Meknès

Understand

Is Fez driving you nuts? Nearby Meknes is relatively ignored by most tourists. It's also free of the usual hassles (touts, faux guides, etc.) that plague the other tourist centers. The prices in Meknes are among the most reasonable.

Get around

Hamrya is a new town with all entertainment facilities. You can find all what you need there, but there is no monuments or things to see except if you like to chat with people. Medina is the other side is the ancient Meknes and it contains all the monuments of this wonderful city.

See

thumbnail|Bab Mansour in the [[world heritage listed old town]]

Buy

Meknes is not a shopper's paradise, but it is certainly cheaper than nearby Fez. The medina is chock full of traditional Moroccan clothing and rugs, as well as the popular Moroccan shoe, bilgha.. It is also known for its metallic articles; the local artisanal speciality. The best way to enter the medina is at the back of Place Hedim, next to Dar Jamai. Herein you can find many shops catering to tourists. If you sojourn a bit deeper into the medina, you'll find plenty of unique shops selling jewellery, household goods and other treasures.

Be sure to bargain! Don't accept the shopkeeper's first offer: not only does it ruin it for tourists who come after you, but it also goes against Moroccan custom. The easiest way to bargain, particularly without knowledge of French or Arabic, is to offer half of the given price (or 75% for expensive or large-scale items). From there, the shopkeeper will go down a bit; you are expected to raise your price slowly until you come to an agreement.

If you can't agree on a price, try walking out of the shop as this will generally lower the price significantly. And try not to be too stingy: the value of an item is your appreciation of it, not its price.

Eat

The market near the main place in the medina (at the Bab El-Mansur) has incredible fresh products. Lots of different kinds of olives, sweets, pickles, etc.

thumb|Meknes market

In Ville Nouvelle there are dozens of restaurants and snack bars lining the main road, Rue Antsirape offering the staples of harira, tagine, cous cous and of course rotisserie chicken. A few restaurants on Rue Ghana, just off Rue Antsirabi, are popular with travellers and offer 40-dirham set menus.

Drink

Those looking to find a watering hole in Meknes have come to the right place, in Morocco, anyway. For some reason, Meknes seems to have more bars than people. Only a few are suitable for the average traveler, however.

Go next

thumbnail|Volubilis Chefchaouen – A beautiful blue and white city in the mountains of northeastern Morocco. Fes Rabat Volubilis – Roman ruins and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, a short trip from Meknes. It is possible to go there by grand taxi via the town of Moulay Idriss, which is also worth a visit.