Country Life | Gardens of Marrakech: Featuring the gardens of Yves Saint Laurent

6 days | £4595 per person with flights | 16 - 21 November 2026

Featuring the gardens of Yves Saint Laurent

Marrakech has become a destination of choice for the discerning traveller seeking a taste for the exotic infused with sophistication and luxury. In a picture-book setting with views of the High Atlas Mountains, wonderful climate and cuisine and great shopping, visitors will discover a warm and friendly city with almost a thousand years of history. Known as ‘the rose among the palms’, Marrakech is characterised by its pink-coloured pisé (rammed earth) architecture and its deep-rooted tradition of making and preserving gardens and green spaces. We have negotiated a wonderful selection of visits ranging from gardens of old palaces to those of modern private properties. Highlights of this tour include: a visit to the garden of Villa Oasis, former home of Yves Saint Laurent and his partner Pierre Bergé; Tom Stuart-Smith’s ‘Le Jardin Secret’ and another new exquisite private garden in the foothills of the snow-capped Atlas Mountains. The tour includes a visit to the souk with a local guide to see (and buy) some of the world’s most irresistible fabrics and artefacts. We are accommodated at the sumptuous La Maison Arabe a luxurious riad-hotel set in the heart of the ancient medina.

Day to day Itinerary

Day 1

Fly from London to Marrakech Airport. From here we drive the short distance to La Maison Arabe and enjoy a welcome drink together. With time to settle-in before dining together at the hotel with a chance to uncover the secrets of refined Moroccan cuisine.

Day 2

This day is much about Yves Saint Laurent and his love of Marrakech and Morocco. We start with a visit to the garden of Villa Oasis, former home of Yves Saint Laurent, to see one of the world’s most heavenly gardens, studded with pale blue, lemon yellow and lime green painted pots. We then enter the beautiful, so very blue garden that has attracted so many to Marrakech. La Majorelle is a rhapsody of intense plantsmanship, incorporating the exquisite Berber Museum, housed in Cubist artist, Jacques Majorelle’s former studio. Followed by time to purchase your own lunch in the Cafe Le Studio. In the afternoon we visit the YSL Museum. From here we go to La Mamounia for an afternoon tea in the gardens then back to our hotel to rest before travelling to The Palm Orchids Nursery where a light meal will be included.

Day 3

We drive to the walled Medina, Marrakech’s heartbeat, starting with a visit to Dar El Bacha Museum, a former palace with courtyards filled with orange groves and fountains. A short walk to Le Jardin Secret with contrasting Islamic and exotic courtyards. A walk through the souk accompanied by excellent guides including a visit to Monde des Arts de la Parure including lunch at the rooftop restaurant. Return to La Maison Arabe for a free evening.

Day 4

Riad Noria is a relatively new garden designed by Hélène Lindgens and Hans Achilles, a very ambitious project rolls out in front of the Riad like a richly intricate carpet with a backdrop of the snow-capped Atlas Mountains. Then a special invitation to a private garden in the Atlas Mountains with lunch included. Return to La Maison Arabe for a free evening.

Day 5

André Heller, Viennese multi-media artist, perhaps best known as a musician, is also a creator of gardens. His latest venture, Anima, a few miles outside Marrakech, has much to delight, impress, and perhaps challenge the keen garden visitor. Lunch will be served in the shaded garden of Nectarome, Jardin Bio-Aromatique d’Ourika, a herbal garden and shop promoting herbs and plant extracts for beauty, health and culinary use. Back to the hotel for some free time before venturing out to La Palmeraie to Jnane Tamsna where Gary & Meryanne Martin will host a gala dinner and garden walk in the grounds of their special guest house. Return to La Maison Arabe.

Day 6

We are invited to the Thiemann Cactus Nursery with lunch included before we return to Marrakech, Menara Airport for our return flight to London.

La Maison Arabe

Experience the soul of Moroccan hospitality at the legendary La Maison Arabe, a luxurious riad-hotel set in the ancient medina of Marrakech. An authentic haven of tranquillity that echoes the city’s rich history, heritage and culture; this oasis celebrates a rich storied past. Palates are pampered with exquisite dining experiences, from the heights of Moroccan refinement, to the finest of international flavours. With just 45 rooms and suites which are charming havens of comfort and refinement, set around the patio or on the garden side of the hotel, each room is unique in layout and design, combining contemporary elegance with Moroccan decorative elements. The bathrooms are crafted from Moroccan marble and granite, immersing you in the highest levels of luxury.

With Flights: £4595

Join Direct: £4395

Single Supp: £395

Deposit: £550

Departure Dates:

16 - 21 November 2026

Duration:

5 nights / 6 days

Your Holiday Includes:

Return flights (Economy class) from London to Marrakech
Five nights' bed and breakfast at La Maison Arabe
Private coach transfers and excursions
Three evening meals and four lunches
Guided visits to sites listed in the programme
Services of the Tour Host and Tour Leader
Detailed programme and garden notes
All entrance fees, taxes, and gratuities for coach drivers and serving staff

Tour Host & Leader

Kirsty Fergusson

Kirsty exchanged a career in academia (she has a PhD specialising in French philosopher-novelists) for a life in gardening. Trained at Capel Manor, she was head gardener at Mapperton in Dorset during the early nineties, where a series of fortunate encounters opened the door to garden writing. As well as writing a weekly column for The Express, for many years she was a frequent contributor to Gardens Illustrated, House and Garden, Country Life, The Times, The Telegraph and The Independent. In 2003 she moved to SW France, where she continues to explore the possibilities of her own (very forgiving) garden – when not travelling, writing or leading tours.

Marion Mako

Based in the Cotswolds, Marion is an accomplished freelance garden designer, historian, researcher, author, and tour leader. Inspired by a trip to Italy, she left the corporate world to study garden design and practical horticulture, later earning a Master’s in Garden History from the University of Bristol, where she focused on the Arts and Crafts era and the artist and garden designer Alfred Parsons. Marion has written five books, contributed to journals, and appeared on British TV and the American PBS series ‘A Short History of the English Garden’. For over twenty years, she has led garden tours across England and Europe. It is her great joy to discover and share new gardens with fellow garden enthusiasts and she is renowned for her engaging storytelling about the creators of these places.