Things to Do in Fes: 20 Best Experiences in and Around the Medina

Fes is the oldest of Morocco’s imperial cities and one of the best-preserved medieval cities in the world. Founded at the end of the eighth century and for centuries the country’s intellectual and spiritual capital, it has kept a living medina where craftsmen, traders and residents carry on age-old skills. Here are the twenty experiences we recommend to our guests, grouped by theme, with links to our detailed guides. If you are still planning your stay, start with where to stay in Fes.

Exploring the Fes el-Bali medina

1. Get (a little) lost in the medina

Fes el-Bali is a maze of some nine thousand lanes, a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1981 and entirely car-free. Getting lost is part of the experience, as long as you know a few landmarks. Our Fes medina guide explains how to find your way, which streets to follow and how to avoid fake guides.

2. Walk through Bab Bou Jeloud, the Blue Gate

Built in the early twentieth century in traditional style, Bab Bou Jeloud is covered in blue zellige on the outside and green on the medina side. Through its arches you glimpse the medina’s minarets: it is the most famous photo in Fes, and the starting point of the two main streets, Talaa Kebira and Talaa Seghira.

3. Admire the Bou Inania Madrasa

Built in the mid-fourteenth century by the Marinid sultan Abu Inan, this former Quranic school is a masterpiece of zellige, carved stucco, sculpted cedar and a marble courtyard. It is one of the few religious buildings in Fes open to non-Muslims. We describe it alongside the other great monuments in the madrasas and monuments of Fes.

4. Visit the Al-Attarine Madrasa

Smaller and older than Bou Inania, the Al-Attarine Madrasa, completed around 1325, is perhaps the most refined in Fes. It stands next to Al-Quaraouiyine, and from its upper floors you can glimpse the great mosque’s green-tiled roofs.

5. Get close to Al-Quaraouiyine

Founded in 859 by Fatima al-Fihri, Al-Quaraouiyine is regarded as one of the oldest continuously operating places of learning in the world. The mosque is open to Muslims only, but its open doors offer glimpses of the courtyard and its fountains.

6. Listen to the coppersmiths of Seffarine square

On this small, shady square, craftsmen hammer copper and brass into cauldrons, trays and lanterns. The noise, the gleam and the skill make it one of the liveliest spots in the medina, a few minutes from Rcif.

7. See the Chouara tanneries

The open-air dyeing pits, seen from the terraces of the leather shops, are the most spectacular sight in Fes. To know when to go, how to avoid sales pressure and how the leather is made, read the Fes tanneries.

8. Discover the Nejjarine Museum

Housed in an eighteenth-century caravanserai, the Museum of Wooden Arts and Crafts displays carved cedar doors, chests and tools. Its roof terrace offers a lovely view over the medina, and the Nejjarine fountain on the square outside is one of the most beautiful in the city.

9. Wander the souks

The henna souk and its potters, the spice souk, the dyers’ souk near Rcif, weavers, slipper makers, carpenters: each trade has its own street. Our tips for buying without stress and knowing what to bring home are in shopping in the Fes souks.

10. Pass by the shrine of Moulay Idriss II

The mausoleum of the founder of Fes is one of the most revered places in Morocco. It is open to Muslims only, but you can admire its door and the atmosphere of the surrounding lanes, where candles, nougat and devotional objects are sold.

Rising above the city and leaving the medina

11. Watch the sunset from the Marinid tombs

On the hill north of the medina, the ruined Marinid tombs offer the most famous view of Fes el-Bali, especially at sunset. Our other favourite viewpoints, from Borj Sud to the rooftop terraces, are in the best views in Fes.

12. Stroll in the Jnan Sbil gardens

Between the medina and Fes el-Jdid, these restored historic gardens offer shade, ponds and paths: a welcome green break, popular with local families in the late afternoon.

13. Discover Fes el-Jdid, the Mellah and the Royal Palace

“New” Fes, founded in the thirteenth century, is home to the golden doors of the Royal Palace, the old Jewish quarter of the Mellah with its ornate balconies, and the Ibn Danan synagogue. All the details are in Fes el-Jdid, the Mellah and the Royal Palace.

Living Fes like a local

14. Taste Fassi cuisine

Fes is Morocco’s culinary capital: pastilla, tajines, Friday couscous, early-morning bissara, msemen and honey pastries. Our article on what to eat in Fes guides you from street stalls to palace restaurants.

15. Take a cooking class

Shopping at the market with a cook and then preparing a tajine or a pastilla is one of the best ways to understand local culture. See cooking classes in Fes.

16. Treat yourself to a hammam

A neighbourhood bathhouse or a traditional spa, a black-soap scrub with a kessa glove: a ritual to experience at least once. Everything is explained in the hammam in Fes.

17. End the day on a rooftop

At dusk, the calls to prayer answer each other from minaret to minaret. Mint tea on your riad’s terrace at that moment is one of the most beautiful memories of a stay in Fes.

Day trips from Fes

18. Volubilis, Moulay Idriss and Meknes

An hour’s drive away, the Roman ruins of Volubilis, the holy town of Moulay Idriss Zerhoun and the imperial city of Meknes make a superb day out.

19. Chefchaouen, Ifrane and the Middle Atlas

The blue town of Chefchaouen, the cedars and monkeys of Azrou and the alpine-style town of Ifrane: our ideas are detailed in day trips from Fes.

20. The Merzouga desert

Fes is one of the best starting points for the Erg Chebbi dunes, across the Middle Atlas. See Fes to the Merzouga desert.

How long to stay and how to plan your days

Two days cover the essentials of the medina; three or four days leave time for a day trip and a gentler pace. If you only have one day, follow our plan for one day in Fes; for a classic stay, our three-day Fes itinerary. And if you are building a longer trip, read our 10-day Morocco itinerary and our comparison Fes or Marrakech.

To go further: still undecided? Read is Fes worth visiting?. Photographers will find their bearings in the best photo spots in Fes, craft lovers in Fes crafts and artisan workshops. If you are travelling during the holy month, see Ramadan in Fes, and in spring do not miss the Festival of World Sacred Music. Finally, for the blue town, everything is in Fes to Chefchaouen.

Your base in the medina

La Petite Maison is a five-minute walk from Rcif square, close to Seffarine square, Al-Quaraouiyine and the tanneries. We help you plan your visits, book licensed guides and trusted drivers for day trips, and welcome you back in the evening on the terrace. Browse our rooms, read the story of the riad or write to us to plan your stay.