Jemaa el-Fnaa

What makes it special

By day the square is mostly open ground. Look for the water sellers in bright red costumes and wide Berber hats, and listen for the pungi flutes of the snake charmers, a sound that carries across the whole square.

The storytellers perform only in Arabic. Handlers also keep monkeys here, caged through the day and led around on chains for entertainment.

At dusk the performers and henna artists clear the middle for dinner. Smoke rises over the plastic tents, a single bare bulb lights each stall, and the stall holders call out to every passer-by.

Expect sheep's heads and clay pots of tagine on the counters, and try ghoulal, a snail soup with an earthy blend of spices.

Visiting

Most of the day the square is fairly empty, with vendors sitting in a strict line along its edges. Come back in the late afternoon to watch it change.

The food stalls start setting up around half past five, and by half past six their rows fill the middle of the square.

Walk the rows before you sit, and eat where you see local people eating. Afterwards, climb to one of the café terraces above the square for mint tea and the view down over the lights.

Tips

Agree a fee with a musician or animal handler before you raise your phone. They will spot you and ask for money even when you shoot from across the square.

Keep your distance from the snakes, which charmers sometimes put on a visitor's shoulders without asking. Keep your hands to yourself near the henna artists too, who may take your hand and start drawing before you have agreed anything; the black kind can irritate the skin.

At the stalls, settle the price as you sit down, wave off dishes you did not order and add up the bill yourself. Carry small notes, because the stalls do not take cards and "no change" is a common way to round it up.