The Medina & Souks
The old city is where most visitors spend most of their time — and where most of the confusion happens. Here's how it fits together.
How the Medina is laid out
The Medina is a walled old city with Jemaa el-Fna square roughly at its centre. Rather than a grid, streets radiate and loop unpredictably, which is exactly why first-time visitors find it disorienting — locals aren't following hidden logic, they're just following streets that have existed since before cars did. The good news: the Medina is smaller than it feels, and getting mildly lost rarely means more than a 10-minute walk back to a landmark.
Useful anchor points to navigate by: Jemaa el-Fna (the main square), the Koutoubia minaret (visible from many rooftops), and the main souk entrance just north of the square near the Café de France.
What's in the souks
"The souk" is really dozens of specialised markets grouped by trade, a layout that dates back centuries:
- Souk Semmarine — the main entrance market: leather, textiles, souvenirs.
- Souk des Teinturiers (Dyers' Souk) — wool and fabric hung out to dry in bright colours; good for photos.
- Souk Cherratine — leather goods, including bags and slippers (babouches).
- Rahba Kedima — the old spice and herbalist square, worth a stop even just to look.
- Souk des Ferronniers — metalwork: lanterns, teapots, hardware.
How bargaining actually works
Prices in the souks are rarely fixed, and bargaining is expected — it's not a trick being played on tourists, it's simply how the market works for everyone. A reasonable approach: decide what the item is worth to you before you ask a price, counter at roughly half of the first number quoted, and settle somewhere in the middle. Walking away, politely, is a normal part of the process and often prompts a better offer — it isn't rude.
Fixed-price cooperatives (often selling argan oil, carpets, or crafts with a government certification sign) don't expect bargaining. If a shop has visible price tags, treat that as fixed.
Practical tips
- Mornings (before 11am) are noticeably quieter than afternoons.
- Offers of "just come look, no obligation to buy" are a normal opening line, not a red flag — you can accept or politely decline either way.
- A rough sense of direction back to Jemaa el-Fna is more useful than a detailed map; ask any shopkeeper for the square by name if you need to reorient.
- Comfortable, closed shoes matter more than anything else you'll pack for the Medina — the ground is uneven stone and can be slippery when wet.
Shopping in depth
For specific crafts, we've put together dedicated buying guides: