What's a perfect 2 days in Marrakech?

Two days is the sweet spot for a first visit to Marrakech, and the trick is to split it cleanly: one day for the intensity of the old city, one for its calmer counterpoints, so the place thrills you without exhausting you. Day one is all medina. I'd start at the Bahia Palace early before the crowds, then thread into the souks — losing yourself among the lantern-makers, dyers and spice stalls is the whole point, so don't over-plan it. The Koutoubia minaret is your landmark for finding your way back out. As evening falls, head to Jemaa el-Fnaa, the great square, as it transforms into a circus of food stalls, storytellers, musicians and smoke. Eat dinner at the stalls and watch from a café balcony above. It's chaotic, theatrical and unforgettable.

Because day one is so full-on, I deliberately make day two gentler. Morning at the Majorelle Garden — the cobalt-blue oasis Yves Saint Laurent saved — paired with the excellent YSL Museum next door. Both reward a slow, early visit before the heat and queues. Then a long lunch in the Gueliz new town, where the cafés and design boutiques feel like a different, more European Marrakech.

The afternoon of day two I reserve for a hammam — a proper Moroccan steam, scrub and massage is the single best antidote to two days of medina dust and sensory overload, and Marrakech does them at every level from neighbourhood bathhouse to palatial spa. Emerge glowing for one more rooftop sunset, with the Atlas mountains pink on the horizon if the air is clear.

If your two days are part of a longer trip, I'd add the Secret Garden or the Saadian Tombs on day one and an afternoon cooking class on day two — Marrakech rewards exactly as much depth as you give it. But the day-one-intensity, day-two-calm structure is the framework I come back to again and again, because it leaves people in love with the city rather than overwhelmed by it.