Rabat Medina

Rabat's medina is not medieval in the way Fes and Marrakech are. It was largely laid out in the seventeenth century by Muslims expelled from Spain, who arrived in numbers, built inside the older Almohad walls, and used a broadly rectilinear plan with parallel streets - so it is navigable in a way the older medinas are not, which is the first thing visitors notice. The Andalusian wall they built to enclose their quarter still runs across it. The main axis, Rue Souika continuing as Rue des Consuls, runs from the ville nouvelle to the river and holds the souks; Rue des Consuls, where foreign representatives were required to live, is the carpet and craft street. It is a working residential and shopping medina rather than a tourist one, with far less hassle than Fes or Marrakech, and the Kasbah of the Udayas is at its river end.

What you actually see

• A grid, not a maze - laid out by Andalusian refugees on a rectilinear plan.
• The Andalusian wall - the seventeenth-century enclosure still running through it.
• Rue des Consuls - the street where foreign representatives were required to live.
• Low hassle - a working local medina rather than a visitor economy.

When to go

October to April. Half a day. Mornings for the food souks.

Honest expectations

There are few set-piece monuments inside - it is a place to walk rather than to tick off. Shops close on Fridays around midday. It is smaller than Fes or Marrakech and can be covered quickly. Some stretches are ordinary shopping streets.

Nearby

The Kasbah of the Udayas is at the river end; Sale is across the water.