An artist’s tour of Marrakech

If anyone knows the best things to do in Marrakech, it’s artist and ceramics designer Laurence Leenaert—one of the talents driving the cultural agenda in Morocco, a country known for its centuries-old tradition of craftsmanship. “Marrakech is my endless inspiration,” she says. “The dryness of the desert, the textures of the architecture, the pinks and terracottas everywhere: It’s all reflected in my work.”

Leenaert is taking us on a tour of her Marrakech, helping us discover its secrets through the unique lens of a local who lives in and loves the city. She navigates on a scooter: “The traffic is crazy; it’s like a video game,” she says. “But when I’m on my scooter, that’s the moment I can really think; it’s a moment of being with myself in a city that’s always in motion. It’s when I’m at my most creative.”

Countless creatives and artists have been drawn to Marrakech’s bold colors, magical ancient Medina, and stirring, stylish energy. Fifty years after fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent fell in love with the city, Leenaert is working with Moroccan craftsmen to achieve her whimsical, pastel-painted ceramics, stunning hand-embroidered framed art, and offbeat leather sandals. In-the-know visitors to the city come to buy pieces of Leenaert’s work at her light, bright, airy studio in the up-and-coming industrial district of Sidi Ghanem, a 20-minute taxi ride from the hotels dotted around the Medina.

Leenaert’s tour takes us across the walled old city with its bewitching, bustling, barrage-on-the-senses streets, full of stalls stuffed with everything from artfully arranged spices to stack-’em-high straw hats and bags. “The traditions go back centuries,” says Leenaert. We also visit stunning rooftop restaurants like Shtatto and Dardar; along with shady gardens, iconic cultural sights such as the Musée de la Palmeraie, and Saint Laurent’s very own vivid cobalt- and yellow-painted Jardin Majorelle, the ultimate in Instagrammability.

Where Marrakech stimulates the senses, Leenaert’s work sets about soothing them. It’s a good metaphor for a city where energy and stillness sit side by side, sometimes in the most surprising ways. “The Medina is so chaotic,” she says. “But you see these doors set into walls, and you never know what’s behind them. Then you open them, and you find something so, so beautiful.”