36 Hours in Marrakesh, Morocco

The “new city” of Gueliz, built outside the medina during the French colonial period (from 1912 to 1956), is rarely a priority for visitors. It should be. Streets like Rue Tariq Bnou Ziad show why Marrakesh is an art capital of North Africa. The sleek new Galerie 38 partly specializes in sub-Saharan art like the colorful folkloric scenes of Adjaratou Ouedraogo (Burkina Faso) and the gloppy grotesque stylings of Soly Cissé (Senegal). L’Blassa Art Space, which connects to a co-working cafe, shows young Arab-world artists like the Tunisian illustrator Nyzar Trabxlsi and the Algerian photographer Adem Yahiaoui. In a residential building, Galerie Siniya28 is decorated with hanging serving trays and spiky white walls; recent exhibitions included nature scenes in bleeding colors from the Moroccan painter Rita Alaoui.

Flames flicker dramatically within Sahbi Sahbi, a new Gueliz restaurant staffed by women, who serve flavorful and classic Moroccan cuisine. A sea of candles on the tables lights the darkened dining room, and logs crackle in the giant oven, which turns out fresh breads, a smoldering leg of lamb, and a crackly, phyllo-wrapped, cinnamon-dusted pie of ground pigeon, known as pastilla. Burners heat tagines, the earthenware vessels that cook stews of the same name, which may be filled with branzino, chicken, lamb or honey-sweetened eggplant. There is also an international wine list, and desserts include orange-blossom-flavored French toast with cinnamon ice cream. Dinner for two, without wine, costs around 750 dirhams, or about $75.

Medina time. Leave Jemaa el Fna — the huge, chaotic, carnivalesque marketplace seen on every postcard — to the cobra charmers, hustlers and package-tour throngs. (You’ll eventually stumble on it anyway; all paths lead there.) A more authentic introduction starts at Bab Doukkala, a gate in the medina’s western wall. Ambling eastward along the lanes called Rue Bab Doukkala, Rue Dar el Bacha and Route Sidi Abdelaziz, you pass small shops, locals in long djellaba robes, halal butcher stalls, sputtering mopeds, and rickety carts piled with oranges and bananas. The thoroughfares also host a homegrown fashion scene. Mim Design is a new shoebox-size showroom for bohemian kimono-caftan hybrids, floral sleeveless dresses and other garments by Malak Nafy. It’s niched next to two other established Moroccan designers’ shops: Moul el Hanout by Nassah (from Hassan Hajjaj, whose streetwear takes cues from Andy Warhol and psychedelia) and Laly (known for sober and monochrome women’s wear).

An unmarked doorway and stairwell off Rue Fatima Zahra lead up to Maison Reine boutique, an amalgam of contemporary-cool caftans (from 2,000 dirhams), oversize pants (850 dirhams), jewelry (from 600 dirhams) and more, all of it designed or chosen by the Franco-Algerian owner, Naelle Guennoun. One flight up, Ms. Guennoun’s chic, sun-warmed rooftop restaurant of the same name serves artfully presented Mediterranean-Middle Eastern dishes that include a tomato-stracciatella tarte tatin and a roasted half eggplant topped with labneh, olive oil and preserved lemon. A superloaded hummus with shredded beef is garnished with pistachios and flower petals, adding crunch and color. For dessert, the restaurant prides itself on its pistachio tart with orange-flower water. Lunch for two costs around 450 dirhams.

The souks, or bazaars, that fill a large zone of the medina between the Medersa Ben Youssef in the north and Jemaa el Fna to the south are filled with legions of expert artisans working in metal, wood, ceramics and textiles. Navigating the labyrinth can be dizzying, so just amble and expect to get lost periodically. (Google Maps is not foolproof.) Follow the buttery scent of leather to a passage called Derb el Hammam in Souk Smata, the leatherworking area of the medina. Sunlight filters through the overhead slats of the stalls, illuminating belts, bags, jackets, ottomans and slippers known as babouches — a favorite Morocco souvenir (prepare to haggle). Then follow the aroma of dried herbs to the Place des Épices, a lively open square ringed by carpet dealers and stalls selling spices, crushed eucalyptus, argan oil and more.

South Seas vibes infuse Kabana, a rooftop bar on the western edge of the medina with potted palms, plants aplenty and a thatched open-air pavilion holding a long bar with bamboo stools. Amid global groove tracks, a lively Moroccan and international crowd dines and drinks in the glow of the Koutoubia minaret. If you do not have 7,000 dirhams for a bottle of Dom Pérignon, the bar also serves easy-drinking Domaine de Sahari wines from Morocco (80 dirhams a glass), bottles of Casablanca beer (80 dirhams) and cocktails.

The Jewish quarter of Marrakesh, known as the Mellah, was established in the 1500s to house Jews expelled from Spain in 1492 and is believed to have had a population of some 30,000 people at its height. Today the Marrakesh Jewish community is only around 120 people, but a stroll around the neighborhood still turns up streets with Spanish names (Derb Francisco) and some synagogues, notably Slat Lazama, which has been restored and transformed into a small museum (10 dirhams) with a timeline of Moroccan Jewish history, a grand prayer hall and a tiled interior courtyard ringed by rooms of historical photographs and films. A few blocks away, the old Jewish cemetery (10 dirhams) is a haunting sea of long, white gravestones.