Saadian Tombs
A necropolis walled up for two centuries, found again in 1917 by an aerial photograph.
Duration
45 min – 1 hr
Best time
At opening
Open
Every day
Entry price
100 MAD
The necropolis was laid out at the end of the sixteenth century for Ahmad al-Mansur and his dynasty. His Alaouite successor, Moulay Ismail, did not dare destroy it — desecrating graves was unthinkable — and so walled it up: it stayed sealed for nearly two centuries.
It was found again in 1917 thanks to a French aerial photograph, which showed an empty space in the middle of the built-up area. The Hall of Twelve Columns, in Italian marble and carved stucco, holds the sultan's tomb and is among the most finely worked interiors in Morocco.
Getting there
Beside the Kasbah mosque, in the south of the medina. Twenty minutes on foot from Jemaa el-Fna, or a petit taxi.
What the price covers
adult entry
Rules on site
The main hall is reached by a narrow one-way corridor: the queue runs over half an hour from ten o'clock for a twenty-minute visit. Come at opening, or skip it.
Checked on 28 August 2026 at Un sac sur le dos — Saadian Tombs, ticket and details
Other places in Marrakech
- Majorelle GardenMajorelle blue, bamboo and cactus, in the garden Yves Saint Laurent saved from the developers.
- Bahia PalaceA hundred and fifty rooms, eight hectares of zellij and painted cedar, built for a grand vizier and his four wives.
- Jemaa el-Fna squareSnake charmers by day, a hundred open-air kitchens by night, and the medina all around.