Morocco Destination Guide
Fes
The Imperial CityWhere Morocco
Keeps Its Memory
Fes is the oldest of Morocco’s four imperial cities and the one that has changed least. Founded in 789 by Idris I, it became the intellectual capital of the western Islamic world, and its medina, Fes el Bali, is now the largest contiguous car free urban area on earth: around nine thousand lanes, none of them wide enough for a vehicle.
The difference between Fes and Marrakech is the difference between a working medieval city and a beautifully restored one. Fes is louder, older, less polished and considerably harder to navigate. It is also, for many travellers, the more striking of the two.
You need a guide here, and not for safety. The medina truly cannot be navigated on a map, and the difference between wandering past a door and being taken through it is the whole point of visiting Fes.
Quick Facts
What to See
and Do
The essential sights, and the ones that make the trip once you have a guide who can reach them.
Al Quaraouiyine
Founded in 859 by Fatima al Fihri and recognised as the oldest continually operating degree granting university in the world. Non Muslims can see the courtyard from several doorways.
The Chouara Tanneries
The stone dye pits have been in use since the eleventh century. Go to a leather shop terrace above them in the morning, when the light is right and the smell is at its least ferocious.
Bou Inania and Attarine Madrasas
Two fourteenth century Marinid colleges and among the finest surviving examples of zellige, carved cedar and stucco anywhere in the Islamic world.
The Potters’ Quarter
Outside the walls at Ain Nokbi, where the blue and white Fassi ceramics are still thrown, fired in olive pit kilns and chipped into zellige by hand.
The Mellah and Ibn Danan Synagogue
Morocco’s oldest Jewish quarter, with balconied houses that face outward rather than inward and a beautifully restored seventeenth century synagogue.
The Merinid Tombs at Sunset
A ruined hilltop necropolis above the city and the only place from which you can see the whole medina at once. Go an hour before sunset.
How to Make the
Most of Your Time
Fes rewards depth rather than breadth. Four things worth building a day around.
A Pastilla Masterclass
Fassi cuisine is the most refined in Morocco and pastilla is its showpiece. Spend a morning making one in a family dar and eat it for lunch on the terrace.
The Artisan Route
Brass beaters, silk weavers, zellige cutters and cedar carvers still work within a few hundred metres of each other. A half day with a guide who knows the families is worth more than any museum.
Volubilis and Moulay Idriss
An hour west, the best preserved Roman city in Morocco and the holy town built around the tomb of the founder of the first Moroccan dynasty. An easy and excellent day trip.
A Rooftop at Dusk
The medina has almost no open space, so everything happens on the roofs. Find a terrace at sunset and listen to the call to prayer move across the city one mosque at a time.
When to Visit
Fes
Fes sits inland at 400 metres and has a real winter and a hard summer. The shoulder seasons are noticeably better.
March to May. 18 to 26C, the surrounding hills are green and the medina is comfortable to walk all day.
June to August. Regularly above 38C with no sea breeze. Start at 7am, stop at noon, and plan the afternoon indoors.
September to November. Warm days, cool evenings and the olive harvest in the hills around the city.
December to February. Cold and often wet, down to 5C at night, but the medina is empty and riads are at their cheapest.
Journeys That
Include Fes
Fes works as a two night stop on a longer route, or as the northern anchor of a full imperial cities journey.
9 DaysImperial Cities of Morocco
Rabat, Meknes, Fes and Marrakech, connecting the country’s four imperial capitals into one journey.
View Journey
12 DaysUltra Luxury Morocco
Palace hotels in Marrakech and Fes, a private kasbah in Skoura and the most exclusive camp in the Sahara.
View Journey
8 DaysSignature Luxury Morocco
Five star riads in Marrakech, a private 4×4 over the Atlas and two nights in a luxury camp in the dunes of Erg Chebbi.
View JourneyThey Travelled With Us
Super Trek away from the roads that took us through authentic Berber villages with sublime scenery, great organization and tasty, excellent and abundant traditional local cuisine. Many thanks to Mohamed and all his team.
Magnificent yoga trek in the Valley of Roses guided by Mohamed, a guide always in a good mood and passionate about his wonderful country. Thank you for your kindness, I will keep a fantastic memory of this trip!
Mohammed had the talent to make us approach beautiful sites, far from places a little too touristy. He tells us with passion, humor and knowledge about his beautiful country. A true storyteller.
Ready to Walk
The Oldest Medina in the World?
Tell us how many nights you have and we will build Fes into a route that makes sense, with a licensed Fassi guide who studied in the medina.