What's a good 3-day itinerary for Marrakech?

Day 1 stays inside the Medina walls. Bahia Palace opens at 9am, and the tiled courtyards are still cool enough to linger at that hour. Morning light hits the painted cedar ceilings before tour groups fill the rooms around 10:30. From Bahia, walk 10 minutes north through Riad Zitoun el-Jedid into the souks. The spice sellers on Rahba Kedima sit behind pyramids of ras el hanout that smell like cumin and dried roses mixed together. Lunch at Café des Épices on the rooftop terrace, 60-dirham kefta tagine, mint tea for 15. After lunch, 15 minutes south on foot to the Saadian Tombs. The carved Italian marble in the Hall of Twelve Columns dates to the 1590s. It is the finest stonework in the city, and the site was sealed for centuries before its rediscovery in 1917. By 5pm, walk to Jemaa el-Fnaa. The square fills with charcoal smoke from the grill carts around 6pm. Fresh-squeezed orange juice runs 5 dirhams a glass. Eat at stall 1 or stall 14 for grilled lamb and merguez, 40 dirhams for a full plate.

Day 2 moves west. Majorelle Garden opens at 8am in summer, and the first hour is the only quiet window. Jacques Majorelle founded the garden in 1923 and painted the walls that intense cobalt blue that became its signature. The color stops people cold against the green bamboo and yellow terracotta pots. Yves Saint Laurent bought the property in 1980, and the Berber Museum inside costs an extra 30 dirhams for 20 minutes of Amazigh textiles and jewelry. From Majorelle, take a petit taxi 15 minutes to Gueliz, the French-built new town. Agree on the meter before you sit down, 15-20 dirhams. Lunch at Grand Café de la Poste on Boulevard el-Mansour Eddahbi. The building dates to the 1920s. Salade Marocaine runs 75 dirhams, steak frites 120. After lunch, taxi 20 minutes south to the Menara Gardens, where a 12th-century pavilion sits beside a large reflecting pool. On clear days the Atlas range fills the background. The gardens close at 5pm. The walk back to the Medina from Menara takes about 35 minutes, flat the whole way, roughly 3 kilometres.

Day 3 covers the southern Medina in the morning and the northern Medina after lunch. El Badi Palace at 9am. Sultan Ahmad al-Mansur built it in 1578 with Portuguese ransom gold, and what remains is a roofless shell the size of two football pitches. Storks nest on the crumbling pisé walls. The sunken gardens still hold water. The 70-dirham entry includes the minbar from the Koutoubia Mosque, a 12th-century carved cedarwood pulpit. The Mellah, Marrakech's Jewish quarter, starts a 5-minute walk east. Slama synagogue on Derb Manchoura is open mornings. Lunch at Café Clock in the Kasbah, 80-dirham camel burger and a ginger-lemon juice. After lunch, walk 20 minutes north through the Medina to the tanneries at Bab Debbagh. The smell is raw. Cow hides soak in pigeon-dung vats and limestone pits, and workers stand ankle-deep in the dye pools. They'll hand you a sprig of mint. The Almoravid Koubba near Place Ben Youssef, a 12th-century ablutions dome, takes 10 minutes and 20 dirhams. End the day at Hammam Mouassine, 200 dirhams for a gommage scrub. The black soap smells like eucalyptus and olive oil, and the steam room runs around 45°C.

Late June temperatures in Marrakech currently sit around 29°C by evening and can reach 38-40°C by early afternoon. The Medina's narrow lanes provide shade, but carry at least 2 litres of water per half-day. Petit taxis are beige and metered, 10-30 dirhams for trips within the city. Most Medina restaurants and stalls take cash only in dirhams. ATMs cluster near Jemaa el-Fnaa and along Avenue Mohammed V in Gueliz. On Fridays, many shops and some restaurants close for prayers between 12:30 and 2:30pm. Plan a Friday lunch in Gueliz, where restaurants tend to stay open. The three days cover roughly 24 kilometres, taxis filling the gaps on Day 2.