Bab Doukkala is the northwestern quarter of the Marrakesh Medina, centred on one of the most imposing of the old city's gates and the mosque that stands beside it. The area takes its name from the road that historically left through this gate towards the Doukkala region and the Atlantic coast — it was a commercial entry point for goods from the west, and the neighbourhood retains a working character that distinguishes it from the more touristed parts of the old city.
The residential streets inside Bab Doukkala are among the quieter in the Medina. Riads here tend to be simpler and better priced than in the more central quarters, and the neighbourhood mosque and its surroundings have an everyday life — children playing, locals shopping at the covered market — largely undisturbed by tourism. The street running south from the gate leads towards the Mouassine quarter and eventually to the main souks, making this a useful entry point for those who want to approach the medina from its edges rather than diving in through the taxi-dense Djemaa el-Fna.