Fes is not a city particularly interested in making your life convenient.
The streets twist into each other, the markets spill into narrow passageways, and every time you think you’ve figured out where you’re going, another alley appears to offer a different opinion. There are donkeys carrying supplies through streets too narrow for cars, craftspeople working behind unassuming wooden doors, and food stalls serving things that smell considerably better than whatever you had planned for lunch.
It’s wonderfully chaotic. Occasionally frustrating. And one of the most fascinating places I’ve explored in Morocco.
I visited Fes while traveling through the country in 2023, eventually making my way south through Western Sahara, Mauritania, and Senegal. Of all the places I experienced in Morocco, Fes stood out for how completely the old city absorbed you. You don’t so much visit the medina as temporarily surrender to it.
But as much as I enjoy wandering without a plan, Fes is also a city that benefits from knowing a few things beforehand. Where you stay matters. The entrance you use matters. Having a general understanding of the medina can save you considerable confusion, and knowing which experiences are worth your time makes the city much more enjoyable.
Here’s how I’d approach Fes, what makes it worth visiting, and what I’d prioritize if I were planning a trip today.
Why Fes deserves a place on your Morocco itinerary
Morocco has no shortage of memorable cities. Marrakesh offers its own intensity, Chefchaouen has its famous blue streets, and Essaouira is somewhere I could happily spend an unreasonable amount of time doing very little.
Fes feels different.
It’s one of Morocco’s historic imperial cities, with a long intellectual, religious, and artistic heritage. The heart of the experience is Fes el-Bali, the historic medina recognized by UNESCO, where workshops, religious schools, markets, bakeries, homes, and places of worship exist within a remarkable maze of streets.
What makes it interesting isn’t simply that the buildings are old. It’s that the city is still functioning around them.
People are making shoes, carrying groceries, working with metal, selling produce, and trying to get through their day while visitors like me occasionally stop in the middle of a passageway to admire a door.
If you enjoy history, architecture, photography, food, or simply observing how a place works, Fes offers more than enough to keep you entertained for a few days.
If you prefer spotless sidewalks, straightforward navigation, and a very predictable itinerary, it might test your patience.
Personally, I think that’s part of its character.
How many days should you spend in Fes?
I’d recommend two full days in Fes, with a third if you want to explore beyond the main medina.
One day is enough to see a few headline attractions, but you won’t have much time to wander, eat properly, or enjoy the city at a reasonable pace. And while I don’t think getting lost should become an entire travel philosophy, it would be a shame to visit Fes and spend the whole time rushing from one attraction to another.
With two days, you can explore the medina, visit the architectural highlights, see the tanneries, and spend some time in the surrounding historic neighborhoods.
A third day gives you room for a longer food experience, a traditional hammam, or a trip toward Meknes and the Roman ruins of Volubilis.
If you’re traveling through Morocco for the first time, I’d prioritize Fes as a two-night or three-night stop depending on your arrival time and the pace of the rest of your itinerary.
The best things to do in Fes
1. Wander through Fes el-Bali
The medina is the main event, and there’s no particularly elegant way to experience it.
Start near Bab Bou Jeloud, commonly known as the Blue Gate, and follow the main pedestrian routes into the old city. Talaa Kebira and Talaa Seghira form two useful corridors through the upper medina, though plenty of smaller streets branch off in every direction.
You’ll pass food stalls, mosques, old fountains, market stalls, craftspeople, and the occasional animal transporting something that would otherwise be rather difficult to move through the streets.
It’s busy, noisy, and sometimes overwhelming.
My advice is to spend part of your first day with a licensed local guide, particularly if you’re interested in the history. A knowledgeable guide can explain the significance of buildings you’d otherwise walk straight past, help you understand the city’s layout, and give you a sense of how the various neighborhoods connect.
After that, explore independently.
Getting lost in Fes can be enjoyable when you have enough time and a basic understanding of how to find your way back. It’s considerably less charming when you’re hungry, your phone has died, and you’re trying to locate a riad that appears to exist in a parallel dimension.
2. Visit the Chouara Tannery
The Chouara Tannery is one of the most recognizable sights in Fes, and it’s worth seeing for the insight it offers into the city’s long history of leatherworking.
From the surrounding terraces, you can look down onto the stone vats where workers process and dye hides. The colors and arrangement are visually striking, but I think it’s important to recognize that this is a working environment, not a performance staged for visitors.
The labor is physically demanding, and the conditions are a reminder that traditional craftsmanship isn’t always as romantic as travel photographs make it appear.
You typically access the viewing terraces through nearby leather shops. Some may expect you to look at their products afterward, and you should clarify any requested fee or purchase expectation before entering.
You may also be offered mint to help with the smell.
Accept it. Your nose will understand.
3. See Bou Inania and Al-Attarine Madrasas
Fes is famous for its religious architecture, and its historic madrasas are among the best places to appreciate traditional Moroccan craftsmanship.
Bou Inania Madrasa is particularly accessible from the upper medina, near Bab Bou Jeloud. The building is known for its intricate tilework, carved plaster, and cedarwood decoration.
Al-Attarine Madrasa, farther into the medina near the Qarawiyyin area, offers another remarkable example of the same architectural traditions, with a beautifully detailed courtyard.
If you’re interested in craftsmanship, these are places worth taking your time. Look closely at the geometric patterns, carved surfaces, and extraordinary level of detail. The skill involved becomes more impressive the longer you spend examining it.
Check visitor access, opening hours, and admission arrangements locally, since these can change.
4. Explore the neighborhoods around Al-Qarawiyyin
The Al-Qarawiyyin complex is an important part of Fes’s intellectual and religious history. Its institution of learning has roots in the ninth century and is widely associated with one of the world’s oldest continuing traditions of higher education.
It’s worth understanding that the functioning mosque is not generally open to non-Muslim tourists, so don’t build your itinerary around entering the prayer hall.
Instead, explore the surrounding lanes, markets, fountains, and historic architecture. The area is one of the most interesting parts of the medina, particularly if you’re paying attention to the workshops and daily activity around the famous monuments.
This is where a good local guide can be especially valuable. There are layers of history here that aren’t necessarily obvious from the street.
5. Spend time around Nejjarine and the craft workshops
One of the things I enjoy most about Moroccan cities is how visible traditional craftsmanship can be.
In Fes, you’ll find metalworkers, woodworkers, leather artisans, and craftspeople producing things that take far more skill than most of us appreciate.
The Nejjarine area is a good place to explore this heritage. The historic Nejjarine Fondouk houses a museum dedicated to wooden arts and crafts, while the surrounding streets and squares offer opportunities to see more of the city’s artisan traditions.
Don’t treat every workshop as a tourist attraction, though. These are people’s workplaces, and it’s worth asking before entering private areas or taking photographs.
If you’re interested in buying something, spend a little time learning about how it’s made rather than automatically looking for the lowest price.
And remember that you can appreciate good craftsmanship without necessarily needing to bring a carpet home.
6. Explore Fes el-Jdid and the Mellah
Most visitors understandably concentrate on Fes el-Bali, but there’s another side to the city’s history worth experiencing.
Fes el-Jdid is home to the exterior of the Royal Palace, including its famous ornate gates, and the historic Jewish quarter, known as the Mellah.
The architecture and street layout here are different from the oldest medina, offering another perspective on the communities that helped shape Fes.
The Royal Palace itself isn’t open for ordinary tourist visits, so the attraction is the exterior rather than an interior tour.
For anyone interested in Morocco’s multicultural history, I think this makes a worthwhile addition to a second day.
7. See Fes from above
After spending hours navigating the narrow streets of the medina, seeing it from above provides a completely different perspective.
The hilltop area around the Marinid Tombs is known for its panoramic views over Fes. From a distance, the tangled streets become a dense landscape of rooftops, minarets, and buildings stretching across the valley.
It’s a good place to appreciate the scale of the old city.
If you’re planning to visit later in the day, consider transportation and the journey back before sunset.
What to eat in Fes
Moroccan food is one of the main reasons I enjoy traveling through the country, and Fes has a particularly rich culinary tradition.
I’d make time for pastilla, a sweet-and-savory pastry dish traditionally associated with celebratory Moroccan cooking. If you’ve never tried the combination of spiced filling, delicate pastry, and sweetness, it’s a memorable place to begin.
Tagine and couscous are also worth seeking out, but don’t limit yourself to the dishes you’ve already heard about. Spend time exploring smaller places serving soups, breads, grilled foods, and whatever is being prepared fresh that day.
A few practical habits make eating in the medina easier. Look for places with steady local customers, check prices before ordering, and don’t assume the most elaborately decorated restaurant necessarily serves the most interesting food.
I generally prefer smaller, unpretentious places where the focus appears to be on feeding people rather than creating a carefully arranged travel experience.
That said, rooftop restaurants and traditional riad dining rooms can also be wonderful. There’s no need to turn every meal into a test of how adventurous you are.
Occasionally, a good view and a comfortable chair are perfectly legitimate priorities.
Where to stay in Fes
For a first visit, I’d recommend staying in a traditional riad either inside Fes el-Bali or close to one of its principal entrances.
Riads are traditional homes built around interior courtyards, many of which have been converted into guesthouses. Staying in one can be a particularly enjoyable way to experience the architecture and hospitality that make Morocco memorable.
The important thing is location.
A riad tucked deep inside the medina may be beautiful, but remember that taxis generally cannot drive through the narrowest historic lanes. You may need to walk with your luggage, and finding the property on your first evening can be confusing.
For convenience, consider accommodation near Bab Bou Jeloud or another accessible entrance recommended by your host.
Before booking, I’d check whether the riad can arrange an arrival meeting point, how far you’ll need to walk with luggage, whether breakfast is included, and whether the room has suitable heating or cooling for the season.
If you prefer a modern hotel with straightforward vehicle access, the Ville Nouvelle may make more sense, although you’ll lose some of the atmosphere of sleeping inside the historic center.
For me, the medina would be the more interesting choice.
Getting to Fes and getting around
Fes is connected by rail to several major Moroccan cities, including Casablanca, Rabat, Meknes, and Tangier. You can also arrive by intercity bus or through Fes–Saïss Airport.
For train travel, check the official Moroccan railway operator, ONCF, for schedules and ticketing information. Bus services and routes change, so confirm details directly with the relevant operator rather than relying on an old travel blog.
Once in Fes, the main consideration is getting from the train station, airport, or bus terminal to your accommodation.
Taxis can take you toward the medina entrances, but many riads cannot be reached directly by car. It’s worth arranging a meeting point with your accommodation before arriving, particularly if you’ll be carrying a large backpack or arriving in the evening.
Inside Fes el-Bali, walking is the main way to get around.
Download an offline map, save the location of your accommodation, and keep the name of the nearest gate handy. Navigation apps can help, but don’t expect every narrow passage to correspond neatly with what appears on your phone.
When walking through the medina, give space to people transporting goods and avoid blocking narrow passages for photographs. The city is somebody else’s daily environment, not simply an attraction built for visitors.
The best time to visit Fes
I’d aim for spring or autumn, when temperatures are generally more comfortable for spending long days walking through the medina.
Summer can be very hot, especially when you’re moving through crowded streets in the middle of the afternoon. If you’re traveling during the warmer months, plan your longer walks for the morning, take breaks, and stay hydrated.
Winter can bring cooler weather and rain, so don’t assume Morocco is warm year-round. Traditional riads can also vary in how well they’re heated.
If your dates coincide with the Fes Festival of World Sacred Music or another major event, check accommodation availability early.
A practical two-day itinerary
Day one: The old medina. Begin at Bab Bou Jeloud, explore the main routes through Fes el-Bali, visit Bou Inania Madrasa, continue toward Nejjarine and Al-Attarine, and spend time around the Qarawiyyin neighborhood. Visit the Chouara Tannery and allow plenty of time for lunch, tea, and wandering without a rigid timetable.
Day two: More than the medina. Explore Fes el-Jdid, see the Royal Palace gates and the Mellah, then choose between returning to the old city for a longer food or craft experience, visiting a traditional hammam, or seeing the city from a viewpoint. If you’ve already had your fill of Fes’s narrow streets, this is also a good opportunity to explore its more modern neighborhoods.
With a third day, consider a trip toward Meknes and Volubilis, or spend additional time exploring the craft traditions of Fes itself.
The goal isn’t to see absolutely everything.
It’s to experience enough of the city that the streets begin to feel familiar rather than simply overwhelming.
A few things I’d know before going
Fes is a city where a little preparation can prevent avoidable frustration. Arrange your accommodation arrival carefully, consider hiring a licensed guide for your first introduction to the medina, and clarify prices before accepting paid services or entering commercial viewing terraces.
Be thoughtful about photography. A market stall, workshop, or person going about their day isn’t automatically an invitation to take a picture.
And don’t let the occasional persistent salesperson convince you the whole city exists to sell things to visitors. Fes is a living place with its own rhythms, challenges, and communities.
I also wouldn’t spend an entire visit worrying about whether every interaction was sufficiently authentic. Enjoy a comfortable restaurant if you want one. Buy something because you appreciate it. Get help finding your way when you need it.
Travel doesn’t become more meaningful simply because you’ve made it unnecessarily difficult.
Is Fes worth visiting?
Absolutely, especially if you’re interested in history, architecture, traditional craftsmanship, and experiencing a side of Morocco that feels very different from the coastal towns or mountain villages.
But I’d visit with realistic expectations.
The medina can be crowded and disorienting. You’ll encounter persistent sales approaches in some areas, and there will probably be moments when you’d rather know exactly where you’re going.
That’s part of the experience, although it doesn’t all need to be celebrated.
What I appreciate about Fes is that it doesn’t seem particularly concerned with being easily understood. The city has existed for centuries, carrying on its own routines long before I arrived with a backpack and a confused expression.
You can spend your time trying to conquer every alley and tick off every monument. Or you can allow a little room for the unexpected, stop when something interests you, and accept that getting lost occasionally is a rather small inconvenience in exchange for experiencing somewhere so distinctive.
Just make sure you’ve saved the location of your riad first.
