What are typical opening hours in Morocco, and is everything closed on Fridays?

Morocco doesn't grind to a halt on Fridays the way some travellers fear, but Friday is the most important day of the Muslim week, so the rhythm shifts and you should plan around it. The thing to expect is a long midday pause: around noon until mid-afternoon, many smaller shops, family businesses and artisan stalls close so people can attend the main weekly prayers at the mosque and share the traditional Friday couscous lunch with family. It's less "everything is shut all day" and more "the middle of Friday goes quiet."

What stays open is reassuring for visitors. The main tourist-facing world keeps running — restaurants aimed at travellers, riads, hotels, major sights and the busier sections of the big souks generally carry on, though some individual stalls within a souk may down shutters for those midday hours. So you won't be stranded with nothing to do or eat. I simply tell guests to do their serious souk shopping or shop-specific errands in the morning or later afternoon on a Friday, and to treat the midday window as a good time for a long lunch or a rest.

For general weekly hours, here's the pattern. Shops typically open mid-morning (around 9–10am), often close for a midday break in more traditional areas, then reopen in the afternoon and stay open into the evening — souks and medina shops in particular keep going late, especially in summer. Banks and government offices work mornings and early afternoons on weekdays and are best visited before lunch. Many businesses run a Monday-to-Saturday week with Sunday being notably quiet, when offices and a fair number of shops close, though tourist areas and cafés stay lively.

During Ramadan the whole timetable changes again: daytime hours shorten, many places open later and run differently, and everything comes alive after sunset when the fast is broken. If your trip falls in Ramadan, assume reduced and shifted daytime hours and a vibrant nightlife. (I've covered Ramadan travel more fully elsewhere, but it's worth flagging here because it reshapes opening times across the board.)

My practical advice: don't schedule anything time-critical for a Friday midday — no "we must buy that rug at 1pm" plans — and use that window to slow down like the locals do. Across the week, mornings are the safest bet for banks and official errands, evenings are wonderful for the souks, and Sundays are best for relaxed sightseeing rather than shopping. Build in a little flexibility and the opening-hours quirks become charm rather than frustration.