Best Things to Do in Fez, Morocco's Medieval Capital

Fez is where Morocco feels most itself. The medina, Fes el-Bali, is the largest car-free urban area on earth and a UNESCO World Heritage Site where 9th-century alleyways still lead to working tanneries, Quranic schools, and a mosque that predates Oxford University by three centuries. Unlike Marrakech, which has softened its edges for tourism, Fez remains a genuinely functioning medieval city: tradesmen hauling goods by mule, schoolboys memorizing scripture in tiled courtyards, women carrying groceries past century-old wooden doors. The best things to do in Fez reward patience and a willingness to get properly lost.

Best time to visit

Spring (March to May) and autumn (September to November) are the sweet spots, with highs in the low 20s Celsius and manageable crowds. Summer brings serious heat: the medina’s narrow alleyways trap air and July temperatures can exceed 40°C, making the leather tanneries an olfactory challenge even by their own standards. Avoid major Ramadan weeks if you want restaurants and cafes running full hours, though the pre-dawn medina during Ramadan is an experience in itself. The Fes Festival of World Sacred Music (usually June) transforms the city, with concerts staged in palace courtyards and riads across Fes el-Jdid.

Book riads and day-trip drivers at least two weeks in advance for spring and autumn visits. The best medina guesthouses sell out months ahead.

Getting around

Fes el-Bali is pedestrian only. Its 9,000-plus streets are navigated on foot, and even locals get turned around in the narrower back quarters. A licensed guide is not optional for a first visit: unofficial touts at the main gates often steer tourists toward shops that pay them commission. Book through your riad or the official tourist office instead. Petits taxis (beige, metered) cover the Ville Nouvelle and connections between the medina gates; grands taxis handle routes between Fez and surrounding towns including Meknes (45 minutes) and Volubilis (one hour). For day trips to the desert or to Volubilis, negotiating a driver directly through your riad typically saves 20-30% over agency rates.

What to eat and drink

Fez is Morocco’s culinary capital, and local chefs maintain that distinction with some conviction. Pastilla, the pigeon (or chicken) pie dusted with powdered sugar and cinnamon, originated in the palaces of Fes and is best eaten here rather than improvised elsewhere. Slow-braised lamb with preserved lemon, kefta in tomato and egg, and harira soup are medina staples. A market lunch of harira, pastilla, and fresh-squeezed orange juice costs less than 50 MAD at a counter restaurant near Bab Bou Jeloud. For a more formal meal, Riad Rcif serves beautifully plated Moroccan fare in a 17th-century courtyard setting. Mint tea is poured from a theatrical height everywhere; alcohol is available at hotels and select restaurants in the Ville Nouvelle but largely absent from the medina itself.

Street food worth seeking: msemen (layered flatbread fried on a griddle), fresh-roasted corn from carts near the tannery lookout points, and coconut-dusted briouats (fried pastry parcels) from the Seffarine Square vendors.

Neighborhoods to explore

Fes el-Bali — The oldest medina quarter, containing the tanneries, main souks, Al-Attarine Madrasa, and the Kairaouine Mosque. Allow two full days minimum. The morning hours before 10am, when light hits the tiled walls at a low angle and crowds are thin, are the ones worth setting an alarm for.

Fes el-Jdid — The “new medina” built by the Marinid dynasty in the 13th century, home to the Royal Palace and the old Mellah. Less chaotic than el-Bali and well suited to a slower late-afternoon wander. The wrought-iron gates of the Royal Palace make for a strong photograph even though the interior is closed to visitors.

Andalusian Quarter — The eastern bank of the Oued Fes river, quieter and less visited than the western bank. Al-Andalusians Mosque at its center was founded by refugees expelled from Cordoba in the 9th century. Few tourists make it this far, which is exactly the point.

Seffarine Square — The coppersmiths’ quarter, identifiable by the percussive clanging of metal on metal that reaches you two streets before you arrive. One of the most photogenic corners of the medina and still a working trade hub rather than a performance of one.

Ville Nouvelle — The French-built city center, functional rather than interesting. Useful for the train station, international hotels, ATMs, and a handful of decent cafes along Avenue Hassan II. Stay in the medina if you can.