Ouarzazate Film Studios and Movie Locations You Can Visit
Studios you can walk into, a museum of film decors and sets out on the desert tracks: how to visit the places that made Ouarzazate a city of cinema.
Ouarzazate has been building other worlds for decades. Its studios, its earthen villages and the open ground around them have stood in for ancient Rome, medieval Jerusalem and fantasy kingdoms, and the city belongs to the UNESCO Creative Cities Network for its contribution to film. Some of these places are studios you can walk into with a ticket; others are sets out on the tracks that you reach by quad, buggy or horse. This guide sorts them by how you visit.
Studios and the museum in town
Atlas Film Studios
The best known studio, Atlas Film Studios, is 3 km west of the centre on the N9 toward Marrakech. Coming from Marrakech it is the second studio on your left, after CLA Studio. Guided visits lead you through indoor and outdoor sets, some of which are rebuilt for new productions, and because the studio still works you may cross a crew. Some sequences of The Way Back were shot here on the same set as Kundun.
- Listed entry: 80 dirhams.
- Listed hours: every day, 10 am to 6 pm.
- Visit length: 1 to 1.5 hours.
- Getting there: a short petit taxi ride, or bus line N1 and a walk of a few hundred metres to the gate.
CLA Studio and Fint Studio
Atlas is not the only studio. CLA Studio stands just before it on the same road, and Fint Studio also works in the area. They are working studios first, so access depends on what is being filmed; ask locally before you go.
The Cinema Museum
On Boulevard Mohamed V, opposite Taourirt kasbah, the Cinema Museum displays painted backdrops, columned halls and decor, and is itself sometimes used for filming. The listed prices are 80 dirhams for adults and 40 for children. It has opened Monday to Saturday from 10 am to 5 pm and closes on Sunday. Combine it with Taourirt kasbah across the street.
Fees and opening hours change, so check them on the day or call before you go.
Sets and locations on the tracks
The Kingdom of Heaven fortress
Outside town, on open desert ground, stand the walls built for the battle scenes of Kingdom of Heaven. There is no ticket office here: you arrive by the trails. The one hour quad ride to the Kingdom of Heaven set starts from 30 USD, the horse ride to the set from 25 USD and the buggy drive from 100 USD. Your guide tells the story of the shoot and stops for photographs at the walls.
Kasbah Tifoultoute and the cinema studio
Kasbah Tifoultoute overlooks the Ouarzazate river just outside town, and its rooftop looks across the river, the city and the Atlas Mountains. Our two hour routes combine it with a cinema studio, where you walk among sets from productions such as Gladiator, The Mummy and Game of Thrones. The quad tour to Tifoultoute and the studio starts from 55 USD and the buggy version from 180 USD.
Ait Ben Haddou
The UNESCO listed ksar, about 30 km from town, has appeared in many productions, including Gladiator, Game of Thrones and Kingdom of Heaven. You can drive there or ride in on a half day tour, such as the half day quad tour to Ait Ben Haddou from 85 USD, and read its history in our Ait Ben Haddou guide.
Films and series linked to Ouarzazate
The list is long. Titles associated with the city’s studios and landscapes include:
- Lawrence of Arabia
- Gladiator
- The Mummy
- Kingdom of Heaven
- Babel
- The Passion of the Christ
- Prince of Persia
- Game of Thrones, for scenes of House Targaryen
- Kundun and The Way Back, on the same set at Atlas
A film lover’s day in Ouarzazate
- Morning: the Cinema Museum and Taourirt kasbah, on foot.
- Late morning: Atlas Film Studios, a few minutes away by taxi.
- Afternoon: a ride to the Kingdom of Heaven set, or to Tifoultoute and the studio.
With a second day, add Ait Ben Haddou. Our guide to things to do in Ouarzazate sorts every option by time, and quad, buggy or horse helps you pick how to reach the sets.
Getting between the sites
The town sights are close together. Taourirt kasbah and the Cinema Museum face each other, and Atlas Film Studios is 3 km away: a petit taxi inside the city costs around 5 dirhams per passenger by day and 8 at night, as indicative fares. Petit taxis cannot leave the city limits, so for anything further out you need a grand taxi, your own car or a guided ride.
The outdoor sets have no public transport at all. The Kingdom of Heaven fortress stands on open ground reached by trails, and Tifoultoute is easiest to combine with a studio on a guided route. If you would like to see several locations in one outing, the full day horse ride links the Kingdom of Heaven set, Kasbah Tifoultoute and Fint, while the full day quad and buggy tours link the set, Ait Ben Haddou and Fint.
Sleeping next to the sets
If you want to wake up beside the studios, the Oscar Hotel inside the Atlas grounds has been refurbished with film themed decoration. Many other hotels and guest houses are available in and around the city.
Visiting working sets with respect
- Studios are workplaces. Follow your guide and stay out of closed areas.
- Ask before photographing crew members or local people.
- Outdoor sets age in the sun and wind; do not climb on fragile walls.
Planning a ride to the sets? Send your date through the booking page and our team will confirm the meeting point and the final price.
Places in this guide
Atlas Film Studios
The best known studio in Ouarzazate, 3 km west of town on the Marrakech road, with indoor and outdoor sets you can tour every day while productions continue.
Cinema Museum
A museum of film decors on Boulevard Mohamed V, facing Taourirt Kasbah, in a city that belongs to the UNESCO Creative Cities Network for film.
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.
