Grand Socco

The Grand Socco, officially Place du 9 Avril 1947, is the hinge of Tangier - a circular open space where the medina, the ville nouvelle and the roads out all meet, with the Sidi Bou Abib mosque and its polychrome minaret on one side, the Mendoubia gardens with their very old banyan trees on another, and Bab Fahs opening into the medina. It was remodelled in the 2000s with a fountain and paving and is cleaner and calmer than it was. Two things anchor it. The Cinema Rif, a 1938 art deco cinema on the square, was restored and reopened in 2006 as a film centre and cafe and is the best place to sit. And on the streets running off it, women from the Rif villages sell produce in striped fouta skirts and straw hats - a market that has operated for generations and is not staged.

What you actually see

• A meeting point - medina, new town and roads out converging on one circle.
• The Cinema Rif - a 1938 art deco cinema restored as a film centre and cafe.
• Rif women's market - villagers selling produce in striped foutas on the side streets.
• The Mendoubia gardens - old banyans behind the square.

When to go

Spring and autumn; mornings for the market. An hour.

Honest expectations

Traffic circles the square constantly and crossing takes care. Faux guides work the medina entrance here. The market women generally do not want to be photographed - ask or don't. Cafe prices on the square are above the side streets.

Nearby

The medina is downhill through Bab Fahs; the Petit Socco is inside it.