What to Wear in Marrakech in December
Marrakech in December: 20°C / 68°F days, 7°C / 45°F nights, and the month Yves Saint Laurent came here to work.
- Emerald wool coat — the sun sets at 5:30pm in mid-December and the night falls toward 7°C / 45°F
- Fuchsia silk shirt — light enough for a 20°C / 68°F noon, with long sleeves for the medina
- Navy pleated wide-leg trousers — knees covered from the souks to dinner
- Black block-heel ankle boots — closed and steady on uneven lanes after dark
- Black leather crossbody worn in front — the UK Foreign Office names bag-snatching in medina quarters
- Deep-magenta scarf — warmth at the neck once the sun goes, and cover for your shoulders
- Planning the Musée Yves Saint Laurent for a Wednesday — it closes on 2, 9, 16, 23 and 30 December
- Expecting Jardin Majorelle tickets at the gate — they are sold online only
- A tote or backpack behind you in the souks — pickpocketing and bag-snatching are the UK Foreign Office's warning
- Leaving the coat at the riad because noon reached 20°C / 68°F — the night falls toward 7°C / 45°F
December in Marrakech is Saint Laurent's month. The Musée Yves Saint Laurent Marrakech writes that he "would travel to Marrakech for a fortnight in December and June of each year in order to design his haute couture collections." The Direction Générale de la Météorologie's normal for Marrakech-Ménara airport gives 20.1°C / 68°F at noon and a night that falls to 7.3°C / 45°F, with rain on about 4 days. Day and evening want different clothes. Pack in the colours he saw here: a fuchsia shirt and navy trousers for museum hours, then an emerald coat over black once the sun sets at about 5:30pm.
Saint Laurent saw Marrakech in pink, blue, green and purple. In December you can dress the same way: a pink shirt by day, an emerald coat at night, each colour worn whole.
The capsule
01Emerald wool coat, knee lengthSunset comes at 5:28pm in the first week of December, and the night falls toward 7°C / 45°F, so dinner in the medina needs a real coat. Green is one of the four caftan colours Saint Laurent saw on every street corner here, with pink, blue and purple. Worn plainly over black, one emerald coat carries the colour without a pattern.
02Black crew-neck sweaterMornings start cold: on 15 December the sun rises at 7:24am after a night near 7°C / 45°F, and the Jardin Majorelle opens at 8am. A black crew goes under the coat at breakfast and on its own by noon, when DGM's normal reaches 20.1°C. Black also keeps fuchsia, navy and emerald reading as three separate colours instead of a print.
03Fuchsia silk shirt, long sleevesSaint Laurent described the people of Marrakech in a blend of pink, blue, green and purple caftans, and pink is the one to wear by day. Silk stays cool at a 20°C / 68°F noon in the garden, and long sleeves are the safe choice in the old city. Button it to the collar for the Musée Yves Saint Laurent, open 10am to 6pm.
04Navy pleated wide-leg trousersCovered knees are the safe choice in the medina, and a wide leg gives you that without trapping heat at 20°C. Navy is Saint Laurent's blue at its darkest and quietest, and it carries the fuchsia shirt by day and the emerald coat at night. Front pleats sit flat on a museum bench, a café chair and the back seat of a petit taxi.
05Deep-magenta scarfA scarf is the warmth you add when the sun drops at about 5:30pm and you are still in the souks. This one is a deep magenta, close to the pink in Saint Laurent's caftan colours, and it lifts a black sweater and an emerald coat without adding a print. Unwound, it covers your shoulders or your hair whenever you want them covered.
06Black block-heel ankle bootsEvenings in the medina mean uneven lanes, steps and stone underfoot in the dark. A closed ankle boot with a low block heel keeps your feet warm on a 7°C / 45°F night and stays steady on every surface. Black boots under navy wide-leg trousers read as one line from hem to floor. Keep them for the evening and let the oxfords walk the day.
07Black cap-toe oxfords, low heelA Saint Laurent day in Marrakech is a day on your feet: the Jardin Majorelle from its 8am opening, then the museum until last entry at 5:30pm. Laced leather oxfords with a low heel take garden paths and gallery floors without slipping, and they stay polished enough for lunch in Gueliz. Black ties them to the bag and the boots.
08Black leather flap crossbodyThe UK Foreign Office warns that petty crime is common in medina quarters, naming pickpocketing, bag-snatching and theft of visible jewellery and handbags. A flap crossbody worn in front, buckle closed, answers that. It holds what a December day here needs: a phone with your Jardin Majorelle tickets, sold online only, and a card, since the museum's bookshop and café take cards only.
Day to night
Museum day. Fuchsia silk shirt · navy pleated wide-leg trousers · black cap-toe oxfords · black flap crossbody, with the black crew over your shoulders until the sun is well up. The Jardin Majorelle opens at 8am; the Musée Yves Saint Laurent opens at 10am, every day except Wednesday, with last entry at 5:30pm.
Medina evening. Black crew · navy trousers · emerald wool coat · deep-magenta scarf · black block-heel ankle boots · the crossbody worn in front. The sun sets between 5:28pm and 5:38pm all month, and the night falls toward 7°C / 45°F.
A suggested look — emerald wool coat, black crew-neck sweater, navy pleated wide-leg trousers, black block-heel ankle boots, magenta scarf.
What to avoid
- A Wednesday visit to the Musée Yves Saint Laurent
- Turning up at the Jardin Majorelle without an online ticket
- A tote or backpack carried behind you in the souks
- Open sandals after the 5:30pm sunset
- Dressing a medina dinner for the 20°C / 68°F noon
Frequently asked questions
Mild by day and cold at night. The Direction Générale de la Météorologie, Morocco's national weather service, gives Marrakech-Ménara airport a December normal of 20.1°C / 68°F by day and 7.3°C / 45°F at night, with 24.2mm of rain on about 4 days with 1mm or more. On that normal no December night drops below freezing on average, and the lowest December reading between 1991 and 2020 was 0.4°C. Strong wind, 10 m/s or more, blows on 3.9 days, fewer than in any month except January. The sun rises at 7:14am on 1 December and 7:31am on the 31st, and sets between 5:28pm and 5:38pm.
Two outfits that share one pair of trousers. For the day: a fuchsia silk shirt, navy pleated wide-leg trousers, black cap-toe oxfords and a black flap crossbody. For the evening: a black crew-neck sweater, an emerald wool coat, a deep-magenta scarf and black block-heel ankle boots. That covers a 20°C / 68°F noon in the Jardin Majorelle and a night that falls toward 7°C / 45°F. Covered shoulders and knees are the safe choice in the old city, and both outfits give you that.
To work. The Musée Yves Saint Laurent Marrakech says he came for a fortnight every December and June to design his haute couture collections. He and Pierre Bergé had first arrived in February 1966 and stayed at La Mamounia, according to the Musée Yves Saint Laurent Paris. The Marrakech museum is open from 10am to 6pm every day except Wednesday, with last entry at 5:30pm, and its bookshop and café take cards only. Its exhibition In the Footsteps of Odette du Puigaudeau, on "one of the keenest observers of the Sahara", runs until 7 March 2027; the museum says her work aims to "awaken a longing for the desert."
Early December has the shortest afternoons: the sun sets at 5:28pm until 8 December, and by the 31st sunset has moved to 5:38pm. The Marrakech International Film Festival is over by then; its 2026 edition ran from 20 to 28 November. Late December brings the end of the year, though no national holiday with a fixed date: the government's list has none in December and three in January. Whichever week you choose, the Musée Yves Saint Laurent closes on Wednesdays, which fall on 2, 9, 16, 23 and 30 December 2026.
December is a little warmer. DGM's airport normal gives December 20.1°C / 68°F by day and 7.3°C / 45°F at night; January runs 1.0°C cooler by day and 1.4°C cooler at night, and it is the coldest month and the only one whose average includes nights below freezing. Rain is close: December has more days with rain (4.1 against 3.0), and January a shade more in total (25.0mm against 24.2mm). December here follows Saint Laurent's December fortnights and the museum that carries his name; our January guide follows the Amazigh New Year on 14 January, a national holiday, and the Pierre Bergé Museum of Berber Arts.
Saint Laurent's answer is quoted by the Musée Yves Saint Laurent Paris: "on every street corner in Marrakech, you encounter astonishingly vivid groups of men and women, which stand out in a blend of pink, blue, green, and purple caftans." The garments he took from Morocco are listed in the museum's text for its 2011 exhibition Yves Saint Laurent et le Maroc: "He managed to appropriate such traditional garments as the djellaba, the jabador, the burnous, and the tarboosh in order to create original silhouettes that were distinctly his own." You need none of them to visit. Covered shoulders and knees are the safe choice in the old city, and a long coat over trousers gives you both on a December night.
Sources
- Direction Générale de la Météorologie — 1991–2020 climate normals, Marrakech-Ménara stationMorocco's national meteorological service (DGM) 1991–2020 normal for Marrakech-Ménara airport, as submitted to the WMO's normals collection. Rain days are days with 1 mm or more.
- Direction Générale de la Météorologie (Morocco) — 1991–2020 climate normals, Marrakech-Ménara (60230), as submitted to the WMO's normals collection (NOAA NCEI accession 0253808) — accessed 2026-10-26
- Musée Yves Saint Laurent Marrakech — Yves Saint Laurent (biography: December and June in Marrakech) — accessed 2026-10-26
- Musée Yves Saint Laurent Paris — Yves Saint Laurent – Pierre Bergé, A Moroccan Passion — accessed 2026-10-26
- Musée Yves Saint Laurent Paris — Yves Saint Laurent et le Maroc (2011): the djellaba, jabador, burnous and tarboosh — accessed 2026-10-26
- Musée Yves Saint Laurent Marrakech — Practical information (closed Wednesdays) — accessed 2026-10-26
- Musée Yves Saint Laurent Marrakech — In the Footsteps of Odette du Puigaudeau, 3 October 2026 – 7 March 2027 — accessed 2026-10-26
- Jardin Majorelle — Official site: online tickets and opening hours — accessed 2026-10-26
- UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office — Morocco travel advice: safety and security — accessed 2026-10-26
- Marrakech International Film Festival — 23rd edition, 20–28 November 2026 — accessed 2026-10-26
- Ministère de la Transformation numérique et de la Réforme de l’Administration (Maroc) — Horaires de travail et jours fériés (Nouvel an amazigh, 14 janvier) — accessed 2026-10-26
