Which Marrakech monuments are must-see, and which can I skip?

After years of building Marrakech itineraries, I have firm opinions on what earns your limited time. The three I would never cut: the Ben Youssef Madrasa, for me the most beautiful interior in the city; the Bahia Palace, for its dazzling painted ceilings and gardens; and Jemaa el-Fna in the evening, the great square that comes alive at dusk with food stalls and musicians, anchored by the Koutoubia minaret glowing at sunset. Get those three right and you have the soul of Marrakech.

In the strong second tier, worth it if your trip runs to three days or more: the Saadian Tombs, exquisite but tiny, so go at opening to beat the bottleneck at the famous chamber; and the Marrakech Museum and the adjacent Almoravid Koubba, which sit right by Ben Youssef and add a quick, satisfying layer of history. The souks themselves are an attraction — give yourself an afternoon to get pleasantly lost rather than treating them only as shopping.

Now the honest 'skip or downgrade' list. The Majorelle Garden is lovely but small, busy, pricey and out in the new city — wonderful for garden and design lovers, but the first thing I cut from a tight schedule. The El Badi Palace is a vast ruin: atmospheric storks-on-the-walls romance if you like that, but underwhelming if you expect intact rooms, since it was stripped centuries ago. And the much-touted 'tanneries' touts who offer to lead you to them often end in a hard sell — Fes is the place for tanneries, not Marrakech.

My ideal first-timer's two days: morning one at Ben Youssef and the Marrakech Museum, then the souks, then sunset at the Koutoubia gardens and dinner at Jemaa el-Fna; morning two at the Bahia Palace and Saadian Tombs early, then a hammam or a courtyard lunch to recover from the heat and the bustle. Add Majorelle only if you have a third day and a love of gardens. That sequence gives you the best of the city without the monument fatigue that catches people who try to tick everything.