Marrakech Gardens by Caleche

Explore the Garden Majorelle with its source, the son of the Art Nouveau ébéniste of Nancy, Louis Majorelle. Though Majorelle's gentlemanly orientalist watercolors are largely forgotten today (many are preserved in the villa's collection), the gardens he created are his creative masterpiece. The special shade of bold cobalt blue which he used extensively in the garden and its buildings is named after him, bleu Majorelle-Majorelle Blue.The garden hosts more than 15 bird species that are endemic to North Africa. It has many fountains, and a notable collection of cacti, Since 1980 the garden has been owned by Yves Saint-Laurent and Pierre Bergé. After Yves Saint Laurent died in 2008 his ashes were scattered in the Majorelle Garden.It houses also the Islamic Art Museum of Marrakech, whose collection includes North African textiles from Saint-Laurent's personal collection as well as ceramics, jewelry, and paintings by Majorelle.

While continuing to The Menara Garden, "the name menara derives from the pavilion with its small green pyramid-shaped roof (menzeh), meaning lighthouse (منارَة [manaara]). Although there is no actual lighthouse in the gardens, any building that sits at a high elevation is locally known as menara, such as the mosque Menaret manaara. The pavilion was built during the 16th century Saadi dynasty and renovated in 1869 by sultan Abderrahmane of Morocco, who used to stay here in summertime. The pavilion and basin (an artificial lake) are surrounded by orchards and olive groves. The intention of the basin was to irrigate the surrounding gardens and orchards using a sophisticated system of underground channels called a qanat. The basin is supplied with water thanks to an old hydraulic system, which conveys water from the mountains located approximately 30 km away from Marrakech. It also served as a martial station".

After theses discoveries, we will end the tour back to your hotel or riad by a passage on the outside side of the ramparts which diverts the ancient city of Marrakech.