# Jemaa el-Fnaa Marrakech's ancient square at the heart of the medina, where storytellers, musicians and smoke rising from food stalls create a nightly theatre unlike anywhere else. At the heart of Marrakech's medina, this great square has drawn people together for centuries. By late afternoon, the space begins to shift. Orange juice vendors wheel their carts to positions around the edges, and the first musicians arrive with drums slung over their shoulders. ## Sound rises with the afternoon light As the sun drops, performers claim their patches of worn stone. Groups of musicians set up in clusters, the double-headed drums and reed flutes weaving sounds that carry across the open space. Henna artists arrange their stations. Snake charmers appear with their instruments, though the reptiles are less in evidence than the photographs suggest. Groups of travellers gather to watch, edging closer as the performances begin. ## The food stalls emerge at dusk As darkness settles, the square transforms. Vendors wheel in carts and set up the evening food stalls in a prescribed arc on the south side. Fires are lit, metal grills go on, and the smell of lamb and merguez sausage begins to drift across the space. Smoke rises and mingles with the music. The stalls are numbered and rotate on a roster. Shared tables fill quickly with diners eating from communal tagines. It is noisy, crowded and hot, a shift from the earlier performances to something more like a nightly festival. ## The terrace above the square Cafés line the northern edge, their upper terraces looking out over the full sweep of the square below. From up here the scale becomes clearer—the layered sound of drums and flutes and distant voices, the haze of cooking smoke, the movement of hundreds of people. It is a view that has been described for generations, and the square itself remains largely what it has always been: a place where people come to eat, to listen, and to watch. ## Tours that visit Jemaa el-Fnaa No tours visit this place just yet. ## Before you book you should know ### Is this trip right for you? Our groups are capped at eight travellers, which is about a third of what the industry calls a small group. Eight people share one vehicle, one table at dinner and one guide's attention, and the day can change on the road without anybody being left behind. If you are looking for a coach, a fixed script and a microphone, this is not that. Most days involve real walking, often on ground that was laid two thousand years before walking shoes: marble worn smooth, cobbles, uneven steps and long site paths with little shade. Bring shoes you can spend a morning in. Some days move between regions and are largely a drive, with stops along the way. Summers are hot — well over 35°C inland — and winters are colder than most people expect, so layers, a hat and sunscreen earn their place in the bag whatever the month. How demanding a particular trip is, is written on the trip itself: the physical rating in the header, and the day-by-day itinerary above. ### Rooms, and travelling on your own Trip prices are per person, sharing a twin room. Each traveller picks their own room while booking, so a party can mix the three: - **Twin share** — two single beds, shared with someone you are travelling with or with a traveller of the same gender. - **Travelling as a couple** — one double room. - **Individual room** — a room of your own, for a single supplement on top of the trip price. Availability is limited, and the supplement for a given date is shown next to the option when you book. Solo travellers are welcome on every departure, and most of our groups have one or two aboard. ### Accommodation The hotels named in an itinerary are a guideline rather than a guarantee. Where one is full, or has dropped below the standard we booked it for, we substitute a property of a similar standard in the same area — we would rather change the hotel than the trip. Check-in is usually mid-afternoon. If you arrive early we will ask for the room, but no hotel can promise one before its own check-in time; luggage can normally be left at reception in the meantime. If you want the room from the night before, ask us and we will add the extra night to your booking. ### Passports, visas and insurance Entry requirements depend on your nationality and change without much notice, so the only reliable source is the official one: the government of the country you are travelling to, and your own foreign ministry's travel advice. Check both before you book a flight. Many countries ask for a passport valid for at least six months beyond your travel dates, and for blank pages. It is worth looking at yours now rather than at the airport. We ask every traveller to carry travel insurance covering medical treatment and repatriation, and we would strongly encourage cover for cancellation and for your luggage as well. ### Your departure is guaranteed — the day can change Once a departure is on the calendar it runs. We do not cancel a trip for want of a minimum number of bookings, so a booked date is one you can plan flights and leave around. What can move is the shape of a day. Museums and archaeological sites change their hours, roads close, weather turns, a local holiday lands in the middle of the week. Where that happens your guide reorders the day, or swaps a stop for one of the same weight, and tells you why. Changes to a booked itinerary are covered by our Booking Terms & Conditions. --- Full page: https://www.smallvoyage.com/destination/jemaa-el-fnaa/