Safi's medina is one of the least touristy in Morocco. There are no carpet sellers lurking at the gates and no guides offering to show you around for a fee. This is a town where Moroccans actually live and work, and the streets reflect it: butchers, hardware merchants, bakers, and mechanics outnumber souvenir shops by a wide margin.
The medina is contained within a circuit of 16th-century Portuguese walls that are still largely intact. The main lane runs from the Grande Mosque down toward the port, passing the covered market and a string of street food stalls. The Kechaoua quarter — the pottery neighborhood — occupies the northern slope. Even if you have no interest in buying ceramics, walking through is worthwhile just to see the kilns and the potters at work.