What is Marrakech like in July?

July is high summer in Marrakech, and there is no softening it: this is a hot month, with daytime temperatures of 38 to 40°C and the occasional spike towards 45°C in a heatwave. The heat is dry rather than humid, which makes it more bearable than the same figure would be elsewhere, but it is still serious — the kind of heat where the midday streets empty out and life sensibly retreats indoors. July is for travellers who genuinely do not mind the warmth, or who are happy to structure their day around it.

Surviving and enjoying July comes down to rhythm and accommodation. A riad with a proper pool and thick, cool walls is not optional this month — it is the difference between a great trip and a miserable one. I tell July guests to be out and about by 7 or 8 in the morning, do everything active before 11, then surrender the afternoon to the pool, a shaded courtyard or an air-conditioned room. The reward comes after sunset, when the temperature eases and the city exhales: the rooftops fill, the night markets glow, and a late dinner in the warm evening air is genuinely magical.

On the plus side, July is firmly low season for international visitors, so the city is at its quietest and cheapest. Riad rates drop significantly, the headline sights are uncrowded, and you can wander the Bahia Palace or the Saadian Tombs without the spring queues. There is a particular pleasure in having Marrakech this empty, and for budget-conscious travellers who can take the heat, the value is hard to ignore. Locals largely move at dawn and dusk, and falling into that pattern is the key to a good July.

The one hard no in July is the Sahara. Daytime desert temperatures are dangerously high, and no responsible designer should be sending guests to a dune camp in this heat — I simply do not book it. If you want both Marrakech and the desert, this is the wrong month; choose autumn instead. For the city alone, paired perhaps with a cooler day in the High Atlas or an escape to the breezy Atlantic coast at Essaouira, July can work for the heat-tolerant. Come prepared, book the pool, and let the rhythm of the day belong to early mornings and late evenings.