What to Wear in Marrakech in January
Marrakech in January: 19°C / 66°F days, 6°C / 43°F nights, and the Amazigh New Year on Thursday 14 January.
- Cream cable-knit cardigan — on at the Berber museum's 8:30am opening, off by a 19°C / 66°F noon
- Saffron poplin shirt — long sleeves for the medina, light enough for the noon sun
- Navy wool coat to mid-calf — January is the coldest month and the night falls toward 6°C / 43°F
- Tan suede desert boots — laced for long walking days through a holiday week
- Oxblood bag on its long strap, worn across your front — the UK Foreign Office names bag-snatching in medina quarters
- Madder-red scarf — warmth at the neck for a 7:45am marathon start, 19 minutes after sunrise
- Leaving the coat at the riad after the 5:51pm sunset on 15 January — the night falls toward 6°C / 43°F
- Turning up at the Jardin Majorelle, home of the Berber museum, without a ticket — tickets are sold online only
- Waiting for race morning to collect a marathon bib — the registration partner hands them out at Koutoubia square on the two days before
- A bag carried behind you in the souks — pickpocketing and bag-snatching are the UK Foreign Office's warning
January is the month of the Amazigh New Year. Morocco's ministry for administrative reform lists 14 January as a paid national holiday, the newest on the government's list, following a Royal Cabinet communiqué of 3 May 2023; in 2027 it falls on a Thursday, three days after the 11 January holiday. The Direction Générale de la Météorologie's normal for Marrakech-Ménara airport makes January the coldest month, at 19.1°C / 66°F by day and 5.9°C / 43°F at night. Spend the holiday mornings among the objects Pierre Bergé and Yves Saint Laurent collected, at the Pierre Bergé Museum of Berber Arts from its 8:30am opening, in a cream cardigan over a saffron shirt.
A January day in Marrakech starts cold and ends cold, with a warm noon in between: a cream cardigan at the 8:30am museum door, a saffron shirt at lunch, a navy coat after dark.
The capsule
01Cream cable-knit V-neck cardiganThe Pierre Bergé Museum of Berber Arts opens at 8:30am, an hour after a 7:32am sunrise, when the day has barely started to climb from a 6°C / 43°F night. A cable-knit cardigan is warm at that door and unbuttons by noon, when DGM's normal reaches 19.1°C. Cream sits between the saffron shirt and the navy coat, and wooden buttons keep it plain.
02Saffron cotton poplin shirtNoon is the warm part of a January day, 19°C / 66°F on the airport normal, and cotton poplin with long sleeves stays comfortable in that sun. Long sleeves are also the safe choice in the medina. Saffron gives a holiday week its colour against cream and indigo; button the cuffs for the museum galleries and roll them for lunch outdoors.
03Indigo straight-leg jeansJeans cover your knees, which is the safe choice in the old city, and denim takes a week of walking between the medina, Gueliz and the Jardin Majorelle without showing it. Indigo is the dark ground for saffron by day and for a madder-red scarf at night. A straight leg sits cleanly over desert boots and under a coat that reaches mid-calf.
04Navy wool coat, mid-calfJanuary is Marrakech's coldest month and the only one whose long-term average includes nights below freezing, 0.2 of them in a typical January at Marrakech-Ménara, with a lowest reading of −3.6°C between 1991 and 2020. A wool coat to mid-calf covers you from the 5:51pm sunset on 15 January to the walk home. Navy holds the indigo family together and lets the red scarf show.
05Madder-red fringed scarfMarathon morning puts you outdoors close to dawn: the 37th Marrakech Marathon runs on Sunday 31 January, and its registration partner lists a 7:45am start, 19 minutes after a 7:26am sunrise. Wrap a long scarf twice at the neck while you wait near the start on Avenue Prince Moulay Rachid. Madder red is the warm colour of the palette and the one that shows across a crowd.
06Oxblood leather top-handle bag with a long strapThe UK Foreign Office says petty crime is common in medina quarters and lists pickpocketing, bag-snatching and theft of visible handbags. A structured bag with a turn-lock closes properly, and its long strap goes across your body in the souks; the top handle is for the museum. Oxblood sits next to the madder-red scarf and holds the phone with your online garden tickets.
07Ivory heavy-knit crew-neck sweaterEvenings need a second knit. Swap the cardigan for a heavy crew-neck under the coat once the sun has set, at 5:39pm on 1 January and 6:05pm on the 31st, and keep it on as the night falls toward 6°C / 43°F. A close neckline leaves room for the scarf. Ivory under navy, with madder red at the neck, keeps the evening in the day's palette.
08Tan suede desert bootsA three-day weekend from Saturday 9 to Monday 11 January, then the holiday on Thursday the 14th, means long walking days in the medina and the gardens. Lace-up desert boots in tan suede hold the ankle on uneven lanes and stay warm on a cold morning, and crepe soles grip worn stone. Tan sits under indigo jeans and beside the oxblood bag.
Day to night
Holiday morning. Saffron poplin shirt · cream cable cardigan · indigo jeans · tan suede desert boots · oxblood bag worn across the body. The Pierre Bergé Museum of Berber Arts opens at 8:30am inside the Jardin Majorelle, whose tickets are sold online only; sunrise holds at 7:32am through mid-January.
Evening in the medina. Ivory heavy-knit crew · indigo jeans · navy mid-calf wool coat · madder-red fringed scarf · tan desert boots. Sunset moves from 5:39pm on 1 January to 6:05pm on the 31st, and the night falls toward 6°C / 43°F.
A suggested look — saffron poplin shirt, cream cable-knit cardigan, indigo straight-leg jeans, tan suede desert boots.
What to avoid
- Dressing a January evening for the 19°C / 66°F noon
- A Jardin Majorelle visit without an online ticket
- Collecting a marathon bib on race morning
- A backpack or tote behind you in the souks
- Canvas shoes or sandals for a dawn start in the coldest month
Frequently asked questions
Sunny at noon and cold at night. The Direction Générale de la Météorologie, Morocco's national weather service, gives Marrakech-Ménara airport a January normal of 19.1°C / 66°F by day and 5.9°C / 43°F at night, which makes January the coldest month of the year. It is the only month whose average includes nights below freezing, 0.2 of them, and the lowest January reading between 1991 and 2020 was −3.6°C. Rain totals 25.0mm on about 3 days with 1mm or more, and strong wind of 10 m/s or more blows on fewer days than in any other month. Sunrise holds at 7:32am through mid-month; sunset moves from 5:39pm on 1 January to 6:05pm on the 31st.
For the day: a saffron poplin shirt, a cream cable-knit cardigan, indigo straight-leg jeans, tan suede desert boots and an oxblood bag on a long strap. For the evening: an ivory heavy-knit crew, a navy wool coat to mid-calf and a madder-red scarf. That covers a 19°C / 66°F noon, a night that falls toward 6°C / 43°F and an early marathon start. Covered shoulders and knees are the safe choice in the old city, and both outfits cover them.
Yes. Morocco's ministry for administrative reform lists the Amazigh New Year on 14 January as "un jour férié national officiel payé", an official paid national holiday, and the newest addition to the government's list, following the Royal Cabinet communiqué of 3 May 2023. On 14 January 2027 it falls on a Thursday, three days after the Manifeste de l'Indépendance holiday on Monday 11 January. Spend part of it at the Pierre Bergé Museum of Berber Arts, in the Jardin Majorelle, which quotes Pierre Bergé: "Since my arrival in Marrakech in 1966, I have remained fascinated by Berber art and culture."
Early January holds the holidays: New Year's Day on Friday 1 January, the Manifeste de l'Indépendance on Monday 11 January and the Amazigh New Year on Thursday 14 January, all on the government's list of national holidays. Late January has the 37th Marrakech Marathon on Sunday 31 January, which its organiser promotes for "an often mild climate in January". The race's registration partner lists a 7:45am start from Avenue Prince Moulay Rachid, behind the Sofitel, where it also finishes, with bibs collected at Koutoubia square on the two days before. Days lengthen all month, from a 5:39pm sunset on 1 January to 6:05pm on the 31st.
Yes, a little. DGM's airport normal makes January the coldest month, at 19.1°C / 66°F by day and 5.9°C / 43°F at night: 1.0°C cooler by day and 1.4°C cooler at night than December's 20.1°C / 68°F and 7.3°C / 45°F. January also holds the year's only frost nights on average. December has more days with rain (4.1 against 3.0), and January a shade more in total (25.0mm against 24.2mm). Our December guide follows Yves Saint Laurent's December fortnights in Marrakech; January follows the Amazigh New Year and the Berber museum. The Musée Yves Saint Laurent's Odette du Puigaudeau exhibition spans both months, until 7 March 2027.
For the dress behind the Amazigh New Year, go to the Pierre Bergé Museum of Berber Arts, housed in Jacques Majorelle's former painting studio. The museum says it "presents a panorama of the extraordinary creativity of the Berbers (Imazighen), the most ancient people of North Africa", through more than 600 objects that Pierre Bergé and Yves Saint Laurent collected from the Rif Mountains to the Sahara. The Musée Yves Saint Laurent Paris dates the museum to December 2011, the year King Mohammed VI spoke in a 9 March speech of "Berberity, the shared patrimony of all Moroccans." For your own clothes, covered shoulders and knees are the safe choice in the old city.
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
- 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
- Jardin Majorelle — Musée Pierre Bergé des Arts Berbères (inaugurated 2011) — accessed 2026-10-26
- Musée Yves Saint Laurent Paris — Yves Saint Laurent – Pierre Bergé, A Moroccan Passion — accessed 2026-10-26
- Jardin Majorelle — Official site: online tickets and opening hours — accessed 2026-10-26
- Marrakech International Marathon — 37th edition, Sunday 31 January 2027 — accessed 2026-10-26
- Prêt à Partir (Marrakech Marathon registration partner) — Marathon International de Marrakech: 7:45am start, bib collection at Koutoubia square — accessed 2026-10-26
- UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office — Morocco travel advice: safety and security — 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
