The Marrakech medina is a dense old city, not a market you cross on the way to a museum. The first walk should be short, in daylight, and aimed at learning one route between your riad and Jemaa el-Fna. Everything else — gardens, palaces, the newer city of Gueliz — can wait until you can get home without handing your phone to a stranger.
Drop your bags and go out while you still have energy. Walk to the square by the route the riad described, then walk it backward. Note a bakery, a fountain, a color of door. At night the same lane looks different, and the square’s food stalls are a separate scene from the daytime juice carts. You do not need to eat at the stalls on night one. Sitting at a café on the edge, with a mint tea and a view of the crowd, is a better introduction than choosing a grill under pressure.
Daytime anchors
Bahia Palace and the Ben Youssef area give the walk a destination so you are not simply lost in a pleasant way. The Majorelle Garden is outside the medina, in Gueliz’s direction, and is an easy taxi there and a booked entry if you want to skip the longest line. Do not try to sew the garden, a hammam, and a cooking class into the arrival day. Heat and the lanes will spend your attention for you.
Taxis in the medina often cannot reach the door. Ask the riad which gate or landmark the driver should use, and expect a short walk at the end. Agree the fare before you sit down if the meter is not in use. A petit taxi is for the city. A grand taxi is a different vehicle and a different negotiation.
Money and meals
Carry small notes. Many of the best ordinary lunches are not the rooftops with the longest menus in English. If a rooftop is what you want — and at sunset it is a fair want — reserve it. Walk-up tables with a view go first. Drink bottled water, eat where the food is moving, and leave room in the day for a nap. The medina rewards people who are not in a hurry to see the edge of it.