Marrakech, Morocco · Independent visitor guide
What the ticket costs, where you buy it, when to go and how to find the door in the medina, checked against the official madrasa website.
Good to know
There is no official online ticket right now: you pay at the entrance. Anyone in the alleys who says the madrasa is closed is not telling the truth; it opens every day. Mistakes and scams to avoid
The visit itself is simple. These four points make it go smoothly. Each links to the full answer.
Foreign adults pay 50 MAD, children under 12 10 MAD. Bring dirhams in small notes.
How tickets workTour groups fill the small courtyard from mid-morning. In Ramadan it closes at 16:30.
Hours and quiet timesIt is 1.1 km from Jemaa el-Fna, on foot only. Follow the signs or an offline map.
The route from the squarePlan about 45 minutes to 1 hour; up to 1.5 hours if you explore every upstairs room and take photos. Most of the student rooms, and the best view of the pool, are upstairs.
What to see insideInside the madrasa
A Quranic college finished in 1564–1565 under the Saadian sultan Abdallah al-Ghalib, once the largest madrasa in Morocco: a marble courtyard, a prayer hall and 134 student rooms on two floors.
History
From a marble basin carved near Córdoba to the 2022 reopening: the key dates of the Ben Youssef Madrasa.
1002–1007
At Madinat al-Zahra near Córdoba, craftsmen carve the marble basin that now stands in the prayer hall: the oldest object in the madrasa.
1106–1142
The Almoravid sultan Ali ibn Yusuf founds the great mosque that gives the madrasa its name. Its ablutions pavilion, the Almoravid Koubba (around 1125), still stands next door.
14th century
A first madrasa is founded on the site by the Marinid sultan Abu al-Hasan (r. 1331–1348).
1564–1565
The Saadian sultan Abdallah al-Ghalib rebuilds the madrasa on a grand scale; an inscription dates its completion to 972 AH. It becomes the largest madrasa in Morocco, with 134 student rooms.
1565–1960
Students from across Morocco live in the small rooms and study religious sciences, philosophy, medicine and mathematics.
1960 · 1982
The madrasa closes as a school in 1960. Restored, it opens to the public as a historical monument in 1982.
2017
After the King’s visit to the old medina on 9 January 2017, the Ministry of Habous and Islamic Affairs launches a full restoration.
2018–2022
Closed November 2018 to April 2022, the madrasa reopens every day, with tickets sold at the entrance. Today it welcomes more than 230,000 visitors a year.
On your own
50 MAD at the door
Walk from Jemaa el-Fna with an offline map, buy your ticket at the entrance and take your time. The cheapest way, and the building is easy to read on your own. official madrasa website
The ticket guideWith a guide
€10 to €50
A guide walks you through the souks, keeps the touts away and explains the inscriptions. Most tours add Bahia Palace or Le Jardin Secret. The catch: most leave out the entry tickets. We mark which ones include them.
All tours comparedSome links are affiliate links: if you book, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. How this works
Madrasa ticket paid on site Offer 1
The cheapest guided walk: the madrasa, Le Jardin Secret and the souks. Entry tickets are bought on site.
Live guide: Arabic, English, French
From €10 per person · Nov 2026
Check dates — Ben Youssef Madrasa, Secret Garden and souks walking tour, Viator (opens in a new tab)
Madrasa ticket paid on site Offer 2
A certified guide for the madrasa, Le Jardin Secret and the souks, in groups of up to 15. Entries are not included.
Live guide: Arabic, English
From €14 per person · Nov 2026
Check dates — Ben Youssef Madrasa, Secret Garden and souk walking tour, Viator (opens in a new tab)
Madrasa ticket paid on site Offer 3
The classic half day: Koutoubia, Bahia Palace, the Mellah, the souks and the madrasa. Riad pickup only with the private option.
Live guide: English, French
From €15 per person · Nov 2026
Check dates — Bahia Palace, Ben Youssef Madrasa, souks and medina tour, Viator (opens in a new tab)
Madrasa ticket paid on site Offer 4
The madrasa alone, explained by a licensed guide in one hour. The listing excludes admission: you pay the entry at the door.
Live guide: English, Arabic
From €26 per person · Nov 2026
Check dates — Ben Youssef Madrasa 1-hour guided tour, Viator (opens in a new tab)
Madrasa ticket included Offer 5
Both entry tickets included, groups of 10 at most, guides in English or Spanish. Nothing to pay at the door.
Live guide: English, Spanish
From €49 per person · Nov 2026
Check dates — Marrakech walking tour with Bahia Palace and Ben Youssef entry, Viator (opens in a new tab)
Madrasa ticket included Offer 6
Tickets for Bahia Palace and the madrasa included, groups of up to 12, bottled water. Meets at the Koutoubia.
Live guide: English, French
From €50 per person · Nov 2026
Check dates — Best of Marrakech: Bahia Palace and Ben Youssef Madrasa with tickets, Viator (opens in a new tab)Sorted by price, lowest first. Prices and inclusions from the Viator or GetYourGuide listing; the price at checkout is the one that counts.
Stay one step ahead
None of them is hard to avoid once you know about it.
How to avoid each oneEvery page shows when it was last checked.
Foreign adults pay 50 MAD. Moroccan adults pay 20 MAD on showing a Moroccan identity card, children under 12 pay 10 MAD, and groups of 21 people or more pay 30 MAD each.
Not on the official website for now: when we checked, its online ticketing was under maintenance and it said tickets are sold only at the entrance. You don’t need to book ahead for an individual visit. Tour platforms sell guided visits, and a few include the entry ticket.
Plan on cash: recent visitor guides report that the ticket desk takes cash only, in dirhams. Card payment existed only for the official online ticketing, which was under maintenance when we checked. Bring dirhams in small notes; ATMs are easy to find around Jemaa el-Fna, not near the madrasa.
9:00–19:00, every day. During Ramadan the madrasa keeps shorter hours: 9:00–16:30, every day.
Plan about 45 minutes to 1 hour; up to 1.5 hours if you explore every upstairs room and take photos. The building has 134 student rooms on two floors, and the upstairs corridors are where most people slow down.
On foot. The madrasa is 1.1 km north of the square, in the Ben Youssef neighbourhood, in the heart of the medina; the official site says to follow the signs. Allow 15 to 20 minutes through the souks, and ignore anyone who says the road ahead is closed.