Fes Trip Overview
Join a private guide on a full-day tour of the Fez medina, a fascinating walled city that’s a UNESCO World Heritage Site. You’ll enter Bab Boujloud gate, then visit a series of spiritual and cultural landmarks, from a pair of historic madrasas to the Nejjarine Museum. Continue to colorful tanneries before leaving the medina for a trip to the Royal Palace and Bab Fettouh cemetery, where you’ll find sweeping views across the city. With the personal service of a private guide, this full-day tour is ideal for first-time visitors. Explore the Fez medina with a local Visit two historic madrasas, or Koranic schools Learn about local crafts and traditions See a Moroccan royal palace Get great views from a hilltop cemetery Private tour can be tailored to your preferences Pickup and drop-off at your Hotels or Riads.
Additional Info
* Duration: 5 hours
* Starts: Fes, Morocco
* Trip Category: Cultural & Theme Tours >> Historical & Heritage Tours
Explore Promoted Experiences
What to Expect When Visiting Fes, Fes-Meknes, Morocco
Join a private guide on a full-day tour of the Fez medina, a fascinating walled city that’s a UNESCO World Heritage Site. You’ll enter Bab Boujloud gate, then visit a series of spiritual and cultural landmarks, from a pair of historic madrasas to the Nejjarine Museum. Continue to colorful tanneries before leaving the medina for a trip to the Royal Palace and Bab Fettouh cemetery, where you’ll find sweeping views across the city. With the personal service of a private guide, this full-day tour is ideal for first-time visitors. Explore the Fez medina with a local Visit two historic madrasas, or Koranic schools Learn about local crafts and traditions See a Moroccan royal palace Get great views from a hilltop cemetery Private tour can be tailored to your preferences Pickup and drop-off at your Hotels or Riads.
Itinerary
This is a typical itinerary for this product
Stop At: Fez Mellah, Fes Morocco
The atmospheric old Mellah (Jewish Quarter) is in Fes el Jedid, just north of the Royal Palace. Throughout this compact district, the lanes are lined with fine (though highly dilapidated) examples of early 20th-century houses, which were once home to the vibrant Jewish community of Fes. The small, restored Aben-Danan Synagogue can also be visited here. On the edge of the Mellah is the rambling Jewish cemetery, one of the city’s most tranquil spots, and a Jewish Museum housing a collection of objects highlighting Moroccan Jewish life and culture.
Duration: 1 hour
Stop At: Fes El Jdid, Fes, Morocco
The Merenids built this “New City” in the 13th century, when they realized that Fes el Bali would be too small to contain their palaces. The rather grand Royal Palace takes center stage here (not open to the public) and behind it, mosques and medersas fill the host of lanes. There’s a tranquil air to this small section of the city, which sits between bustling Fes el Bali and the European-style Ville Nouvelle, and it makes a welcoming, peaceful lull between these two faster-paced worlds.
Duration: 1 hour
Stop At: Jardin Jnan Sbil, Ave de l’Unesco, Fes 30000 Morocco
For a time-out from the hustle and bustle of Fes medina, head to these formal gardens, which sit just outside the medina walls, near the main medina entrance, Bab Boujloud. The gardens are well kept and landscaped and provide a much needed shot of green in the city. Do like the locals do and come here around sunset for strolling the trails between planted flower beds, trickling fountains, and trees as the birds flock into the branches above.
Duration: 30 minutes
Stop At: Dar Batha Museum, Place du Batha Fez, Fes 30030 Morocco
The Batha Museum is inside a Hispano-Moorish summer palace built in the late 19th century. The museum collection traipses through a selection of traditional Moroccan craftsmanship, with wood carved doors, wrought-iron work, embroidery, carpets, and jewelry all on display.
The centerpiece exhibit of the museum is the ceramics room, where the famous Fes blue ceramics, colored with cobalt, are featured. More interesting than the displays themselves is the building’s own original decoration and the lovely internal courtyard garden, which is full of shady trees and tall palms and is a true oasis within the city.
Duration: 30 minutes
Stop At: Bou Inania Medersa, Rue Talaa Sghira, Fes 30110 Morocco
The Medersa Bou Inania was built between 1350 and 1357 by the Merenid sultan Bou Inan. One of the few religious buildings in the city that non-Muslims may enter, the Medersa (madrassa – Islamic school of learning) is a sumptuous architectural gem and one of Morocco’s most gorgeous buildings.
Up until the 1960s, this was still a functioning theological school, and the restoration efforts since that time have restored it to its original beauty. The carved woodwork and stucco decoration is magnificent and is a tribute to Morocco’s master artisans.
Duration: 30 minutes
Stop At: Al-Attarine Madrasa, Rue Talaa Kebira, Fes Morocco
Another example of fine Merenid architecture, the Medersa el-Attarine was built in 1325 by Abu Said. The courtyard here is a wonderful display of the intricate decoration from this period, with elaborate zellige tile work and cedar wood carvings. The upper floor is made up of a warren of cells, which were once home to students studying theology at the Qaraouiyine Mosque (once one of the world’s first universities). If you climb up onto the rooftop, you can get great views of the green-tiled roof of the Qaraouiyine Mosque itself.
Duration: 30 minutes
Stop At: Chouara Tannery, Hay Lablida Chouara, Fes 30030 Morocco
For shoppers, Fes el Bali is a paradise of local craftwork, with colorful Moroccan slippers, leatherwork, metalwork, rainbow-glass lamps, and tiles all displayed at stalls throughout the district.
The streets just west of the Qaraouiyine Mosque have the greatest concentration of shopping opportunities. This is also where you can visit the famous Chouara tanneries of Fes, one of the top things to do in this area. Here, you can watch the traditional dying of animal skins-the first step in making Morocco’s many leather products. Leather shops surrounding the tanneries provide bird’s-eye views over the area from their rooftops and are the best place to take photos.
Duration: 1 minute
