Tétouan is built in two parts, and Place Hassan II is the seam that holds them together. The square sits on the line between the Spanish-era Ensanche to the west — the colonial-era new town of straight avenues and white civic blocks — and the UNESCO-listed Andalusian medina to the east. The eastern side of the square is closed by the long white façade of Dar El Makhzen, the Royal Palace, with its green-tiled eaves and bronze doors; the western side has the former Spanish town hall and other civic buildings. Four bronze-topped columns anchor the corners.

The square was redesigned in 1988 — paving renewed, columns added, floodlighting installed — and has been the city's civic heart ever since. It is the meeting place locals nominate when arranging to see someone, the destination of the evening promenade after work, and the natural starting point for any walk into the medina. Children play in the open paving; older Tetouanis sit on the benches around the columns; tour groups gather at the medina gate.

Dar El Makhzen is an active royal residence and remains closed to all visitors; you can photograph the façade from the square, and the guards will ask you politely not to step onto the palace forecourt. To enter the medina, walk toward the palace and bear left — Bab er-Rouah opens onto the main souk axis. Late afternoon into early evening is the moment: the palace façade glows at golden hour, the square fills with families after 6pm, and the medina becomes the natural next step. Avoid midday in summer; there is almost no shade on the paving itself.