What should I avoid in Marrakech?

The rooftop restaurants lining Jemaa el-Fnaa look tempting from below. They charge 100-150 MAD for a tagine that costs 35-50 MAD at Cafe Clock on Derb Chtouka in the Kasbah or Naranj near Bab Doukkala. The food stalls in the square itself are fine for grilled merguez or snail broth, 10-15 MAD a bowl, and the pepper-cumin steam hits you from 20 meters away. The stalls at the north end tend to be more aggressive with the menus. They'll seat you before you've decided and add items you didn't order. Count your dishes before paying. The snake charmers and monkey handlers work a different angle. They drape a snake on your shoulders or push a Barbary macaque into your arms, snap a photo on your phone, then demand 100-200 MAD. A firm "la, shukran" before they approach is the only reliable defense. The henna women near the south side of the square will grab your hand mid-stride and start drawing before you've agreed to anything. The price climbs from "free" to 200-500 MAD once the paste is on your skin.

The medina's 600-year-old alleyways are hard to navigate on foot, and the "helpful local" scam depends on it. Someone approaches near Bab Debbagh or the Mouassine fountain, tells you your riad or the Bahia Palace is "closed today, holiday," then offers to take you somewhere better. The destination is always a carpet shop or "Berber pharmacy" where the guide earns a commission of 10-30% on whatever you buy. The mint tea arrives, the door feels like it closes behind you, and the prices start at 3,000 MAD for a rug. This happens multiple times per day if you look lost. The fix is simple. Download offline maps before you leave your riad. Maps.me works well inside the medina's narrow turns. Politely decline all unsolicited directions. If you actually want a guide, book through your riad or hire an official one, identifiable by a brass badge from the Office National Marocain du Tourisme, for around 300-400 MAD for a half day.

Petit taxis in Marrakech are metered by law, but the meter tends to be "broken" when you're clearly a visitor. The real rate from Menara Airport to Jemaa el-Fnaa is 70-100 MAD on the meter. Drivers at the arrivals curb will quote 200-300 MAD with a straight face. Walk 50 meters past the taxi rank to the main road and flag a passing cab, or take the ALSA bus 19 to the medina for 30 MAD. Inside the city, insist on the meter before sitting down. "Le compteur, s'il vous plait" is all you need. After midnight the rate goes up 50%, which is legal. The calèche rides, those horse-drawn carriages around the ramparts, tend to quote 150 MAD and charge 400 MAD at the end. If you want one, agree on the price in writing. To be fair, most petit taxi drivers in Marrakech are honest once the meter is running, and a 15-minute ride across the Guéliz district to the medina rarely tops 20 MAD.

Marrakech in summer is brutal. Temperatures hit 42-45°C in July and August, and the medina walls trap heat like a clay oven. The air is dry and gritty, the kind that cracks your lips within an hour. If you're visiting between June and September, plan your walking for before 10am and after 5pm. The hours in between belong to a shaded riad courtyard or the air-conditioned Musée Yves Saint Laurent near Majorelle Garden. Mind you, even the Majorelle Garden itself, 100 MAD entry or 180 MAD with the museum, gets uncomfortably packed between 10am and 2pm. The 8am opening is worth the early alarm. Ramadan also shifts the city's rhythm. During the holy month, which currently falls in February through March into 2027, most local restaurants close during daylight. Riad kitchens and tourist-facing spots stay open, but the medina feels empty until the iftar cannon fires at sunset, when the smell of harira soup and honey-soaked chebakia floods every alley.

Skip the "Berber pharmacy" shops near Rahba Kedima, the old spice square. The staff will rub argan oil on your hand, wave cumin under your nose, and quote 400 MAD for 100ml of argan oil that costs 80-120 MAD at the Ensemble Artisanal on Avenue Mohammed V, where prices are fixed and posted. Skip the streets south of the Koutoubia Mosque toward Bab Agnaou after dark if you're alone. The area between the mosque and Jemaa el-Fnaa is well-lit and safe enough, but the quieter streets empty fast once the shops close. And skip the packaged "Sahara desert tour" sold at medina shops for 800-1,200 MAD per person. Those are 14-hour round trips to Zagora or the Agafay plateau, not the Erg Chebbi dunes. Real Merzouga trips take 2 days minimum and leave from Ouarzazate, 200 km southeast.