The short answer
Mouassine is the medina's quiet artistic quarter, a few lanes from the noise of the souks: galleries, restored riads, old fountains and Le Jardin Secret. It grew around a 16th-century Saadian mosque complex, and its fountain dates to about 1562 to 1563. Morning, when light comes down into the lanes and the dyers start work, is the best time.
In more detail
The Mouassine fountain is worth stopping at. It had separate troughs, one for people and one for animals, as part of the complex built with the mosque. The dyers' souk, with skeins of coloured wool hanging overhead, is right next door.
Rooftop cafés here look out over the minarets, and many of the medina's best restored riads are in these lanes. It makes a calm base for visitors who want to be inside the medina without staying on the busiest streets.
It is about 10 minutes' walk north of Jemaa el-Fnaa. A morning here pairs naturally with Le Jardin Secret and a walk through the souks.
Good to know
- Visit the dyers' lane in the morning.
- Stop at the Mouassine fountain on the way to Le Jardin Secret.
- Have tea on a rooftop café over the minarets.
- Browse the galleries between the fountain and the souks.
- Walk on to the souks from here.