02 - Central souk and downtown

Warzazat Warzazat
Duration: 3 Hours
Scale: 1 - 50 people
From Warzazat to Warzazat
Categories: Guided tours
Languages: French
Walk through the shopping streets and souk of downtown Ouarzazate, stroll on the place Al-Mouahidine before enjoying a delicious pastry at Habous.

famille ouarzazate

The urban center took the name of Ouarzazate, formerly applied to the entire palm grove. The vizierial decree of 13 December 1933 and the dahir of 8 May 1934 gave it a legal existence.

Born before the regulations, the need to ensure the supply of a garrison (French) ever growing, the urban center has developed west of the crossing of the roads of Skoura and Tifernine, bordering the gardens from the palm grove.
In the course of time, villas and shops were grouped around the premises of the Indigenous Affairs Annex, the Indigenous Arts Exhibition, the Indigenous Infirmary (future Bou Gafer Hospital), the Public Works and the Officers' Villas. of the Annex and the Officials. Its avenues were already planted with sturdy trees, the gardens were well irrigated, and its few tufts of palm trees cast their note of African exoticism into the landscape. At the time, the population of the Center, quite mixed up, only involved traders and officials.

Since then, the city has grown considerably and extends well beyond the original center. It had more than 70,000 inhabitants in 2014. Most of the tourist activity takes place around the huge square Al-Mouahidine (or Almohads), daily theater of an overflowing animation where the children Ouarzazi can of give heart to joy. To the south-west, the square opens onto rue du Marché and its many shops, which runs along the municipal souk. To the north west, the Habous restaurant and tea room remains a must, and in the immediate vicinity, on Avenue Mohamed V, you will find the Dimitri restaurant, the first establishment of its kind (opened in 1928) and still run by the founder's son.


Learn more (in French language only)