The short answer
The medina is Marrakech's old walled city: a maze of lanes, souks, mosques, palaces and courtyard houses inside the ochre ramparts, with Jemaa el-Fnaa square at its heart. It has been on the UNESCO World Heritage list since 1985. Most cars can't enter its lanes, so you explore it on foot.
In more detail
Medina simply means the old city, and every historic Moroccan town has one. Marrakech's is large and lived-in: it is a residential quarter first, with schools, bread ovens, public baths and neighbourhood mosques, and a tourist sight second.
It divides into quarters with their own feel. The souks spread north of the square, grouped by trade. Mouassine is quieter, with galleries and old fountains. The Mellah, the old Jewish quarter, and the Kasbah, the royal citadel with the Saadian Tombs, lie to the south. Bab Doukkala in the west is a working neighbourhood with very few visitors.
Outside the walls is the modern city: Gueliz, laid out under the French Protectorate, and leafy Hivernage. The medina is where the atmosphere is; the new town is where the wide pavements and easy taxis are.
Good to know
- Lanes are unsigned: download an offline map.
- Watch for scooters; keep to the side when you hear 'balak!'.
- Taxis drop you at the nearest gate or square, not your door.