2 Best Sights in The Medina, Fez and the Middle Atlas

Looming over the Place el-Hedim, this huge, horseshoe-shape gate is widely considered to be North Africa's most beautiful, completed in 1732 by a Christian convert to Islam named Mansour Laalej (whose name means "victorious renegade"). The marble Ionic columns supporting the two bastions on either side of the main entry are thought to have been taken from the Roman ruins at Volubilis. The taller Corinthian columns came from Marrakesh's El Badi Palace, part of Moulay Ismail's campaign to erase any vestige of the Saadian dynasty that preceded the Alaouites. Ismail's last important construction project, the gate was conceived as an elaborate homage to himself and the dynasty's strong Muslim orthodoxy, rather than a defensive stronghold—hence its intense decoration of green and white tiles and engraved Koranic panels, now faded with age. The Arabic inscription along the top of the gate reads: "I am the most beautiful gate in Morocco. I’m like the moon in the sky. Property and wealth are written on my front."

After an extensive renovation, this 19th-century palace on the north side of the Place el-Hedim has reopened as the National Museum of Music, showcasing musical instruments and musical styles from around the country in immersive exhibits, with explanations in English, French, and Arabic. Built by a powerful family of viziers (high government officials), the palace itself is stunning, especially the carved-cedar ceilings, interior Andalusian garden, and menzah (pavilion).