Morocco’s Best Markets & Souks

A network of covered alleys running north from Jemaa el-Fnaa and organised by trade: Souk Semmarine (textiles, clothing), Souk des Teinturiers (dyers), Souk Haddadine (metalwork), Souk Chouari (woodwork) and Souk Attarine (spices).

Prices

Budget to high-end. Start haggling at 30-40% of the asking price.

Best time

Morning (9-11 AM) for fewer crowds. Avoid the midday heat.

Tip

Prices drop the deeper you go. The stalls nearest Jemaa el-Fnaa charge the most.

A car-free medina and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, where the tanneries, pottery workshops and brass workshops still work with long-established techniques. It is less touristic than Marrakech.

Prices

Generally lower than Marrakech for similar items.

Best time

Morning (9-12), when the medina is quieter and the artisans are at work.

Tip

See the Chouara Tannery from a leather shop rooftop. They will try to sell you leather; you do not have to buy.

The blue-washed medina is smaller and easier to find your way around than Marrakech or Fes, and the selling is relaxed. The town is known for woven blankets and goat cheese, and artists and craftspeople work in the medina.

Prices

Moderate. Less aggressive haggling than Marrakech.

Best time

Late afternoon, when the light warms the blue walls.

Tip

Haggling is expected, but opening prices are more reasonable than in Marrakech.

A UNESCO-listed medina with a calmer, artistic feel. Essaouira is known for thuya woodwork, art galleries, silver jewellery and surfwear. Its regular street plan is easy to navigate, and argan oil cooperatives are close by.

Prices

Fair. Essaouira merchants are generally less pushy.

Best time

Any time. The medina is compact and pleasant year-round.

Tip

Buy argan oil from the women's cooperatives outside town. The thuya workshops are in the vaults of the Skala de la Ville.

Tangier’s markets mix Moroccan, Spanish and international influences, the legacy of centuries as a trading port. The Grand Socco square is the gateway to the medina; the Petit Socco inside is the heart of the old city. The medina is small and easy to navigate.

Prices

Moderate. Less tourist markup than Marrakech.

Best time

Morning, for the produce market at the Grand Socco.

Tip

The medina’s antique shops turn up vintage pieces from the international zone era.

The capital’s medina is clean, orderly and low-pressure. Rue des Consuls is the main shopping street, with craft shops alongside traditional souks. Above it, the Kasbah des Oudaias is the old walled quarter.

Prices

Fair. Less haggling needed than in other cities.

Best time

Any time. The medina is calm and pleasant.

Few tourists shop here, so the selling is unhurried. The medina has fine craftsmen, especially in damascene metalwork (gold and silver inlay on steel), a Meknes speciality. The food market sits beside Place el-Hedim.

Prices

Affordable.

Best time

Morning, for the best atmosphere.

Tip

Damascene work makes a light souvenir that is easy to pack.

A UNESCO World Heritage medina with a strong Andalusian character. Tetouan took in Muslims and Jews expelled from Spain in the 15th century, and its architecture and crafts show it. It sees few tourists and has working artisan workshops, especially for textiles and embroidery.

Prices

Affordable. Few tourist markups.

Best time

Morning hours.

Often called "little Marrakech", with a fraction of the visitors. Taroudant has two souks, the Arab Souk and the Berber Souk, selling leather, Berber jewellery, saffron and argan products. The town is surrounded by argan country.

Prices

Local market prices.

Best time

Morning.

Tiznit has been a centre of Berber silversmithing for centuries. Silversmiths in the jewellery souk make traditional Amazigh designs: fibulas, bracelets, necklaces and rings set with coral, amber and enamel. For Berber silver, this is the source.

Prices

Good value for silver, bought direct from the makers.

Best time

Any day.

Tip

Learn to tell stamped silver from cheaper alloys. Good shops will explain the tradition behind each design.

Hand-knotted or hand-woven by Berber women. Beni Ourain rugs (white with black geometric lines) are the best known abroad; Azilal and Boujaad rugs are colourful and abstract. A handmade rug takes months to finish.

Buying tips. Ask where it was woven. Check the back: hand-knotted rugs show the pattern on both sides. Price depends on size, knot density, age and materials; wool is standard and silk costs more.

Best places: Fes, Marrakech, Rabat

Bags, wallets, belts, babouche slippers and poufs, much of it from the tanneries of Fes. Moroccan leather is traditionally vegetable-tanned with plant dyes, though some modern workshops use chemical processes.

Buying tips. A strong chemical smell means chrome tanning; vegetable-tanned leather smells faint and pleasant. Check the stitching. Babouches should fit snugly, as they stretch.

Best places: Fes (tanneries), Marrakech, Taroudant

Fes is known for blue-and-white pottery; Safi makes colourful painted ceramics. Each city has its own style and palette, painted by hand in geometric and floral patterns.

Buying tips. Handmade pieces have slight irregularities; machine-made ones are uniform. Ask to see the workshop. Fes blue is the most refined; Safi ware is more rustic and colourful.

Best places: Fes (blue ceramics), Safi (painted pottery), Marrakech

Ras el hanout ("head of the shop", each merchant’s own blend of 20-35 ingredients), saffron, cumin, paprika, preserved lemons and harissa. Taliouine, in the Souss, is Morocco’s saffron town.

Buying tips. Buy from busy shops with fresh stock. Saffron should be deep red threads with no yellow stamens; cheap saffron is usually safflower. Sealed packets travel better than loose spice.

Best places: Fes (Souk Attarine), Marrakech (Rahba Kedima), Taliouine (saffron)

Pressed from the kernels of the argan tree, which grows wild in south-western Morocco. Cosmetic oil is cold-pressed from raw kernels and is lighter; culinary oil comes from roasted kernels and tastes rich and nutty.

Buying tips. Buy from women's cooperatives. Real argan oil is not cheap: a suspiciously low price means it has been cut with other oils. Cosmetic oil is almost odourless; culinary oil smells strongly of nuts.

Best places: Essaouira cooperatives, Agadir region, Taroudant

Pierced brass and copper lanterns that throw patterned shadows, plus tea sets, trays, mirrors and door knockers, all hammered, pierced and engraved by hand.

Buying tips. Quality varies enormously: better lanterns have finer piercing. Ask whether it is brass (heavier, warmer colour) or tin-plated steel (lighter, cheaper). Shops can ship large lanterns.

Best places: Marrakech (Souk Haddadine), Fes

Traditional Berber pieces include fibulas (cloak pins), hand of Fatima pendants, stacking bracelets and ornate rings, with Amazigh geometric symbols, coral, amber and enamel.

Buying tips. Look for purity marks. Ask the weight: silver is priced by weight plus workmanship. Antique pieces cost more and are rarer. Tiznit is the best source.

Best places: Tiznit, Essaouira, Taroudant