Founded in 1564–65 by Saadian sultan Abdallah al-Ghalib on the site of an earlier Marinid madrasa, Ben Youssef once housed up to 800 students across 130 dormitory cells, making it the largest madrasa in North Africa. It closed as a school in 1960 and reopened as a historic monument; the latest restoration brought it back to the public in April 2022.
Why visit
Ben Youssef is the most concentrated showcase of Saadian-era craft in Marrakech: zellij dados, sculpted stucco, cedar lattices and calligraphic friezes packed into a 40-by-43-metre building. Recently restored and reopened in 2022, the surfaces are at their cleanest and best-lit in decades.
What to expect
A tight entrance vestibule opens onto a central courtyard with a marble-edged ablution pool, a prayer hall with an 11th-century Cordoban marble basin, and an upper floor with student cells overlooking the court. Allow time for the upstairs cells, often missed by hurried visitors.
Best time
Right after opening for empty courtyards. Late afternoon light slants through the high carved screens and is the best moment for photography, but by then the central court is also at its busiest.
Price range
Ben Youssef Madrasa is ticketed: 50 Dh for foreign adults, 20 Dh for Moroccan adults, 10 Dh for children under 12, and 30 Dh per person for groups of 21 or more.
Practical tips
Combine with Maison de la Photographie (3 minutes' walk) and the Almoravid Koubba opposite the entrance. Dress modestly out of respect for the building's religious past. The madrasa is a 12-minute walk north of Jemaa el-Fnaa.
It was a residential Quran school attached to the neighbouring Ben Youssef Mosque. Up to 800 students from across Morocco lived in 130 small cells around the central courtyard while studying Islamic law, theology and Arabic letters.
The current building was commissioned by Saadian sultan Abdallah al-Ghalib in 1564–65, on the site of an earlier 14th-century Marinid madrasa. The Saadian rebuild is what stands today.
Yes. The madrasa is a deconsecrated monument, not an active mosque, so visitors of any faith may walk through the courtyard, prayer hall and the upper-floor student cells.
Yes, non-flash photography is permitted throughout the madrasa. The central courtyard with its rectangular ablution pool and sculpted arches is one of the most photographed interiors in Marrakech.
