Fez, Morocco: travel guide to the imperial city

Bab Bou Jeloud

Nearly everyone comes in through this blue gate, where Talaa Kebira and Talaa Seghira start their descent.

Bou Inania and Al Attarine madrasas

Both Marinid, with zellige courtyards and cedarwood.

Al Quaraouiyine

One of the oldest working teaching institutions in the world; if you're not Muslim, you can only look in from the door.

Chouara tanneries

The smell is strong and they hand you mint to hold to your nose. Going up is part of a visit to the shop; looking doesn't oblige you to buy.

Mellah and viewpoints

The old Jewish quarter and the gates of the royal palace. At sunset, you can see the medina from the Marinid tombs or the Borj Nord.

Crafts

Leather, blue and white pottery, brass, copper, agave silk, babouches. Ask the price and compare in two or three shops.

Guided tour

Enough for the medina with a guide.

The minimum

Fes el-Bali without rushing, plus Fes el-Jdid.

With Meknes and Volubilis

You add another imperial city and Roman ruins.

Talaa Kebira and around

The main street runs down from the blue gate for more than a kilometre. Near the top there are more shops aimed at visitors; the further down you go, the more workshops you'll find.

Seffarine and Quaraouiyine

In the coppersmiths' square, copper is hammered out in front of you. It's next to Al Quaraouiyine and a few minutes from Chouara: this is the heart of the medina.

Andalusian Quarter

On the other side of the river, it was settled by families who came from Córdoba in the early 9th century. It has its own great mosque, with a monumental doorway, and hardly any tourists.

Marinid city

Built in the 13th century beside the royal palace. Here you'll find the Mellah, with wooden balconies over the street, and Jnan Sbil, a shady garden for a rest.

Avenue Hassan II

The French-built city, with wide avenues, fountains, banks and the railway station. Handy for errands and for dinner with the menu and prices on show.

Place Nejjarine

A zellige fountain, the museum of wooden arts in a former fondouk and, next to it, the little henna square, with a huge tree and shops selling traditional cosmetics.

Down through the medina

Go in through Bab Bou Jeloud around 9, stop at the Bou Inania and walk down to Al Attarine and Seffarine. Reach Chouara before midday, when there's more going on in the vats.

• Taxi back from Bab Rcif
• Better with a guide on the first day

First view from the Borj Sud

If you arrive too late for the medina, go up to the Borj Sud, the fortress to the south, to see the whole of Fes el-Bali before you go in. It's less well known than the Borj Nord and gets fewer people.

Andalusian Quarter and Fes el-Jdid

Morning in the Andalusian Quarter and at a zellige workshop near Bab Ftouh. In the afternoon, Fes el-Jdid, then a taxi to the Marinid tombs to watch the lights of the medina come on.

Volubilis ruins

You set off around 8:30 and you're in Volubilis an hour and a half later. Lunch in Moulay Idriss or Meknes and back at sunset.

A night in Chefchaouen

If you have two days to spare, it's four hours on the road through the Rif and a night in the blue town so you can see it empty in the morning.

Poultry pastilla

Very thin pastry filled with pigeon or chicken, almonds and cinnamon, dusted with icing sugar. Many riads make it to order, so ask a day ahead.

Fava bean bissara

A hot broad bean purée drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with cumin and paprika, served in clay bowls at tiny stalls in the medina. It's winter food for working people, and it costs very little.

Khlii with egg

Sun-dried beef preserved in its own fat, typical of Fez. It's fried with eggs for breakfast; in the souk they sell it by weight.

Almond and honey sweets

Gazelle horns, honey briouats and, during Ramadan, mountains of chebakia. They're sold by weight: ask for a quarter-kilo mix to try.

Neighbourhood ovens

Many medina families still send their dough to the communal oven. If you pass one that's open, ask: sometimes they sell freshly baked bread for a few coins.

Sardine sandwich

At the stalls on Talaa Kebira, sardine balls with tomato and spices in a round loaf. It's what the craftsmen eat at lunchtime, and it costs very little.

Leather from the tanneries

A good leather jacket costs around 1,500–3,000 MAD. Smell it: if it smells strongly of tanning, the smell will take weeks to leave your suitcase.

Hammered copper and brass

Handmade trays, teapots and cauldrons. Check the weight: good brass is heavy, and light pieces are usually thin sheet metal with a plating.

Hand-painted blue pottery

In the workshops on the outskirts you can watch zellige being cut piece by piece. A medium plate costs around 100–250 MAD; ask them to wrap it well for the flight.

Agave silk

So-called cactus silk is usually viscose or a blend. Buy it if you like the feel, but don't pay for it as if it were real silk.

Small workshops

In the big shops where tour groups are taken, the opening price is heavily inflated and someone is earning commission. The workshops in the side streets usually give a better price.

Made-to-measure babouches

Some cobblers make babouches to your size in one or two days. Choose the leather, leave your foot measurements and collect them before you leave town.

Taxi to the wrong gate

If your riad is near Bab Guissa and the taxi drops you at Bab Bou Jeloud, you'll be hauling bags uphill for twenty minutes. Give the driver the name of the gate and ask the riad to meet you there.

Maps with no signal

The signal drops between high walls. Download the offline map and remember that going downhill takes you towards the river and the centre, and going uphill brings you closer to the gates.

Friday at midday

Many shops and workshops close at prayer time and the medina is emptier. Leave your shopping for another day.

Empty alleys

The dead-end passages in the lower part aren't for wandering at night with a camera round your neck. Head back along the main streets, which are lit and busy.

Menus without prices

Some tourist places don't show a menu with prices. Ask for it before you order and, if there isn't one, ask how much the set menu costs.

A wet medina

The stone paving gets slippery and water runs down the slopes. Wear rubber-soled shoes and save the tanneries for a dry day: the terraces are open to the sky.

Riad or dar in the medina

This is our preference. Cars can't get in and someone carries your luggage from the gate.

• Everything on foot
• Some are far away, uphill
• Best near Bab Bou Jeloud

Ville Nouvelle

Modern hotels, but you need a taxi for the medina.

Hotels with pools

Comfortable in summer or on a luxury trip.

Fès-Saïss Airport

Flights from several European cities.

Train

Also from Rabat, Casablanca and Tangier. Because of those seven hours, many people come from Marrakech via the desert instead.

By road

Good connections with Chefchaouen, Meknes, Tangier and Merzouga.

From Spain

How to cross the Strait, in our guide.

Meknes and Volubilis

Done together: another imperial city and the best-preserved Roman site in the country.

Chefchaouen

About four hours by road.

Ifrane and the cedars

Cedar forests with Barbary macaques.

Heading for the desert

The classic starting point for the dunes.