Things to do in Fes: the medina, the best sights and a 2-day plan

Give Fes two full days. Spend the first in the old medina, Fes el-Bali, with a guide for the morning: the Bou Inania and Attarine medersas, the Nejjarine museum, the doors of the Karaouine and the tanneries, then the Al Batha museum and sunset from the Merinid Tombs. Keep the second for Fes el-Jdid, the Mellah and its new Jewish museum, and for wandering; a third day adds Meknes and Volubilis.

Is Fes worth it, and for how long?

Yes. Founded by the Idrisids between 789 and 808 and capital of the Marinid sultans in the 13th and 14th centuries, Fes kept its medieval city almost whole. Fes el-Bali is still a working town of craftsmen, students and shopkeepers, one of the largest car-free urban areas in the world, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1981. Our page on Fes gives the short version; this guide goes lane by lane.

Two full days suit a first visit, three with Meknes and Volubilis or the Middle Atlas cedars. Fes is quieter than Marrakech and less arranged for visitors, its charm and its difficulty; we compare the two in the best cities to visit in Morocco.

Spring and autumn are best for walking: July and August highs reach about 34–35 °C, winter days about 15 °C. With Morocco on GMT all year, the sun sets at about 17:10 in December and 19:35 in late June.

How the medina of Fes works

Fes has three parts. Fes el-Bali, the old medina, fills the valley of the Fes river. Fes el-Jdid, "New Fes", was founded beside it in 1276 by the Marinid sultan Abu Yusuf Yaqub as a royal town, with the palace and, later, the Mellah. The Ville Nouvelle, laid out under the French protectorate, is the modern city.

Two lanes do most of the work. From the square behind Bab Bou Jeloud, the main western gate, Talaa Kebira ("the great slope") and Talaa Seghira run downhill to the east, join just above Place Nejjarine and continue through the spice market to the Attarine medersa, beside the Karaouine. Going down is easy; coming back is a long climb, or a taxi from R'cif.

Trades still cluster by street (coppersmiths on Place Seffarine, carpenters on Place Nejjarine), and gates make the best landmarks: Bab Bou Jeloud at the top, Bab Guissa to the north and R'cif square by the river, the only place a road reaches the heart of the medina.

• Make way. Mules, donkeys and handcarts still carry the goods. When you hear "balak!", step aside.
• Getting lost is normal. Map apps give up in the alleys. Downhill leads to the Karaouine, uphill to Bab Bou Jeloud; ask a shopkeeper rather than whoever offers.
• Take a licensed guide for the first morning. Your riad can book one; official guides carry a badge. Three hours with one and you can explore alone. Unofficial guides at Bab Bou Jeloud are fewer than they were, but an offer to "show you the way" still tends to end in a shop that pays commission: "la, shukran" (no, thank you) is enough. More in is Morocco safe for tourists.
• Friday is different. Many souk shops close around the midday prayer, some all day.

The sights of Fes el-Bali

Sight	Time needed	Entry in 2026 (foreign adults)
Bou Inania Medersa	30–45 min	About 20 MAD (€2)
Nejjarine Museum	45 min	About 30 MAD (€3)
Al-Attarine Medersa	30 min	About 20 MAD, cash
The Karaouine	10 min	Free; from the doors only
Chouara tannery	30 min	Free; a small tip if you don't buy
Al Batha Museum	1 h 30	60 MAD (about €6)
Jnan Sbil garden	30–45 min	Free

Bab Bou Jeloud

The tiled triple arch, blue outside and green inside, is younger than it looks: the French built it in 1913. Through it you see the minaret of the Bou Inania. Cars stop here.

Bou Inania Medersa

The Marinid sultan Abu Inan Faris built this college of religious law in 1350–55, the high point of Marinid decoration: zellige, carved stucco and cedar around a marble courtyard. It was also a Friday mosque, so it has a minaret, and non-Muslims may look into the prayer hall from the courtyard but not enter. Across the lane, the Dar al-Magana water clock of 1357 has been silent for generations. Entry was about 20 MAD in 2025–26; the medersa closes during prayers and, according to most guides and visitors, on Fridays.

Place Nejjarine and its museum

The carpenters' square has a tiled 19th-century fountain beside the Funduq Nejjarine, a merchants' inn of 1711, restored in the 1990s and open since 1998 as the Museum of Wooden Arts and Crafts: carved doors, chests, musical instruments and the inn's old scales around a courtyard, and a roof café with a view. Expect about 30 MAD and roughly 10:00–17:00; photos of the exhibits are not allowed.

Al-Attarine Medersa

Smaller and older than the Bou Inania (1323–25, under Abu Said Uthman II), the Attarine ends the spice market; many visitors prefer its courtyard to any in Fes. You can climb to the students' tiny rooms. About 20 MAD, in cash. How to read the decoration is explained in our guide to Ben Youssef and the medersas of Fes.

The Karaouine

Fatima al-Fihri, a merchant's daughter from Kairouan, founded the Karaouine (al-Qarawiyyin) as a mosque in 857–859; it is often cited as the oldest university still operating. Non-Muslims cannot enter, but the open doors show the courtyard and its fountains. Place Seffarine, on the south side, rings with the coppersmiths' hammers.

The shrine of Moulay Idriss II

Idris II, traditionally the city's founder and patron saint, lies in one of Morocco's holiest shrines. Non-Muslims may walk up to the doors but not enter; a wooden bar across the lane marks its sanctuary.

The Chouara tannery

The largest of the three working tanneries of Fes, a honeycomb of stone vats by the river, is watched from the terraces of the surrounding leather shops, best in the morning. Our guide to visiting the Fes tanneries explains the visit and how to buy leather well.

The Al Batha Museum and Jnan Sbil

Dar Batha, a late-19th-century summer palace of sultans Hassan I and Abdelaziz, became a museum in 1915. Restored from 2019, it reopened on 26 February 2025 as the Al Batha Museum of Islamic Arts: over 6,500 objects, including the 14th-century minbar of the Bou Inania, the 9th-century minbar of the Andalusian Mosque, astrolabes and the blue-and-white pottery of Fes, around an Andalusian garden. Entry is 60 MAD, hours about 10:00–18:00, but sources disagree on the closing day (Monday or Tuesday): check first.

A few minutes away, the Jnan Sbil garden spreads 7.5 hectares of fountains, a bamboo grove and a large pool below the old walls. Reopened in 2011 after restoration, it is free and usually closed on Mondays.

Fes el-Jdid and the Mellah

The Royal Palace covers much of Fes el-Jdid and is closed to the public, but its gates on Place des Alaouites, built in 1969–71 with gilded bronze doors, zellige and carved cedar, are one of the classic photos of the city.

Beside it, the Mellah, created in the 15th century, was the first quarter of its kind in Morocco; its name, from the Arabic word for salt, later passed to the Jewish quarters of other cities. Walk Rue des Mérinides with its balconied houses, then on to the Ibn Danan synagogue, founded in the 17th century and reopened after restoration in 1999, and the Jewish cemetery with its whitewashed tombs. Expect a small fee or donation at each.

On 12 October 2026, the Museum of Moroccan Jewish Culture opened in the Mellah: about 1,200 m² of galleries over two floors, with Torah scrolls, marriage contracts, the keswa el-kbira wedding dress and a reconstructed jeweller's workshop. The national museums foundation calls it the first museum of Jewish culture funded with public money in an Arab-Muslim country. Its hours and prices had not been published when we wrote this: ask your guide or riad. The wider story is in our guide to Jewish heritage in Morocco.

The best views over Fes

• The Merinid Tombs. Ruined 14th-century royal tombs on the hill north of the medina, and the classic sunset view over all of Fes el-Bali, with the green roofs of the Karaouine at its heart. The guided day in Fes on our 9-day tour includes them.
• Borj Nord and Borj Sud. Two forts built in 1582 by the Saadian sultan Ahmad al-Mansur, as much to watch the city as to defend it, face each other across the valley. Borj Nord is a short walk from the tombs.
• A roof terrace. Most riads have one: at dusk, the call to prayer rolls from minaret to minaret.

Go up by petit taxi (red in Fes) or with your guide, ask the driver to wait, and come down as the light fades: guidebooks still advise against lingering there after dark.

Experiences

• A hammam. Fes still has many neighbourhood hammams, such as the 14th-century Saffarin; riad and spa hammams are gentler and far dearer.
• Food. Pastilla, khlii fried with eggs, bissara on a winter morning: read what to eat in Fes before booking a cooking class.
• The potters of Ain Nokbi. The potteries moved out of the medina to Ain Nokbi, near Bab Ftouh, to spare residents the smoke of their kilns; you can watch zellige being cut by hand. Our guide to Moroccan pottery and zellige covers what to buy.
• The Fes Festival of World Sacred Music. Held since 1994, usually in late spring (4–7 June in 2026), with concerts in venues such as the Jnan Sbil garden. The 2027 dates had not been announced in November 2026.

Fes in two days

Day 1: Fes el-Bali

• Morning, with a guide: Bab Bou Jeloud, the Bou Inania, down Talaa Kebira, Place Nejjarine and its museum, the Attarine, the Karaouine doors, Place Seffarine and the Chouara terraces before noon.
• Afternoon: after lunch in the medina, a taxi up from R'cif to the Al Batha Museum and the Jnan Sbil garden.
• Sunset: the Merinid Tombs.

Day 2: Fes el-Jdid, then your own pace

• Morning: the palace gates, the Mellah, the Ibn Danan synagogue, the cemetery and the Jewish museum.
• Afternoon: back into Fes el-Bali on your own, for shopping, a hammam or a cooking class, then tea on a terrace at dusk.

If one day is a Friday, give it to Fes el-Jdid, the museums and the views. Day 3 (optional): one of the day trips below.

Day trips from Fes

• Meknes and Volubilis (full day). Meknes, about an hour west by road, was the capital of Sultan Moulay Ismail (1672–1727), with its monumental Bab Mansour gate. About 30 km north lies Volubilis, a Roman town listed by UNESCO in 1997, with mosaic floors still in its houses. Our guide to the imperial cities of Morocco puts them together.
• Ifrane and the Azrou cedar forest (half or full day). Ifrane, 65 km south, was built by the French in 1929 as a mountain resort of Alpine-style chalets; the cedar forest near Azrou is home to Barbary macaques (watch, don't feed). Our 3-day desert tour drives through Ifrane and stops in the cedar forest on its first morning.
• Chefchaouen (long day, or a night). About 195 km away, three and a half to four hours each way, which leaves little time there: one night is better. See is Chefchaouen worth visiting.

Where to stay in Fes

• A riad in the medina, ideally a few minutes from a gate a taxi can reach: Bab Bou Jeloud and Batha at the top, or R'cif lower down. Ask the riad to meet you at the gate on arrival.
• A hotel in the Ville Nouvelle if you are driving or want a pool and parking, a short taxi ride from the medina.

From Fes to the Sahara and Marrakech

Most travellers leave Fes for the dunes. Merzouga is about 460 km away, a long day through the Middle Atlas, past Ifrane, the cedars of Azrou and the palm groves of the Ziz Valley, arriving in time for a camel ride at sunset. Our 3-day tour from Fes to Marrakech via Merzouga then crosses the Todra Gorges, the Dades Valley and Ait Ben Haddou; all the options are on our page on desert tours from Fes. On our 9-day tour from Casablanca, Fes gets a guided day before the drive to Merzouga.

Going straight to Marrakech? The direct train takes about six and a half hours, the 530 km motorway about six: see Marrakech to Fes.

If you are starting in Fes and want the desert on the way to Marrakech, send us your dates on WhatsApp, and we will suggest how to fit a guided morning in the medina before you leave.