The short answer
Stay in the medina for a first visit if you want atmosphere: most riads there are a 5 to 15 minute walk from Jemaa el-Fnaa and the souks. Choose Gueliz or Hivernage if you value wide streets, taxis to the door, bigger hotels and a calmer base. Both work; they just feel like different cities.
In more detail
The medina is the historic walled core. Riads sit behind plain doors in narrow lanes, the call to prayer carries over the rooftops, and everything you came to see is on foot. The trade-off: cars can't reach most doors, so arrival ends with a walk, sometimes behind a porter's cart, and the lanes take a day or two to learn.
Gueliz, the new town laid out under the French Protectorate, has avenues, terrace cafés, galleries and modern restaurants. Hivernage, next door, is leafy and quiet by day with the city's dressed-up nightlife after dark. Neither is walkable to the medina in summer heat, but a short taxi ride gets you to the gates.
For families with heavy luggage or anyone who needs step-free access, a hotel in Hivernage or Gueliz is often easier. For couples and first-timers who want the classic riad experience, the medina wins.
Good to know
- In the medina, choose a riad near a main gate or square.
- Ask your riad to meet you at a landmark on arrival.
- Gueliz is the place for a quiet coffee away from the souks.