Gueliz

When the French took Marrakech in 1912 Lyautey's policy was to leave the medina intact and build a separate European town outside it, and Gueliz is the result - laid out from 1913 on a grid of wide avenues radiating from the Place du 16 Novembre, with the Koutoubia deliberately kept in the axis of the main boulevard so the two cities are visually linked. The architecture is a mixture of protectorate-era art deco and Mauresque, much of it now altered or replaced, with some good surviving facades on Boulevard Mohammed V and the side streets. What Gueliz is now is where the contemporary city works: galleries showing Moroccan artists, design and concept shops, cafes and restaurants aimed at residents rather than visitors, the Mohammed VI cinema, and the Majorelle garden and Saint Laurent museum on its northern edge. Prices are city prices rather than medina prices and nobody haggles.

Highlights

• A 1913 grid - wide avenues built outside the walls rather than through the medina.
• The Koutoubia axis - the minaret kept in the sightline of the main boulevard.
• Protectorate architecture - deco and Mauresque facades, altered but present.
• The contemporary city - galleries, design shops and cafes for residents.

When to go

October to April. Half a day, or an evening.

Good to know

Much of the original architecture has been replaced by recent building. It is a functioning modern district rather than a sight. Galleries keep irregular hours and close in August. It is a walk or a taxi from the medina.

Nearby

Jardin Majorelle and the YSL museum are north; the medina is south-east.