Saadian Tombs, Marrakech: opening hours, ticket price and queues

Updated on October 1, 2026

The Saadian Tombs are the necropolis of the dynasty that ruled Morocco in the 16th century, in the Kasbah, right against the side of the Moulay el-Yazid mosque. Begun under Sultan Abdallah el-Ghalib around 1557, they took their present form under Ahmed el-Mansour, who is buried here. Walled off by later dynasties, they were rediscovered in 1917 and then restored. The site, two mausoleums in a funerary garden, is open every day from 9am to 5pm; a ticket costs 100 MAD for a foreign adult. The visit takes 30 to 45 minutes.

Highlights

The Hall of the Twelve Columns

The main mausoleum holds the tomb of Ahmed el-Mansour, surrounded by those of his relatives. Twelve Carrara marble columns support a dome of carved cedar wood, above walls of zellige and finely carved stucco. You cannot go inside: you look in from the threshold, hence the queue.

The Hall of the Mihrab

This former prayer hall, the first room of the main mausoleum, has kept its stucco-framed mihrab and its marble columns. Tombs of Saadian princes were added here over time.

The carved stucco

Arches, Quranic inscriptions and geometric patterns cover the walls of both mausoleums. Take time to look at this decoration in the Hall of the Three Niches, which is quieter than the main hall.

The Lalla Messaouda mausoleum

The second, older mausoleum holds, among others, the tomb of Ahmed el-Mansour's mother. In the garden, dozens of zellige-covered graves belong to servants and soldiers of the court.

Infos pratiques

Tips

A ticket costs 100 MAD for a foreign adult and 50 MAD for a foreign child aged 7 to 13; Moroccans and residents pay 30 MAD, or 10 MAD for a child (prices checked in October 2026). Entry is free for Moroccans on Fridays and on the first day of national and religious holidays. The Ministry of Culture's online ticket office sells tickets at the same price; it does not spare you the queue in front of the Hall of the Twelve Columns. The entrance is at the end of a narrow alley that runs alongside the Kasbah mosque: do not follow touts who offer another way in.

How to get there

Entrance: Rue de la Kasbah, next to the Moulay el-Yazid mosque (Kasbah mosque) On foot from Jemaa el-Fna square: about 20 minutes, via the Koutoubia and Bab Agnaou On foot from the El Badi Palace: about 10 minutes Petit taxi: ask for Bab Agnaou or the Kasbah mosque