Morocco Guide
Marrakesh
Guéliz
The heart of modern Marrakesh, Guéliz has a certain buzz that the sleepy old Medina rather lacks. Its main thoroughfare, Avenue Mohammed V, runs all the way down to the Koutoubia, and it's on and around this boulevard that you'll find the city's main concentration of upmarket shops, restaurants and smart pavement cafés. Its junctions form the Ville Nouvelle's main centres of activity: Place de la Liberté, with its modern fountain; Place 16 Novembre, by the main post office; and Place Abdelmoumen Ben Ali, epicentre of Marrakesh's modern shopping zone. Looking back along Avenue Mohammed V from Guéliz to the Medina, on a clear day at least, you should see the Koutoubia rising in the distance, with the Atlas mountains behind.
One sight of minor interest is Marrakesh's Catholic church, on Rue de l'Imam. Built in 1930, it could easily be mistaken for a little church in rural France, but for its distinctly Marrakshi red-ochre hue. The church is dedicated to six Franciscan friars ("les saints martyrs") who were beheaded for insisting on preaching Christianity on the city's streets in the year 1220. Another remnant of the colonial era is the European Cemetery on Rue Erraouda (daily: April– Sept 7am–7pm; Oct– March 8am–6pm; free). Opened in 1925, it's a peaceful plot with lots of wild flowers, and some quite Poe-esque French family mausoleums.