--- title: "Top 10 Things To Do in Fes, Morocco (2026 Guide) | Wimup" description: "The 10 best things to do in Fes, ranked. The Chouara tannery, al-Qarawiyyin, Bou Inania and the Merenid tombs, plus when to go and how long to stay." url: https://wimup.com/city/fes type: City guide updated: 2026-10-11 publisher: Wimup (https://wimup.com) --- # Top 10 Things To Do in Fes Fes, Morocco · Africa · By Wimup Editorial, 14 min read Fes is the oldest of Morocco's imperial cities and the least diluted. The medina is a UNESCO site of roughly 9,000 lanes with no cars in most of them, three working tanneries, and a university that has been teaching since 859. ## Quick answer Give Fes three days. The first belongs to Talaa Kebira, walked downhill from Bab Bou Jeloud, taking in the Bou Inania madrasa, Place Seffarine and the Chouara tannery terraces on the way. The second is Fes el-Jdid, the Mellah and the Jnan Sbil gardens. Use the third for Meknes and the Roman mosaics at Volubilis, both an hour west. ## Quick facts - **Best months:** Apr · May · Oct - **Ideal length:** 3 days - **Budget per day:** $45–90 - **Language:** Arabic and Amazigh, French widely spoken - **Getting around:** On foot in the medina, petit taxi beyond the walls - **Tourism board:** [Official site](https://www.visitmorocco.com/en?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral) ## The 10 best things to do in Fes ### 1. Look down on the Chouara tannery from a leather shop terrace Tannery · Chouara Tannery, Derb Chouara, Fes el-Bali, Fes 30000 Three tanneries still work in the medina and Chouara is the big one: a courtyard of stone vats where hides are limed, scraped and dyed by hand. There is no ticket. The viewing terraces belong to the leather shops that ring the yard, so you climb through one to look down. - **Time:** 30 to 45 min - **Cost:** Free, a tip is expected on the terrace - **Best at:** Mid-morning, while the vats are worked - **Tip:** Take the sprig of mint they hand you at the door ### 2. See al-Qarawiyyin, the oldest working university on earth Mosque and university · Al-Qarawiyyin Mosque, Place Seffarine, Fes el-Bali, Fes 30000 Founded in 859 by Fatima al-Fihri and teaching ever since. Non-Muslims cannot enter the prayer hall, but the doorways off the lanes around it frame the courtyard, the fountain and the green-tiled roofs, and the library on Place Seffarine was restored and reopened last decade. - **Time:** 20 min - **Cost:** Free from the doorways - **Best at:** Between prayer times - **Tip:** Circle the block: each gate gives a different angle on the courtyard ### 3. Step inside the Bou Inania madrasa Madrasa · Bou Inania Madrasa, Talaa Kebira, Fes el-Bali, Fes 30000 Built between 1350 and 1355 for the Marinid sultan Abu Inan Faris, and the most complete piece of fourteenth-century craftsmanship in the city: carved cedar, cut stucco and zellij on every surface. One of the few religious buildings in Fes that non-Muslims may enter. - **Time:** 30 min - **Cost:** Ticketed at the door - **Best at:** Early, before the tour groups - **Tip:** Look across the lane at Dar al-Magana, the ruined water clock ### 4. Compare it with the al-Attarine madrasa Madrasa · Al-Attarine Madrasa, Souk el-Attarine, Fes el-Bali, Fes 30000 Smaller than Bou Inania and, most people decide, finer. A Marinid college wedged beside the spice souk at the east end of Talaa Kebira, with an upstairs gallery of student cells that looks down on the courtyard and across to the Qarawiyyin roofs. - **Time:** 20 to 30 min - **Cost:** Ticketed at the door - **Best at:** Late afternoon, for the light in the courtyard - **Tip:** Go up to the cells. Almost nobody does ### 5. Walk Talaa Kebira from Bab Bou Jeloud Street · Talaa Kebira, Fes el-Bali, Fes 30000 The medina's main descent, from the blue gate at the top to the al-Attarine madrasa at the bottom, and the one route through Fes el-Bali you can hold in your head. Everything else branches off it. Walk it downhill on your first morning and the city stops being a maze. - **Time:** 1 to 2 hr - **Cost:** Free - **Best at:** Morning, before the lanes fill - **Tip:** Downhill leads to the river and the Rcif gate, which is where taxis wait ### 6. Climb to the Merenid tombs for the whole medina at once Viewpoint · Merenid Tombs, Route du Tour de Fes, Fes 30000 Ruined fourteenth-century tombs on the hillside north of the walls, worth the climb for the view rather than the stones. From up here the medina reads as one dense field of roofs with the Qarawiyyin minaret standing in the middle of it. - **Time:** 1 hr with the walk - **Cost:** Free - **Best at:** The hour before sunset - **Tip:** A 15-minute climb from Bab Bou Jeloud, or a short petit taxi ride ### 7. Find the shrine of Moulay Idriss II in the middle of the souks Shrine · Zawiya of Moulay Idriss II, Fes el-Bali, Fes 30000 The tomb of the ruler Fes counts as its founder, and one of the holiest places in Morocco. The approach lanes are crossed at ankle height by wooden beams that once marked the sanctuary limit. Non-Muslims stop at the doorway, which still gives you the candles and the crowd. - **Time:** 15 min - **Cost:** Free from the doorway - **Best at:** Friday, when it is busiest - **Tip:** The low beams are the old boundary marker, not an obstacle ### 8. Stand in Place Seffarine while the coppersmiths work Souk · Place Seffarine, Fes el-Bali, Fes 30000 A small triangular square against the Qarawiyyin wall where brass and copper are still beaten into trays, kettles and lanterns by hand. You hear it before you reach it. Take one of the cafe stools on the edge and let the hammering be the point. - **Time:** 30 min - **Cost:** Free - **Best at:** Weekday mornings, when every workshop is open - **Tip:** The Qarawiyyin library stands on the same square ### 9. See the brass gates of the Royal Palace Landmark · Place des Alaouites, Fes el-Jdid, Fes 30000 Seven gilded brass doors set in zellij and carved cedar, facing a square laid out for them in 1969. The palace behind is closed, so this is a five-minute stop rather than a visit, and it is the reason most people cross into Fes el-Jdid at all. - **Time:** 10 to 15 min - **Cost:** Free - **Best at:** Late morning, with the sun on the brass - **Tip:** The Mellah begins a street east, so pair the two ### 10. Walk the Mellah and the Ibn Danan synagogue Neighborhood · Mellah, Fes el-Jdid, Fes 30000 Morocco's first walled Jewish quarter, laid out beside the palace in the fifteenth century, and the one district in Fes with balconies facing the street rather than blank walls. The seventeenth-century Ibn Danan synagogue was brought back from near-ruin in the 1990s. - **Time:** 1 hr - **Cost:** Ticketed at the synagogue - **Best at:** Late morning, with the palace gates - **Tip:** The hillside Jewish cemetery below the quarter is worth another twenty minutes ## Best medina & monuments in Fes Seven more pieces of the walled city, from a plain Alaouite college to the gates that hold it all in. 1. **Cherratine Madrasa** (Madrasa · Fes el-Bali): The Alaouite answer to the Marinid madrasas: plainer, and built in the seventeenth century to house far more students. 2. **Sahrij Madrasa** (Madrasa · Andalusian quarter): Marinid, named for the reflecting pool in its courtyard. Restored by ADER-Fes and reopened in 2017. 3. **Mosque of the Andalusians** (Mosque · Andalusian quarter): Founded in the ninth century on the far bank of the river, with a monumental carved gate you can read from the lane. 4. **Dar al-Magana** (Curiosity · Talaa Kebira): The ruined water clock facing Bou Inania. Thirteen beams, a row of brass bowls, and no agreed explanation of how it worked. 5. **Bab Bou Jeloud** (Gate · Fes el-Bali): The blue-and-green gate everyone photographs, built by the French administration in 1913 rather than by a sultan. 6. **Bab Mahrouk and the ramparts** (Gate · Fes el-Bali): The older gate beside Bou Jeloud, and the start of the walk along the northern wall towards Borj Nord. 7. **Bab Semmarine** (Gate · Fes el-Jdid): The tall southern gate into the walled royal city, opening onto the one straight main street in Fes. ## Best restaurants in Fes Seven places to eat, from a five-table riad kitchen to the cafe that runs the storytelling nights. 1. **Nur** (Fine dining · Fes el-Bali): A short tasting menu built on Middle Atlas produce, in a small medina house. Book ahead; the room is tiny. [Website](https://www.nurfez.com/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral) 2. **Dar Roumana** (French Moroccan · Fes el-Bali): Five tables, a French chef and a Moroccan pantry. Reserve by early afternoon for the same evening. [Website](https://www.darroumana.com/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral) 3. **The Ruined Garden** (Moroccan · Fes el-Bali): Lunch outdoors in the overgrown courtyard of a collapsed house, beside Riad Idrissy. 4. **Cafe Clock** (Cafe · Talaa Kebira): Camel burger, a roof terrace, and a programme of storytelling, oud and calligraphy classes. [Website](https://www.cafeclock.com/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral) 5. **L'Amandier at Palais Faraj** (Moroccan · Ziat): A rooftop dining room over the medina, cooking Fassi palace dishes. The terrace is the reason to book. [Website](https://www.palaisfaraj.com/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral) 6. **Fez Cafe** (Mediterranean · Douh): In the garden of Riad Jardin des Biehn, and the medina's best long lunch under trees. 7. **Dar Hatim** (Home cooking · Fes el-Bali): A family house serving one Fassi menu a night to a handful of tables. Book the day before. ## Best riads & rooftops in Fes Four courtyard houses whose terraces are the only way to see the medina from above without climbing a hill. 1. **Riad Fes, Relais & Châteaux** (Hotel · Fes el-Bali): The grandest of them, with a rooftop pool and a terrace looking over the whole of Fes el-Bali. 2. **Palais Amani** (Hotel · Fes el-Bali): A restored palace with a walled garden, a hammam and a roof terrace above the Eden dining room. [Website](https://palaisamani.com/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral) 3. **Dar Bensouda** (Riad · Fes el-Bali): Courtyard pool below, and a terrace with the Middle Atlas on the horizon on a clear day. 4. **Riad Zamane & Spa** (Riad · Fes el-Bali): A quieter option with a panoramic terrace over the old city, useful when the medina roofs are the point. ## Best crafts & souks in Fes Six places where something is still made by hand, including the two tanneries the coaches never reach. 1. **Souk el-Attarine** (Spices · Fes el-Bali): The spice and perfume lane beside the al-Attarine madrasa, and the oldest commercial street in the medina. 2. **Place Nejjarine** (Woodwork · Fes el-Bali): The carpenters' square, with a zellij-faced fountain on one side and a restored caravanserai on the other. 3. **Souk el-Henna** (Cosmetics · Fes el-Bali): A small shaded square selling henna, kohl and pottery, and one of the calmest corners of Fes el-Bali. 4. **Sidi Moussa Tannery** (Tannery · Fes el-Bali): The middle of the three working tanneries, with terraces above it and a fraction of the crowd at Chouara. 5. **Ain Azliten Tannery** (Tannery · Ain Azliten): The smallest, on the northern edge of the medina, and the one where nobody will steer you into a shop. 6. **Ain Nokbi potters' quarter** (Pottery and zellij · Ain Nokbi): The kilns were moved out here so their smoke would stop settling on the medina. Workshops show throwing, painting and the hand-cutting of zellij. [Website](https://artnaji.com/en/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral) ## Best museums & gardens in Fes Four places to sit down indoors or under trees when the lanes have had enough of you. 1. **Nejjarine Museum of Wooden Arts and Crafts** (Museum · Fes el-Bali): Moroccan woodwork in an eighteenth-century caravanserai on Place Nejjarine, with a roof terrace at the top. 2. **Dar Batha Museum** (Museum · Batha): A Hispano-Moorish palace near Bab Bou Jeloud holding the city's craft collection, with gardens that host the Sufi festival. 3. **Jnan Sbil Gardens** (Garden · Bou Jeloud): A nineteenth-century royal garden between the two medinas, restored and reopened in 2011. Entry is free. 4. **Borj Nord** (Museum · North of the walls): A Saadian fort of 1582 on the hill above the medina, now an arms museum, and a viewpoint on the way to the Merenid tombs. ## Best neighborhoods in Fes Five quarters, and the reason Fes reads as three cities that grew into one. 1. **Fes el-Bali, the Qarawiyyin side** (Old medina · Fes el-Bali): The eastern half of the old medina, holding the university, the souks and the tanneries. This is the Fes people mean. 2. **The Andalusian quarter** (Old medina · Adwat al-Andalus): The far bank, settled by refugees from Iberia, with its own mosque and madrasa and almost no visitors. 3. **Fes el-Jdid** (New medina · Fes el-Jdid): The walled royal city added by the Marinids in the thirteenth century, holding the palace and the Mellah. 4. **Batha** (Transitional · Batha): The hinge between the medina and the modern city: the museum, the gardens and the taxi ranks. 5. **Ville Nouvelle** (Modern city · Ville Nouvelle): The French-planned grid south-west of the walls, where the railway station, the banks and the late bars are. ## Best day trips in Fes Five trips out, four of them west into the imperial belt and one south into the cedars. 1. **Meknes** (~65 km · West): The fourth imperial city, about an hour west, and the monumental Bab Mansour is only the start of it. 2. **Volubilis** (~95 km · West): The Roman city on the plain, roughly 95 km west, kept for its floor mosaics rather than its walls. 3. **Moulay Idriss Zerhoun** (~85 km · West): A whitewashed pilgrimage town spilling over two hills, ten minutes from Volubilis and usually joined to it. 4. **Ifrane and the Azrou cedar forest** (~60 km · South): Alpine-looking Ifrane and the cedar woods above Azrou, where Barbary macaques sit by the road. About 60 km south. 5. **Sefrou and Bhalil** (~30 km · South): Sefrou's medina and the cave houses at Bhalil, both inside 45 minutes, and an easy half day. ## Festivals & annual events in Fes (2026) - **Fes Festival of World Sacred Music** (May): The city's biggest week, staged in late May or early June at Bab Makina, Jnan Sbil and the Batha gardens. - **Sefrou Cherry Festival** (Jun): Three days of parades and music in Sefrou, half an hour south, timed to the cherry harvest. - **Festival of Amazigh Culture** (Jul): Amazigh music, dance and debate across the city, usually held in July. - **Throne Day** (Jul): A national holiday on 30 July. Offices and banks close; the medina keeps its own hours. - **Moussem of Moulay Idriss Zerhoun** (Sep): Morocco's largest pilgrimage, at the hill town near Volubilis, and an easy day trip from Fes. - **Festival of Sufi Culture** (Oct): Eight evenings of Sufi music and talks in the gardens of the Batha museum. - **Independence Day** (Nov): Aid al-Istiqlal, on 18 November, marks the end of French and Spanish rule. Flags go up across the Ville Nouvelle. - **Ramadan** (Varies): The lunar month moves back eleven days a year. Kitchens open late and the evening medina is at its best. ## Must-try dishes in Fes, Morocco - **Pastilla**: The Fassi showpiece: pigeon or chicken layered in warqa pastry, dusted with sugar and cinnamon. - **Rfissa**: Shredded msemen under chicken, lentils and fenugreek, in a broth heavy with ras el hanout. - **Harira**: The tomato, lentil and chickpea soup eaten all over Morocco, made here with more care than most. - **Bissara**: Fava bean puree under olive oil and cumin, sold from stalls at breakfast for small change. - **Khlii**: Meat preserved in spiced fat, kept for months and fried with eggs in the morning. - **Sfenj**: Doughnuts fried to order and handed over on a loop of string. - **Maakouda**: Potato fritters spiked with herbs, fried on the street and eaten in bread. - **Mechoui**: Whole lamb slow-roasted in a pit oven, sold by weight and eaten with cumin and salt. ## Fes transport & airports - **Fes-Saiss Airport** (FEZ): About 15 km south of the city. Bus 16 links the terminal with the main railway station through the day, and a grand taxi covers the same ground in 20 to 30 minutes. [Website](https://www.onda.ma/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral) - **Rail** (ONCF): Fes sits on the northern line. Trains run to Meknes in under an hour and on to Rabat, Casablanca and Tangier. The station is in the Ville Nouvelle, not the medina. [Website](https://www.oncf.ma/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral) - **Taxis** (Petit and grand): Petits taxis work inside the city and are metered, though the meter often needs asking for. Grands taxis run fixed routes out of town and are sold by the seat. - **On foot in the medina** (Fes el-Bali): No car reaches most of Fes el-Bali, one of the largest car-free urban areas in the world, and goods still move by mule. Use Talaa Kebira and Talaa Seghira as your spine. ## Fes at a glance - **Country:** Morocco - **Region:** Fès-Meknès - **Population:** About 1.26 million (city, 2024 census) - **Founded:** Idrisid foundation, 789 to 808 - **Nickname:** The spiritual capital of Morocco - **Language:** Arabic and Amazigh, French widely spoken - **Currency:** Moroccan dirham (MAD) - **Time zone:** UTC+1 - **Calling code:** +212 535 - **Airports:** Fes-Saiss (FEZ) - **Power:** 220V, types C and E - **Emergency:** 19 police, 15 ambulance, 177 gendarmerie outside cities ## Interesting facts - Al-Qarawiyyin has taught continuously since 859, which makes it the oldest working university on earth. - The medina holds roughly 9,000 lanes and is one of the largest car-free urban areas in the world. - Fatima al-Fihri founded al-Qarawiyyin with an inheritance from her father, a merchant from Kairouan. - Bab Bou Jeloud, the gate every photograph starts at, was built by the French administration in 1913. - The potters were moved out to Ain Nokbi so their kiln smoke would stop settling on the old city. ## Fes travel FAQ ### How many days do you need in Fes? Three. One for Talaa Kebira and the Qarawiyyin quarter, one for Fes el-Jdid, the Mellah and the gardens, and one for Meknes and Volubilis. Two works if you drop the day trip. ### Do you need a guide in the Fes medina? For the first morning, yes. Roughly 9,000 lanes with no grid and few street signs is a genuinely hard walk, and an official guide booked through your riad costs less than the time you would lose. After that, walk it yourself. ### When is the best time to visit Fes? April to early June, and September to mid-November. Spring and autumn sit in the low twenties, July and August push past 35C this far inland, and winter is cool, wet and the cheapest time to book a riad. ### Is the Chouara tannery free to visit? There is no ticket. The viewing terraces belong to the leather shops around the courtyard, so you climb through a shop and a tip is expected on the way out. You are under no obligation to buy anything. ### Can non-Muslims go inside the mosques in Fes? No. Working mosques, the Qarawiyyin prayer hall and the shrine of Moulay Idriss II are all closed to non-Muslims. The madrasas are the exception: Bou Inania, al-Attarine, Cherratine and Sahrij are open to everyone. ## Nearby guides - [Chefchaouen](https://wimup.com/city/chefchaouen.md): Morocco · 10 picks - [Ronda](https://wimup.com/city/ronda.md): Spain · 10 picks - [Marrakech](https://wimup.com/city/marrakech.md): Morocco · 10 picks - [All of Africa →](https://wimup.com/africa): 67 cities Part of the [Morocco guide](https://wimup.com/country/morocco.md) · [Africa](https://wimup.com/africa.md) ## Sources - [Fes tourism board](https://www.visitmorocco.com/en?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral) - [Nur (official site)](https://www.nurfez.com/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral) - [Dar Roumana (official site)](https://www.darroumana.com/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral) - [Cafe Clock (official site)](https://www.cafeclock.com/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral) - [L'Amandier at Palais Faraj (official site)](https://www.palaisfaraj.com/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral) - [Palais Amani (official site)](https://palaisamani.com/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral) - [Ain Nokbi potters' quarter (official site)](https://artnaji.com/en/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral) - [Fes-Saiss Airport (official site)](https://www.onda.ma/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral) - [Rail (official site)](https://www.oncf.ma/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral) - Rankings are Wimup editorial picks. Prices, durations and budgets are editorial estimates, not live quotes; check the official site before you go.