tasting tour of the thousands of street food vendors. Morocco’s favourite spices are cinnamon, ginger, cumin, turmeric, paprika, coriander, saffron, anise, nutmeg, cayenne pepper, fenugreek and caraway to name a few. Marrakech cuisine is diverse and peppered with a unique mix of cultures. Your chef, a veteran of private dining experiences, will teach you how to create a delicious lunch. Each dish blends Berber staples with Arabic nuts and dried fruit, the cooking styles of the Ottoman Turks and the olives and citrus fruits of the Moors with plenty of Gallic culinary twists. Family, kinship, and the warmth of shared meals are highly prized in Moroccan life and are as central to the culture as another ancient tradition: the indulgent and sensuous Hammam. After lunch, you will be taken to a traditional Hammam, and spend the afternoon relaxing in the aromatic steam baths with Moroccan botanicals such as rose, patchouli, jasmine, geranium, bergamot, and eucalyptus. In ancient times, a copper gong sounded at dawn, heralding the opening of the baths. Today the gongs have long gone, yet the baths remain an integral part of the social fabric of Marrakech communities. Interiors are largely unchanged by time, with dazzling wall-to-ceiling tiled mosaics, ornate gilded domes and gleaming marble. Note: Please be sure to bring swim trunks, and a towel for the hammam experience. You can leave these in the vehicle throughout the day before the hammam experience.
What's Included
A friendly, professional English-Speaking tour guide for your own private group
Local, authentic, small food tastings throughout the tour
Hammam Experience and Massage with local products
Cooking Class & Moroccan Tea
Private transportation including Hotel pickup/drop-off from central Marrakech
What's not included
Additional food and drinks
Gratuities
Towels for the hammam
Meeting Points
Hotel pick-up is available upon request. If we do not receive your hotel information, your guide will meet you at the entrance to Poste du Maroc, Rue Beni Marine, Marrakech 40000, Morocco, next to Jemaa el-Fna square
Venue Information
Djemaa El Fna Square
A treat for the senses
Djemaa El Fna has been Marrakech’s main square for almost a thousand years. Enjoyed by locals and tourists alike, it is a lively place, and gets even livelier in the evening as Shilha dancing boys, magicians and storytellers appear to entertain a swelling crowd.
During the day, hundreds of delicious food and juice stalls fill the square; entertainers with chained monkeys and charmed snakes vie for your attention (and expect to be paid if you take photographs with their animals); horses and carriages come from all directions. It’s a sensory overload of sights, sounds and smells. Adjoining the market is a
souk
, and stalls also offer leather goods, brassware and other souvenirs.
Marrakech magic
The Square’s importance as a centre of Berber and other local heritage has won it the status of a UNESCO ‘Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity.’ Notable Marrakech resident and Spanish author Juan Goytisolo, who encouraged this categorisation, wrote eloquently on its unique charm and atmosphere.
‘The spectacle of Jamaa el Fna is repeated daily and each day it is different. Everything changes — voices, sounds, gestures, the public which sees, listens, smells, tastes, touches. The oral tradition is framed by one much vaster — that we can call intangible. The Square, as a physical space, shelters a rich oral and intangible tradition.’Possibly referring to a courtyard in front of a now lost mosque or the Square's old role in public executions, the name Djemaa El Fna means something like 'assembly of death' or ‘mosque at the end of the world;' but today it remains a place that is very much full of life, and an unmissable stop on a journey to the soul of Marrakech.
The Medina
Marvellous Medina
Medina
means simply ‘city’ or ‘town’ in Arabic - in North African cities, it refers to a distinct old quarter of the town, usually walled, holding a maze of narrow streets. Marrakech’s is ancient, extensive and particularly special, containing a millennium of history within its walls; it was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1985.
Mosques and more
, the symbol of the city and an icon of its skyline, dominates the Medina with its 77 metre minaret. A stone’s throw away, the bustling square of
Djemaa El Fna
offers delicious food and local entertainment.
, built in the 19th century, captures the essence of Islamic style; the much older (and ruined) palace of
El Badi
lives up to its name of ‘the Incomparable.’ The 500 year old
Saadian Tombs
, only uncovered in the last century, reveal funerary marble worthy of the sultanate.
Ben Youssef Medersa
, a stunningly ornamented place of learning, welcomes visitors with the inscription ‘You who enter my door, may your highest hopes be exceeded’ - and it’s been doing a good job for around 600 years.
The Medina is not only the heart of Marrakech, but of Morocco itself. Founded around 1070 AD by the Almoravids, Marrakech has long been the most important city in Morocco - the country is even named after it. Virtually unmatched in its concentration of beautiful and historic buildings, a marvel awaits round every corner of the Medina, and a trip to Marrakech would be incomplete without exploring its magical streets.
Souks
Absolutely bazaar
It’s all go in the souks. In this bewildering warren of bazaars and stalls you can find everything from jewellery and brassware to hats and leather bags, mehndi artists to snake charmers. Traditional tanneries fill alleyways with pungent aromas; cobblers hawk their wares alongside locksmiths; intricate lanterns, pyramids of fresh fruit, gorgeous woven rugs and clothes abound. The epitome of the Middle Eastern market experience, the souks are a spectacle of abundance and a real feast for the senses.
It’s practically impossible not to get lost in the souks - 3000 stalls selling many of the same goods quickly become confusing - but be wary of asking for directions, as you will likely be led by a tout who will take you to a particular business and ask you for money. Let yourself be absorbed in the labyrinth; you’ll find your way out eventually.
Work for your bargains
The main thing to be prepared for when buying at a souk is haggling: while it is friendly, this is not a place for hassle-free shopping. Stall owners will try their luck with tourists, but some vigorous bargaining will get you a long way and is the standard practice here - and don’t be afraid to walk away! It’s common to get a 1000 dirham asking price down to more like 300 dirhams.
Locals shop here as well, and are well versed in the art of the haggle. Go with a sense of humour and enjoy the experience. Share a cup of tea and a chat with a merchant, and come away with more than a souvenir. The souks make for an unmissable odyssey to the heart of Marrakech.
Gallery
Cancellation policy
A full refund will apply if you cancel more than 48 hours before the activity start time.
No refund is possible if you cancel less than 48 hours before the activity start time.
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