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In the shadow of Morocco’s more established tourist cities, Taroudant is a less-visited gem where you can really see what local life in a Moroccan city is like. Keep reading for our full Taroudant travel guide with all the details needed to plan your own trip!
Taroudant is the Moroccan city we never knew we needed to visit.
As we stepped off our CTM coach in Taroudant Bus Station, we were immediately struck by the magnificent honey-coloured city walls and detailed archways that had me reaching for my camera before I’d even hopped off the bus’s final step!
We could certainly see why Taroudant has become known as ‘Little Marrakech’!
But by the end of our time in the city, we realised that the mighty ramparts, stunning medina entrances, and consistent colour of the buildings are where the main similarities to Marrakech end.
In contrast to its more famous big brother, Taroudant’s Medina is more spacious, relaxed, and authentic, and we mostly saw locals going about their day rather than other tourists hopping from one attraction to the next.
But this is what makes it a refreshing alternative to the more overstimulating and touristy cities, and a lesser-known destination in Morocco that’s worth visiting!
So after finally discovering Taroudant on our most recent trip, I’ve put together this comprehensive travel guide to the city, including how to get there, what to do, where to stay, how to get around, and more!
By the end of this article, you’ll be well equipped for your own visit to Little Marrakech – even if it’s just for the day from Agadir!
Where Is Taroudant?
Taroudant is in the Souss-Massa region of southern Morocco, and sits 90km east of the Agadir coastline.
The distance between Taroudant and Marrakech is 270km via the fastest route, and from Casablanca and Rabat, the city is over 500km to the south.
I’ve tagged Taroudant on the map below so you can visualise its exact location in Morocco.
Is Taroudant Worth Visiting?
Before getting stuck into planning a trip to Taroudant, most people (including us), have the burning question of whether the city is actually worth visiting or not.
And it’s a big question with so many worthwhile places fighting for a spot on your Morocco travel itinerary!
Well, after spending a day exploring the city on a day trip from Agadir, we both think that Taroudant is definitely worth visiting!
Not only is the city steeped in history, the most significant period being in the 16th Century when Taroudant briefly served as the capital of the Saadian Dynasty, but the medina ramparts erected during that time still stand today and are some of the best preserved in Morocco! Even after the damage of the 2023 earthquake.
As well as this, Taroudant is somewhere you can experience a historic walled medina without the mass tourism that has engulfed the likes of Marrakech, Fes, and Essaouira.
And I really can’t emphasise enough just how epic the fortified ramparts of Taroudant are – I won’t say how long I spent photographing them from every angle!
Having said all that, I also want to be cautious about overhyping and oversensationalising the city.
Taroudant may be a fantastic place to visit if you value historic, picturesque, and off-the-beaten-path destinations, but the reality is that there’s not an awful lot to do as a tourist, with just a handful of main attractions to work your way around.
So overall, I’d say Taroudant is absolutely worth a day trip from Agadir or Marrakech, or a stop between Agadir and Ouarzazate or Merzouga, but I wouldn’t go out of your way and trapse across the country to visit Taroudant alone.
Related Post: Best Day Trips From Agadir
How To Get To Taroudant
The easiest place to get to Taroudant from is Agadir. Not only is it the shortest journey (1.5 hours), but Agadir is the closest tourist hub with multiple transport options, as well as being where the nearest international airport to Taroudant is located (Agadir Al-Massira International Airport).
From Agadir to Taroudant, you can take the CTM bus departing in the morning from the main bus station (Gare Routiere), book a private car, take a grand (shared) taxi which departs when the seats are full, or join this Taroudant and Tiout Oasis day trip. The last option is the best way to day trip from Agadir with hotel pickup included and everything organised for you.
You can also travel to Taroudant on public transport from Ouarzazate (4.5 hours), Marrakech (5 hours), and Casablanca (9 hours overnight), which all have direct CTM buses. From the likes of Rabat, Fes, and Essaouira, you can still travel by bus, but you’ll have to make a connection in Casablanca or Agadir.
Day tripping to Taroudant is also possible from Marrakech with this tour. It’s a long day but a great option to visit Taroudant while using your time in Morocco efficiently.
If driving from Marrakech, the fastest route is via the A3 highway that travels towards Agadir and takes 3-4 hours, but the N7 directly south is more scenic and takes 6-7 hours.
Read Our Full Guide: How To Visit Taroudant From Agadir
Where To Stay
If looking to stay overnight, there are some great accommodation options in Taroudant. And whether you choose a hotel inside or outside the city walls, you’re never further than a 30 walk to the city centre (apart from the special Palais Claudio Bravohotel we’ve included).
Whether you’re looking for a traditional riad, a cheap stay, or somewhere more luxurious, find our top picks for each budget below.
- Dar Chamss ($): A highly rated guesthouse with safe parking nearby, right beside the city walls. With a private terrace filled with plants and views of the nearby mountains, this place is ideal for travellers visiting Taroudant on a budget.
- Dar Salam Souss ($$): This boutique and stylish riad is a fantastic choice with a swimming pool, sun terrace and hammam, and relaxing atmosphere. It’s also within walking distance of the city walls.
- Palais Claudio Bravo ($$$): One of Taroudant’s most spectacular hotels, where you can immerse yourself in the artwork of Claudio Bravo. Featuring two swimming pools, a pavilion reflecting the High Atlas Mountains, luscious gardens, and calming decor, this hotel is the epitome of luxury.
Best Things To Do In Taroudant
As I mentioned, there’s not a whole host of attractions to visit in Taroudant, but this actually made our day trip less overwhelming. Rather than stressing about what would make it onto our itinerary, we managed to visit all of the main landmarks while also having some time to slow down and watch life in Taroudant go by from a cafe.
There are some places that you definitely shouldn’t miss though, and I’ll go through each of them below!
Walk Around The City Walls
Constructed in the early 16th Century in the iconic style of the Saadian Dynasty, the fortified city walls of Taroudant are absolutely magnificent! They are, without a doubt, the standout feature of the city and what draws most visitors to make a stop in Taroudant.
These ramparts are some of the best preserved in Morocco, and even though they do show some inevitable signs of age, this only adds to their epic character!
Built from rammed earth – a mix of earth, gravel, and limestone – the fortified walls enclose the medina in a perimeter of over 7km. Although not obvious from the ground, the outer wall is actually pentagonally shaped, with each of the five sides defined by its own main gate.
We didn’t walk the whole way around the ramparts, just the eastern section from Taroudant Bus Station as far as Fontaine Passage Palmeraie. But this section includes three of the best places to admire the ramparts from which are Avenue Moulay Rachid, Rocade Taroudant, and 20 August Place.
Although Bab El Kasbah is the most famous gate, we actually saw two that were more beautiful while we were walking. These were Bab Zargone and Bab al-Balaliyyah. So keep your eye out for these too!
Browse In The Grand Souk
Taroudant is home to a few different souks, but the Grand Souk (Grand marché de l’artisanat on Google Maps), is the one that’s worth a visit.
Located in the centre of the city, this traditional marketplace is a labyrinth of alleys running along Kissariat Taroudant from Avenue Bir Anzarane all the way to Place Assarag. These alleys are lined with market stalls selling local handicrafts, jewellery, spices, patterned rugs, leather goods, pottery, and so much more!
We entered from the eastern entrance on Avenue Bir Anzarane, where we first came across some traditional Amazigh stalls. What particularly stood out to us were the silver stores displaying various jewellery, including intricately designed Amazigh bracelets.
We then wandered through the souk, mainly window shopping, before reaching the exit onto Place Assarag. The Grand Taroudant Souk is nowhere near the scale of Souk El Had in Agadir or the sprawling souks in Marrakech, so it doesn’t take too long to walk through.
However, the haggling culture is just as strong here, so make sure to barter if something catches your eye!
Explore The Kasbah Area
The Bab El Kasbah (also known as the Royal Gate) that I mentioned above was designed as the city’s main gate because it leads into the Taroudant Kasbah.
This area of the city is of great historical importance as it was originally where the administrative leaders of Taroudant were based and where official delegates and military would enter the city. It is also, like many other kasbahs around Morocco, a fort within a fort, as it’s surrounded by its own inner wall within the main medina ramparts.
However, in contrast to its past stature, the Taroudant Kasbah is today one of the poorest residential parts of the city. However, even though it may not be as grand as it once was, the kasbah is still worth a wander as you can still feel the historic character in the streets.
The best way to enter the kasbah is via Bab Sedra, a small archway on the right after entering Bab El Kasbah.
Admire The Fontaine Passage Palmeraie
A picturesque spot that you need to visit when in Taroudant is Fontaine Passage Palmeraie, a beautiful water fountain lined with palm trees and featuring a small bridge crossing the middle.
What really completes the stunning scene though, is the towering mosque minaret you can see at one end and the ornate archway carved out of the ramparts at the other.
The fountain is located within Jardin Brahim Roudani, a park that was originally named Jardin Denat after Taroudant’s first civil affairs officer, who was appointed in 1929. It was built as he wanted a garden outside his office, which was located through the archway at the end of Fontaine Passage Palmerai.
We enjoyed the peacefulness of the garden and a much-needed rest on one of its benches, but apart from the Fontaine Passage Palmerai section, the garden itself isn’t anything special.
So just a short visit to admire the fountain is all that’s required, but trust me, it’s worth it!
Visit Taroudant’s Tannery
Located close to Bab Targhout, just outside the city walls on the western side of the medina, is Taroudant’s working tannery (Dar al-Dabbagh on Google Maps), which is open for tourists to visit.
You may know about Moroccan tanneries if you’ve been to Fes, but if you’re unfamiliar, a tannery is where animal skin is turned into leather through the traditional (smelly) process of tanning.
The tannery in Taroudant isn’t on the same level as those in Fes, the most famous tanneries in Morocco, but it was still fascinating to visit and get up close to the work involved.
Honestly, we weren’t too sure what to expect as we were relying on information from Google Maps reviews and found no obvious signs for the tannery in the streets nearby. But we followed Google Maps and, pointed in the right direction by one of Taroudant’s friendly locals, found our way to the entrance and wandered in before being greeted by Mohamed.
He was friendly and welcoming and immediately started giving us a tour of the small workplace. Honestly, we were hesitant at first, as we’ve had previous experience in Morocco of people forcing their unwanted help or guidance on us before demanding payment, but we got a good vibe from Mohamed so we were happy to go along with it.
He proceeded to give us a great tour in English, showing us around the different circular tanning vats while explaining the various stages of the tanning process.
Tanneries are notorious for their pungent smell, but while we were offered some fresh basil to help with this, we found the smell much more bearable than in the large tanneries in Fes!
Around the edge of the tannery are various workshops where Mohamed showed us some examples of the finished leather goods, such as belts, shoes, and animal skin rugs which are available to purchase if you fancy anything.
Refreshingly though, there was no pressure or obligation to buy anything, and we tipped Mohamed for his time and insightful tour before rushing off to catch our bus back to Agadir.
People Watch In Place Assarag
Place Assarag is the biggest square in Taroudant (although not actually that big), located in the centre of the medina, and is the perfect spot to sit back and people watch with a mint tea or espresso at Les Arcades cafe.
With one side of the square lined by cafes and the other with trees, Place Assarag is a nice little square, which again is refreshingly subdued compared to Morocco’s overstimulating touristy cities.
There’s also a beautiful mosque minaret overlooking the square, in the classic Andalusian square style that you’ll see all around Morocco, which emanates the same honey colour as all of the other buildings.
During our day trip from Agadir, this was a great place to take a break and get some respite from the blistering September heat that we were exploring in!
How To Get Around Taroudant
Taroudant is a very walkable city which makes it really easy to get around. And unlike Marrakech and Fes, the Medina streets are much wider and less crowded, making it much less chaotic!
We explored on foot the whole day we were there and managed to easily get to all of the points of interest without having to rush.
Other ways to get around include taxis and horse-drawn carriages, but many of the locals we saw were cycling. There were so many bikes that you could almost argue a case for a ‘Little Amsterdam’ too. Ok, that might be a reach, but we were genuinely surprised by just how many bikes there were!
Where To Eat
The ‘off the beaten track’ nature of Taroudant is also shown in the city’s food options, with the majority of restaurants based around Moroccan cuisine. So don’t expect the level of Western dishes that are found in other tourist hot spots.
But you can still find the likes of pizza, pasta, and burgers, as well as Moroccan fast food like French Tacos.
Some restaurants worth considering are:
- Complex El Kasbah: This is where we ate lunch, and while it’s the most touristy option, they have a big menu and great quality food! Great for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.
- Restaurant Atlas: A nice restaurant offering great value for money with glowing reviews for their quality Moroccan dishes.
- Les Arcades: Overlooking Place Assarag in the city centre, it’s perfect for trying local food while people watching.
- Restaurant El Piacere: Cheap and cheerful, serving up typical Moroccan fast food dishes.
Best Time To Visit
The weather in Taroudant is generally hot and dry with summer being the time to avoid if you can. The summer heat in July and August can reach 40°C and even when we visited in mid-September, it was still stifling and reached 37°C in the afternoon!
Therefore, the best time to visit Taroudant is from October through April, a period which sees much more comfortable and manageable temperatures for walking around and exploring.
Even in the winter months of December and January, the daytime temperatures don’t usually drop below the mid-teens, but you’ll need some layers for the evenings.
Cash And ATMs
Morocco in general is still a very cash-based society, with only fancier restaurants and supermarkets typically offering the option to pay by card. And this applies in Taroudant too. So, it’s definitely a good idea to have cash with you.
However, we couldn’t find any Al-Barid ATMs (the only ATMs that don’t charge a fee for foreign cards), so I’d recommend withdrawing enough cash for your visit in Agadir, Marrakech, or wherever you’re coming to Taroudant from.
Next Read: Best Things To Do In Agadir
To Finish
Whether you’re visiting for the day or staying a few nights, Taroudant is a place that’s all about slowing down and soaking up authentic Moroccan life without the touristy commercialisation.
It may not have an extensive list of things to do, but that’s part of the overall experience in this authentic city that’s off the typical tourist trail.
I hope this helps you plan a fantastic trip and if you have any questions about Taroudant, leave a comment below!
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