Fes el-Jdid (New Fez) Grand Rue

Fes el-Jdid, or New Fez, is the royal and military town founded by the Marinid sultan Abu Yusuf Yaqub in 1276, west of Fes el-Bali in Morocco's Fès-Meknès region. Its main thoroughfare, the Grand Rue de Fes el-Jdid, links the Royal Palace, the Mellah and the Grand Mosque, and it offers livelier daily shopping than the tourist lanes of Fes el-Bali. Visitors see fruit and vegetable stalls, bakeries, tailors, spice sellers and everyday shops used by residents, along with old houses and fountains. Landmarks along the walk include the brass doors of the Royal Palace on Place des Alaouites, the balconied houses of the Mellah and the Ibn Danan Synagogue. The streets are free to walk and open around the clock, with shops open roughly 9am to 7pm. A visit takes one to two hours, longer if combined with the Mellah. It is reached on foot in about 25 minutes from Dar Batha, or by petit taxi to Place des Alaouites. Morning is the best time, when the market is active and the light is good, and the Grand Rue is quieter and more local than the medina. Prices in these shops are generally more local than in the tourist souks, though bargaining is still common for crafts. Photography is generally fine in the street, but visitors should ask before photographing people and avoid the palace guards. The pavements are uneven in places, and traffic shares the Grand Rue, so visitors should stay alert. Jnan Sbil Gardens lie on the way between the two parts of the city.