If you want to understand the world Tétouan's medina was built around, the Ethnographic Museum on the east side at Bab el-Oqla is the place to begin. The museum occupies a Spanish-era bastion in the 19th-century defensive wall; its collection covers the Hispano-Moroccan daily life that the medina across the road grew up to serve — Andalusian embroidery, wedding costumes of the Jbala and Riffian hinterlands, silver jewellery, weapons, musical instruments, and reconstructed rooms showing a traditional bride's chamber and a domestic courtyard.

The museum is compact. Three small floors are organised around costumes, weapons, silverwork, musical instruments, and reconstructed rooms — a bride's chamber, a men's reception, a kitchen — that give you a sense of what the patios behind the medina's whitewashed walls actually look like. Labels are mainly in Arabic and French with some Spanish; a short English leaflet is sometimes available at the desk, and a licensed guide adds genuine context on the wedding customs and the Jbala–Andalusi cultural crossover.

Save energy for the top terrace, which opens onto a small Andalusian garden inside the ramparts with a panoramic view over the medina rooftops toward Jebel Dersa. Entry is around 20 MAD for adults and half-price for children. Opening hours are typically 9:00–16:00, closed Tuesdays; confirm at the ticket window because hours shift seasonally. Allow 45 to 60 minutes for the rooms plus another 10 for the garden. Pair the visit with Dar Sanaa directly across the road for the crafts counterpart, or with the Archaeological Museum in the Ensanche for the Roman-era layer of the story.