A studio that is still in use
Atlas Studios is not a theme park built for tourists. It is a working film studio, and a guided tour takes you through its sets, some inside, some outside, that change as new projects arrive. You may even cross a crew at work.
Productions also use Atlas as a base camp when they shoot out in the desert, where some have built entire sets, from Roman palaces to Mecca. Atlas is the best known studio in town but not the only one: CLA Studio and Fint Studio also operate here.
Films and series made around Ouarzazate
The region’s screen history is long: Lawrence of Arabia, Gladiator, Babel, The Passion of the Christ, Kingdom of Heaven and Prince of Persia among others. More recently, the producers of Game of Thrones chose Ouarzazate’s studios and landscapes for scenes of House Targaryen. Some scenes of The Way Back were filmed at Atlas on the set built for Kundun.
How to get to Atlas Studios
The studio is 3 km west of Ouarzazate on the N9 toward Marrakech. Arriving from Marrakech, it is the second complex on your left after CLA Studio.
- Petit taxi from town: about 10 DH.
- City bus line N1, then a short walk of a few hundred metres to the gate.
- By car: a few minutes from the centre.
Hours, fee and practical tips
Atlas Studios is listed as open daily from 10 am to 6 pm, with entry at 80 MDH. Allow one hour to one hour and a half for the tour. The sets make strong photographs, so bring a charged phone or camera. Hours and fees change, so call +212 5 24 88 22 23 or check on arrival.
If you want to sleep next to the sets, the Oscar Hotel inside the studio grounds has film themed decoration; plenty of other hotels and guest houses are in and around town.
More cinema with Ouarzazate Tours
To see film locations outside the studios, our quad, buggy and horse rides reach the Kingdom of Heaven fortress in one hour, and the two hour Tifoultoute ride combines a historic kasbah with a cinema studio and its sets.
Questions and answers
Where are Atlas Film Studios?
3 km west of Ouarzazate on the N9 toward Marrakech, next to CLA Studio. A petit taxi costs about 10 DH.
What are the opening hours and entry fee?
Listed as open daily, 10 am to 6 pm, with entry at 80 MDH. Both can change, so check before you go.
Which films were made at Atlas Studios?
Ouarzazate’s studios and landscapes have hosted productions including Gladiator, Kingdom of Heaven, Babel and Game of Thrones. Scenes of The Way Back were shot at Atlas on the Kundun set.
More places nearby
All destinations
Ait Ben Haddou
A fortified village of packed earth from the seventeenth century, on the old caravan road and on the UNESCO World Heritage List since 1987. Thirty kilometres from Ouarzazate.
Telouet Kasbah
A weathered earthen palace from 1860 in the High Atlas, home of the Glaoui family, with painted cedar ceilings and Andalusian style rooms behind its crumbling walls.
Taourirt Kasbah
The kasbah at the heart of Ouarzazate, a former Glaoui residence on Boulevard Mohamed V with Amazigh patterns outside and carved cedar, painted walls and zellige inside.