Le Jardin Secret

The complex on this site goes back to the Saadian period and the present buildings largely to the 1860s, when it was rebuilt for a chamberlain of the sultan; it decayed for decades and was restored between 2008 and 2016 by an international team and opened to the public. Two gardens sit inside the walls: an Islamic garden laid out to the four-part chahar bagh plan with a central basin and channels, planted with the citrus, olive, palm and cypress that scheme uses, and an exotic garden with cactus and imported species. The technical interest is the water. The garden is fed by khettara, the underground channels that brought water into Marrakech by gravity from the foothills, and the restoration reinstated the original distribution so the channels and basins fill as they were designed to, which is explained on site and is rare to see working.

What you actually see

• Two gardens - a formal four-part Islamic plan and an exotic collection beside it.
• Working khettara - the original gravity water system reinstated and running.
• An 1860s rebuilding - on a site going back to the Saadian period.
• A 2016 restoration - after decades of decay, with the process explained.

When to go

October to April. An hour or two.

Honest expectations

It is small and the visit is short for the ticket price. The tower is a separate charge. It fills with tour groups mid-morning. There is a cafe but the garden is the whole of it.

Nearby

The Mouassine fountain is a few steps away; the souks are east.