Marrakech in Winter: What November and December Actually Offer

In November and December the sun remains the protagonist in Marrakech, but it works differently. It rises between 6:45 and 7:30 and sets shortly after 5:30 in the afternoon: days of around ten hours, dry and clear, with two moments of colour at either end. The summer haze has gone from the air, the afternoon light comes in low and raking, and the ochres and pinks of the medina take on the shade the city is known for.

It is also the season of the sharpest contrast between day and night. At midday, lunch happens in a T-shirt on a sunny terrace; after sunset the temperature drops quickly, and the light jacket of early November becomes the coat of December. A suitcase packed for both makes both moments easy.

The two months tend to be described together as Marrakech's winter, but they offer two different cities. November has the pace of a city working at full capacity without hurrying. December changes gear as the holidays approach, up to the last week of the year, which is a season of its own.

November

November is the month when Marrakech is easiest to live. The city is full and active, with hotel numbers close to December's, but the rhythm stays an everyday one: the souks can be crossed without the holiday crush, museums and galleries can be visited at an easy pace, and tables can still be found.

Booking is still advisable, especially for the restaurants with a loyal following all year and for the days of the Film Festival, but the choice remains wide.

Climate and What to Wear

The first days of November reach around 26 degrees by day; by the end of the month they come down towards 21. During the day a shirt is enough, and in the sun a T-shirt. In the first half of the month dinner still happens outdoors without heaters, with a light jacket or a blazer. In the second half the evening changes: nights drop towards 10 degrees, and a sweater joins the jacket.

The Flow of the Day

The sun no longer sets the timetable: the medina can be crossed at any hour, lunch happens outside, and the afternoon is the time for walking. What makes the difference is the sunset, which comes early: anyone after the light on the walls, the ramparts or a terrace needs to be in place by around five. After that the evening starts early, outdoors in the first weeks, more and more often indoors as the month goes on.

What to Do and See

The classics are all available, without the pressure of the middle of the day: Medersa Ben Youssef, the Bahia Palace, Jardin Majorelle, Le Jardin Secret. The cultural calendar is full: November is when the city's galleries, museums and institutions open their new exhibitions, alongside concerts and theatre. The biggest moment of the month is the Marrakech International Film Festival, from 20 to 28 November, at the Palais des Congrès and other venues across the city, with Marion Cotillard presiding over the jury of the international competition. For anyone not following the festival, those nine days add movement to Hivernage.

With days between 21 and 26 degrees, November is also a month for golf: the courses around the city are green, the air is dry and a full round no longer has to beat the heat.

The Pools

With 21 to 26 degrees by day and full sun, the pool remains part of the day. Any poolside works for the sun; for a swim, though, the water needs to be heated. Several of the city's pools are heated in winter and stay open to non-residents through a day pass, from the medina to the Palmeraie and out into the countryside towards the Atlas. The swim happens at lunchtime, the rest of the afternoon on a sunbed.

The Rooftops

November is the month of terrace lunches: the sun is warm enough to stay outside for hours, without the heat that pushed everyone into the shade in September. In the first half of the month the evening holds outdoors too, with a light jacket. Towards the end of November the terraces start lighting heaters and fires, and where there are none, the sunset aperitif gives way to dinner indoors.

Trips Around Marrakech

Depending on taste, the choice runs from one end to the other. Towards the mountains: the Atlas above Imlil for walking in clear air, the Ourika Valley for a simpler day, and from the end of the month the first snow on the peaks, when it arrives. Towards the desert: the Agafay, an hour from the city, warm by day and spent by the fire in the evening, or the longer journeys to Zagora, the Draa Valley and Merzouga, with days still mild and clear skies at night. Towards the ocean: Essaouira, and further south Taghazout, where winter is surf season.

For something different, there is the hot-air balloon at dawn over the plain, or lunch at Lake Lalla Takerkoust, less than an hour from the city, with the Atlas behind it. And for a slower trip, Marrakech and its surroundings host wellness retreats, creative workshops and yoga and pilates residencies.

December

December starts like November and ends as a different city. The first two weeks keep the calm pace of the month before, with mild days and colder nights.

Christmas week has two faces. The city comes alive around the Christmas markets, but for visitors it empties: Christmas remains a European holiday, and many go back to Europe to spend it with family. Those who stay find a freer city and a Christmas that has made room for itself in recent years: more and more riads decorate for the season and host their own occasions, from afternoon teas to pop-ups to special-edition dinners.

Right after Christmas the register changes, and the city reaches its highest pitch. The streets fill with cars, and a drive that usually takes twenty minutes can stretch to thirty-five or forty. Booking becomes mandatory, well in advance for New Year's Eve, and even restaurants that are not usually festive turn festive, with DJ sets and evenings built around welcoming the new year.

Climate and What to Wear

Daytime highs sit around 20 degrees, with sunny days that allow a T-shirt at lunch. Lows average around 7 degrees, and on the coldest nights they reach 3 or 4. It is the month of a real coat in the evening, and of dinners in front of a fireplace. In the riads and houses of the medina the cold is felt more indoors than out: it is worth asking whether the rooms are heated.

The Flow of the Day

The day is built around the sun: the morning and early afternoon are for the city, the terraces and the pools, and after five life moves into the salons, the restaurants and the hotel lobbies dressed for the holidays. In the weeks before Christmas the souks around Souk Semmarine and the Rahba Kedima fill up: anyone wanting to shop at an easy pace goes in the morning.

What to Do and See

Beyond the classics, December has its own calendar: exhibitions opening for the season, such as the embroidered frescoes of “Villes flottantes” at MAP Marrakech from 3 December, the major museums with their long-running shows, and the season of Christmas markets, which in recent years the palaces and M Avenue have opened from mid-December. The grand hotels and palaces have their own holiday calendar too: lobbies and gardens dressed for the season, themed dinners, Christmas lunch and holiday brunches, which for many visitors become the way to spend 25 December away from home.

New Year's Eve in Marrakech covers the full range: gala evenings in the grand palaces, parties in the gardens of the Palmeraie and in the riads, dinner shows, rooftops above the medina, clubs until dawn, and nights in the Agafay camps, under the stars and around the fire.

For golfers coming from northern Europe, December is the month that makes the difference: around 20 degrees by day here, against single figures in Paris or London.

The Pools

In December the pool only works where it is heated, and only in the sunny hours: a midday swim is still possible, a late-afternoon one is not. This is the month when it matters which pool is heated, because it is often just one of two or three, and sometimes it is the indoor pool of the spa: before booking a day pass, it is worth asking whether the heated pool is included.

The Rooftops

Terrace lunch holds through the whole month on sunny days, and the view is at its clearest: with clean air and snow on the peaks, the Atlas stands white above the plain. In the evening, staying outside only works where there are heaters and fires; on New Year's Eve, on the other hand, the rooftops above the medina and towards the Koutoubia are among the most sought-after places in the city.

Trips Around Marrakech

In December the Atlas takes centre stage: when it has snowed, the peaks are white and visible from the city on clear days, and Oukaïmeden becomes a realistic trip for anyone wanting to see snow an hour and a half from the medina. The Ourika remains the simplest day out. In the desert the days are still mild and the nights cold: evenings in the Agafay come with blankets and a fire, while trips to Zagora and Merzouga should allow for very cold nights, especially in the second half of the month. Essaouira and Taghazout stay mild, with ocean air in place of the dry air of the plateau.

Which Month, and Why

November is the month for the city as it works, with the low winter light, a full cultural calendar and the Film Festival to close the month. December is the month for the holidays, for anyone willing to plan early: the first two weeks still calm, Christmas week freer for visitors, and the last days of the year full of everything Marrakech knows how to do when it celebrates.

In both months everything stays available: a morning in the medina, a sunny lunch on a terrace, a swim in a heated pool, a night in the desert by the fire. What changes is how the day is dressed, and how early you need to book.