Escape the hustle and bustle of the busy streets and markets and visit the mysterious garden of Jardin Majorelle. I highly recommend booking your tickets in advance. The Jardin Majorelle can become very busy and you might not get your desired time slot as you can only enter as per your time slot you have bought. Marrakech can get extremely hot – this is more my concern.
To go back a bit into history, French painter Jacques Majorelle purchased the palm grove in 1923, built an artist studio in 1931 with walls painted Majorelle Blue. The garden consisted of rare species and exotic plants collected as Jacques travelled the world. The Jardin Majorelle was opened to the public in 1947 but fell into abandonment when Jacques died in 1962.
Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Bergé acquired Jardin Majorelle in 1980, had it restored and many new plants added, the artist studio changed into a Beber culture museum.
After Yves Saint Laurent died in 2008, the Jardin Majorelle was donated by Pierre Bergé to the Foundation Pierre Bergé – Yves Saint Laurent. The Foundation is a nonprofit organisation reinvesting resources back into Morocco by financing scholarships, maintaining the property, and providing grants to various institutions in Morocco, only naming a few projects.
Jardin Majorelle has a boutique with beautiful bags, jewellery and clothing, a great café and bookstore. A memorial site is dedicated to Yves and Pierre and the property also includes the Yves Saint Laurent Love Gallery.
But the highlight is the garden. The garden is in excellent condition, with the most amazing plants I have ever seen. There is a koi fish pond with many giant koi fishes. There is a massive pond with lotus flowers, I can only imagine when it is in season and it all opens, what a beautiful site it will be.
Many frogs and tortoises have made homes there and you can see them enjoying the pond. The garden is wheelchair friendly and has great photo spots. What is loved the most is how the colours work with the most amazing plants. The main colour is Majorelle blue, with orange and yellow pots standing out amongst the green plants and blue buildings.
Step out of the sun and enjoy a Moroccan mint tea and the amazing food and other drinks on offer. I highly recommend Cafe Bousafsaf. Stroll through the boutique, the love gallery and the best of all shops – the bookstore. Interesting Moroccan books and more about the famous couple who have owned this magical garden. I got myself Letters to Yves by Pierre Bergé. I will share a book review once I have read the book.
“Deep down, these letters had a single goal: take stock of our lives. Explain to those who read them who you were, who we were.” Pierre Bergé
When visiting Marrakech, make sure to add the Jardin Majorelle to your “bucket list” to do in Morocco.
Travel love
Chrisyy