Best time to visit Marrakech, month by month: heat, cold nights, Ramadan in February 2027, holidays and what is on

💡 The Short Version: April, May, October and November are the easy months: average highs of 23 to 29°C and few days at 35°C. July and August are not: highs average 37.7 and 37.4°C, and about 22 days in each pass 35°C. Winter days are mild and nights are cold: January’s average low is 5.9°C, and most riads are not heated. Ramadan is expected to begin on or around Monday 8 February 2027, with Eid al-Fitr on 9 or 10 March: eating in public by day may cause offence, opening hours shorten and the clocks go back an hour. The Marrakech International Film Festival is 20 to 28 November 2026, and the marathon is Sunday 31 January 2027. Or book an evening: the Street Food Tour by Nightad is 4.7 stars from 3,233 reviews (GetYourGuide).

Marrakech month by month

Weather is the 1991 to 2020 average for Marrakech Menara airport, the WMO station 60230, 4.7 km from Jemaa el-Fnaa and 464 m above sea level (NOAA). Highs and lows are monthly averages in °C, rain is the month’s total with rain days of 1 mm or more in brackets, and the lowest is the coldest night in the record. Sunset is on Morocco’s standard clock, UTC+1, on the 15th; during Ramadan the clocks go back an hour.

The snow-capped High Atlas seen over the medina’s rooftops. Photo: Heribert Bechen, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0.

What the numbers say

• Winter days are mild and the nights are cold. January’s average high is 19.1°C and the average low 5.9°C, and the coldest night in the record is -3.6°C. Most riads are not heated. Ask for heating or a fireplace: the hotels whose own sites print one are listed in where to stay in Marrakech.
• July and August are not a city-break season. The average high is 37.7°C in July and 37.4°C in August, 22.9 and 22.3 days reach 35°C, and the highest temperature in the record is 49.6°C, in a July. A pool and air conditioning decide the stay: see Marrakech riads with a pool.
• The easy months are April, May, October and November, with average highs of 25.7, 29.4, 28.5 and 23.1°C. The Independent says to visit in spring and autumn, right up to November.
• The wettest months are March and November, at 35 and 30 mm, with 4.7 and 3.8 rain days.
• The sun sets before 19:00 from November to January. On the 15th it sets at 18:34 in November, 18:30 in December and 18:49 in January, so plan the souks for the daylight.
• Hotel prices. The Independent lists spring, early summer, October half-term and Christmas and New Year as high season.

A covered souk in the Marrakech medina, with daylight coming through the roof. Photo: Benh Lieu Song, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0.

Ramadan 2027

Ramadan is the month of daytime fasting, and it changes how Marrakech works for a visitor.

• Dates. Ramadan is expected to begin on or around Monday 8 February 2027, with Eid al-Fitr, the feast that ends it, on Tuesday 9 or Wednesday 10 March. Morocco fixes the dates by moon sighting, so they can move by a day (Agenda Maroc).
• The clocks. Morocco is on UTC+1 all year except for Ramadan, when the clocks go back an hour to UTC+0, so Marrakech is on UK time. In 2026 the ministry announced the change on 2 February for 03:00 on Sunday 15 February, and put the clocks forward again at 02:00 on Sunday 22 March (Ministry of Digital Transition). Outside Ramadan Marrakech is an hour ahead of the UK while the UK is on GMT and level with it while the UK is on summer time.
• Eating and drinking in public. The FCDO says eating or drinking, swearing, smoking or chewing gum in public in the daytime may cause offence (FCDO). Do not eat or drink in the street or on a square by day.
• Restaurants. The FCDO says hotels and restaurants serving food or drink in fasting hours may separate you from Muslim guests, for example with screens, and to check the opening hours of shops and restaurants.
• Sights close earlier. Le Jardin Secret lists Ramadan hours of 09:30 to 16:30 every day, and the Ben Youssef Madrasa 09:00 to 16:30 against 09:00 to 19:00. See the Ben Youssef Madrasa and Le Jardin Secret. Plan sights for the morning.
• Dress. The FCDO says clothing that does not meet local dress codes may cause more offence during Ramadan.
• Late afternoon. The FCDO says fasting can cause tiredness, particularly in the later afternoon and early evening, and driving may be erratic as people try to get home at dusk.
• Food and baths. Daytime food tastings are the casualty. Amal’s Targa Center opens for a ftour, the evening meal that ends the fast, in its garden, with a waitlist; Cookin’ Marrakech says it is open in Ramadan; Hammam de la Rose opens from 10:00 to 17:00. See Marrakech cooking classes and Marrakech hammams. Choose an evening walk: see Marrakech food tours.
• Alcohol. Alcohol is sold only in licensed venues, in Ramadan as in any month. Ask a venue before you book if a drink matters: see where to eat in Marrakech.
• Eid al-Fitr. Eid al-Fitr is a two-day public holiday, and banks and government offices close.

A trip in Ramadan suits evenings, sights in the morning and a hotel with its own restaurant. It does not suit a trip built on daytime food tours.

Public holidays and what they close

Banks and government offices close on public holidays. The religious dates are expected, not fixed, because the moon sighting sets them. 31 October, Unity Day, is a new national holiday, decreed by King Mohammed VI on 4 November 2025 (lesiteinfo.com).

Festivals and events

• Marrakech International Film Festival, the 23rd edition, 20 to 28 November 2026 (marrakech-festival.com). Its site sells an E-Pass and lists the Atlas workshops.
• Marrakech International Marathon, the 37th edition, Sunday 31 January 2027 (marrakechmarathon.com).
• 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair, at La Mamounia, with a preview on Thursday 18 and Friday 19 March 2027 from 11:00 to 19:00 and public days on Saturday 20 March from 11:00 to 19:00 and Sunday 21 March from 11:00 to 18:00 (1-54.com).
• Christmas and New Year. Morocco holds no public Christmas events. Hotels, restaurants, rooftops and Agafay camps run their own New Year programmes, announced in November, and the Independent lists Christmas and New Year as a high season for hotels.

Which month for what

• Warm days for walking: April, May, October and November.
• Winter sun: December to February, with days of 19 to 21°C and nights of 6 to 8°C. Ask about heating.
• Heat: June to September, with the pool and the morning for sightseeing: see Jemaa el-Fnaa for the square at night, when it cools.
• Ramadan: February to early March 2027.
• A wet day: March or November. Book the museums, a hammam or a cooking class.

Where to stay in Marrakech compares the areas, and what to book before you go to Marrakech lists the sights that need tickets. For a plan once you have the dates, see 3 days in Marrakech; for the way in from the airport, airport to the medina. Day trips from Marrakech compares the trips, among them the Agafay desert. Where to eat in Marrakech and Marrakech food tours cover the food, and Marrakech safety and scams the practical risks.