Marrakech Museum (Dar Mnebhi): opening hours and ticket price

Updated on October 1, 2026

The Marrakech Museum (Musée de Marrakech) occupies the Dar Mnebhi palace on place Ben Youssef, next to the madrasa of the same name. The residence was built at the turn of the 20th century for Mehdi Mnebhi, minister of war under Sultan Moulay Abdelaziz; after independence it served as a girls' school, before being restored by the Omar Benjelloun Foundation, which opened it to the public in 1997 and still runs it. People come first for the architecture: a huge courtyard, now roofed over, paved with zellige and set with fountains, beneath a monumental brass chandelier, surrounded by reception rooms with painted cedar doors and ceilings. The rooms show pieces from the foundation's collection, ceramics, Amazigh jewellery, weapons, textiles, as well as contemporary art exhibitions; the palace's old hammam can be visited too.

Highlights

The courtyard and its chandelier

The central courtyard, once an open-air garden, is now covered by a glass roof. Its giant pierced-brass chandelier, its basins and its zellige floor make up the palace's most striking setting.

The reception rooms and their decoration

Around the courtyard, the rooms keep their painted wooden doors and shutters, their wrought-iron window grilles and their zellige wainscoting. Display cases show caftans, jewellery and everyday objects.

Place Ben Youssef

The museum entrance opens onto a small pedestrian square, a few metres from the Ben Youssef Madrasa and the Almoravid Koubba. It is a good starting point for exploring this northern part of the medina.

The old hammam

The palace has kept its private hammam, a sequence of small domed rooms laid out in the classic pattern of the Moroccan bath. It shows the comfort of the great Marrakech residences of the period.

Infos pratiques

Tips

No official source confirms that the museum is open: some guidebooks list it as closed for several years, while visitors describe it as open in 2025 and 2026, with admission of about 50 MAD for an adult. Check on the spot or with your accommodation before making the detour. The visit takes 45 minutes to an hour; labels are sparse, and the building matters more than the collections. Combine it with the Ben Youssef Madrasa and the Maison de la Photographie, both a few minutes' walk away.

How to get there

Place Ben Youssef, Marrakech medina (northern part, next to the Ben Youssef Madrasa). On foot: about 15 to 20 minutes from Jemaa el-Fna square, crossing the souks northwards along rue Souk Semmarine. Cars cannot enter the souk alleys: the last part of the journey is on foot.