El Badi Palace

El Badi was built at the end of the sixteenth century by the Saadian sultan Ahmad al-Mansur and was, by every account of it, extravagant: Italian marble, gold, onyx, and a central court with a huge pool and four sunken gardens. About a century later it was systematically stripped, its materials carted north to build Meknes, and what remains is the plan rather than the palace - vast pisé walls, empty pavilion platforms, the sunken gardens still planted with orange trees, and a series of underground passages and cellars you can walk through. Storks nest on the highest walls and are visible year after year in the same places. The ramparts can be climbed for a view over the whole rectangle and across the medina to the Atlas.

What you actually see

• The sunken gardens - orange trees growing well below the level of the central court.
• The stork nests - large nests built on the top of the ruined pisé walls.
• The underground passages - cellars and service corridors running beneath the courtyards.
• The rampart walk - a raised circuit with the Atlas visible on clear days.

When to go

Late afternoon is best for light and for storks returning to the nests. The site is entirely open with no shade, so summer midday is punishing. It is quieter than Bahia Palace at almost every hour, and the whole visit is outdoors, so avoid it in rain.

Honest expectations

There is very little left to look at in detail - this is a large empty rectangle, and visitors expecting a furnished palace leave disappointed within twenty minutes. The ground is uneven and the rampart stairs are steep and unrailed. Signage is thin. In summer the reflected heat off the pisé walls is severe and there is nowhere to sit in shade.

Nearby

The Saadian Tombs and the kasbah mosque are a few minutes away; Bahia Palace is a short walk north.