Marrakesh Off the Beaten Path Tips by khalid_2

Majorelle Garden in Marrakech

Majorelle Garden, an oasis of calm and cool, fresh air in the heart of the city of Marrakech. The garden has gained in notoriety over the last few years, and it was about time! The garden is named after its designer, Jacques Majorelle, a painter and amateur botanist. He came to sunny Marrakech in 1917 because he had tuberculosis. He planted his garden around his studio. It's the ideal spot for lovers of cacti and rare essences. The garden's beautiful bougainvilleas make the entire property smell heavenly.
The garden was completely abandoned when its owner died. But thanks to Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Bergé, its new owners, this beautiful garden has a new lease on life. The garden where Majorelle loved to paint and admire his own botanical masterpiece, is now a gathering spot for tourists, couples, and people out for an afternoon stroll, wanting to escape the noise and dust of the city and to experience a moment of calm in one of the most famous gardens in Morocco.
The painter's studio has been transformed into a small museum of Islamic art where you can admire beautiful rugs, Berber pottery and a few paintings and drawings by the artist.
The bright blue color that you'll find in Jacques Majorelle's garden has its own patent.

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Website: http://www.jardinmajorelle.com
Other Contact: jardin.majorelle@menara.ma

Essaouira is a lovely contrast to Marrakech in that it is a very relaxed sea-side town and feels more like Africa meets Portugal than the very Arabic Marrakech. In comparison to other resorts on the coast Essaouira is unspoilt and still very charming. It takes about 2 hours to reach it from Marrakech along a straight road across desert-like scenery. The town itself focuses around the old fortified harbour where you can eat grilled sardines freshly from the boats and there are also plenty of seafood restaurants in the town. Wood-carving is famous in this area and the town also has a lovely old souk to explore. Essaouira still has quite a hippy atmosphere as popular in the sixties with Hendrix and the surfing crowd. The beach is a huge crescent of sand enclosing the more modert part of the town. The beach can get quite windy at times and so is popular for windsurfing but is also lovely for long walks in and around the town.

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Website: http://www.essaouira-mogador.com/ or www.essaouiranet.com or www.essaouira.com

About 2,5hours north of Marrakesh are the Cascades D’Ouzoud, Morocco’s most impressive waterfalls. The water drops 361 feet. The name of the falls comes from the Arabic word for “olive,” named for the many olive trees in the area.

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