Fez Travel Guide

Updated October 2026

Overview and Things to Consider

Fez is one of Morocco's largest cities, with 1,256,172 people at the 2024 census, but the part you came for is the oldest piece of it, Fes el-Bali. It's a walled medina of lanes so narrow that no car fits, which makes it one of the largest car-free urban areas anywhere. Goods move by donkey and handcart. When someone behind you shouts "Belek, belek," step aside, because a loaded mule is coming. Next to it sits Fes el-Jdid, the 13th-century royal town with the old Jewish quarter, and beyond both lies the French-built Ville Nouvelle, where the train station, the CTM bus terminal and most of the bars are.

You'll love Fez if you want a city that still runs on its own logic. Tanners work the dye pits by hand, coppersmiths hammer away on Place Seffarine, and the call to prayer arrives from dozens of minarets at once. You'll hate it if you need to know where you are. The lanes bend, dead-end and change names, phone maps lose their fix, and a stream of young men will offer to fix that problem for you, for a price that comes due in a carpet shop.

Compared with Marrakech, Fez is more conservative, more inward and less staged. There's no Jemaa el-Fna, no evening square with snake charmers and juice stalls, and drinking happens mostly in hotel bars. The trade-off is that the medina here is a working neighborhood more than a set. People live in it, study in it and buy their vegetables in it.

The 2026 moment is a medina in mid-restoration. The Batha palace museum reopened in February 2025 after a renovation that began in 2019, the Marinid Tombs above the city are fenced off for reconstruction, and Fez hosted Africa Cup of Nations matches in the winter of 2025 to 2026 on its way to World Cup 2030. The tanneries are overrated as a sight. Go once, from a balcony, and spend the time you save in the madrasas.

How Fez Got Here

Idris I, a descendant of the Prophet who had fled a failed revolt in Arabia, founded a town here in 789 on the east bank of the Fez River. His son Idris II founded a second settlement on the west bank in 809, and for more than two centuries Fez was two rival walled cities facing each other across the water. The Almoravids merged them around 1070. In 857 Fatima al-Fihri founded the Qarawiyyin mosque, whose teaching institution is often called the oldest continuously operating university in the world. Its library, restored by Fez-born architect Aziza Chaouni, holds about 4,000 rare texts and manuscripts.

The Marinids made Fez their capital in 1250 and gave it most of what visitors now line up for. They built Fes el-Jdid in 1276 as a royal town beside the old one, and they filled the medina with madrasas, the student colleges whose carved cedar, stucco and zellij tile are the best Islamic interiors a non-Muslim can enter in Fez. The Al-Attarine dates from 1323 to 1325, and the Bou Inania followed in the 1350s. Later dynasties moved the capital to Marrakech or Meknes and back again.

The 1912 Treaty of Fez made Morocco a French protectorate, and riots in the city followed immediately. The French resident-general Lyautey chose to leave the old medinas largely alone and build new European towns beside them, which is why Fez has a Ville Nouvelle of boulevards a few kilometers from a medina that barely changed. Even the blue-tiled Bab Boujloud gate, the medina's postcard entrance, is a French addition from 1913. UNESCO listed the medina in 1981.

Getting There and Around

Most travelers come from Marrakech, and the train is the way to do it. ONCF, the national railway, runs trains almost hourly for much of the day on the line between Marrakech and Fez via Casablanca, Rabat and Meknes, and the trip takes about seven hours. Wikivoyage lists Dh195 (about $20) in second class and Dh295 (about $30) in first. These long-distance Al Atlas trains now use variable pricing, so advance fares can be cheaper and last-minute flexible ones dearer, and the ONCF website opens booking three months ahead. First class is worth the extra Dh100 on a seven-hour ride, though its single car can sell out. The alternatives are worse. CTM buses take about 7 hours 45 minutes, and Ryanair flies Marrakech to Fez about five times a week, which saves time only if the schedule suits you.

Coming from the north is quicker. From Tangier, four direct Al Atlas trains a day take about 4 hours 15 minutes, or you can ride the Al Boraq high-speed train to Kenitra and change to a classic train east, about 3 hours 25 minutes in all, with departures almost every hour. From Casablanca the direct train takes about 3.5 hours and from Rabat about 2.75 hours, and Meknes is under an hour away.

Fes-Saiss Airport (FEZ) sits about 15 kilometers south of the city and is served by Royal Air Maroc from Casablanca and Paris-Orly, and by low-cost carriers including Ryanair, Air Arabia and Transavia from Spain, France, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany and London Stansted. City bus 16 runs about hourly from 6am to 11pm to the main train station, takes 40 minutes and cost Dh4 (about 40 cents) in October 2026. Its stop is a short walk out of the terminal, and there's no timetable. Taxis charge a fixed fare into the city, which Wikivoyage puts at Dh120 and Wikipedia at Dh150 (about $12 to $15), so agree on it before you get in.

Citizens of the US, UK, Canada, Australia and the EU enter Morocco visa-free for up to 90 days. The UK says your passport must be valid for at least three months after arrival and undamaged, while Canada asks for six months beyond departure, so carry one with six months left. Make sure the officer stamps it, because travelers have had trouble leaving without an entry stamp.

Inside the medina you walk. Everywhere else, use red petit taxis, which rarely cost more than Dh15 to 20 a ride, and insist on the meter. The train station to Bab Boujloud should run about Dh20 on it. Taxis can only reach the medina at a few points, mainly Bab Boujloud and Place Batha at the top and Place R'cif in the middle. City bus 19 runs from the station to R'cif for about Dh2.50. Uber covered Casablanca, Rabat, Agadir and Tangier as of July 2026, not Fez.

What's Changed Since 2016

September 2016: the Guardian reported the Qarawiyyin library ready to reopen after years of restoration led by Aziza Chaouni, with a new drainage and underground canal system to keep moisture away from its manuscripts and a lab to treat and digitize them. The mosque itself stays closed to non-Muslims, but the library's carved gate on Place Seffarine, among the coppersmiths' workshops, is a good place to stand and look.

February 2025: the Batha Museum reopened on February 26 as the Al Batha Museum of Islamic Arts, after renovation work that began in April 2019 with a budget of about Dh15.6 million. The 19th-century palace now shows Andalusian manuscripts, calligraphy, a minbar from the Andalusian Mosque and Moroccan woodwork, zellij and metalwork, around a restored Andalusian garden with zellij fountains.

August 2024 onward: the Marinid Tombs, the ruined 14th-century hilltop tombs that every guidebook sends you to for the sunset view over the medina, are being rebuilt. ADER-Fes, the city's conservation agency, announced a major restoration in August 2024, and as of 2026 the ruins are closed for the work.

December 2025 to January 2026: the Fez Sports Complex hosted matches in the Africa Cup of Nations after a renovation that left it with about 35,468 seats. It's also a 2030 World Cup venue, with plans to expand it to 55,800 seats by 2028, so expect more construction there before 2030.

June 2026: the Fes Festival of World Sacred Music ran over four days, June 4 to 7, with 18 shows and more than 160 artists across Bab Al Makina, the Jnan Sbil gardens, the Batha hall and the Palais des Congres. The full pass cost Dh3,000 (about $305).

March 2026: Railway Gazette reported the plan that will change how Fez fits into a Morocco trip. When the Kenitra to Marrakech high-speed line is fully commissioned, due by November 2029, trains will run Fez to Marrakech in 3 hours 40 minutes, about half today's time, and new CAF intercity trains built for 200 km/h will work the Fez lines. Until then, budget the full seven hours.

What the Usual Advice Gets Wrong

"You'll get lost in the medina, so you have to hire a guide." Take a petit taxi to the nearest gate and walk from there. If you lose your bearings, head downhill and you'll come out at Place R'cif, where taxis wait. Colored signs mark trails through the medina, green for Andalusian palaces and gardens and orange for walls and fortifications. If you do want a guide, book a licensed one with a badge through your riad or the tourist office.

"A friendly local says the lane ahead is closed, or the tannery shuts in ten minutes, and offers to show you another way." It's the oldest trick in Fez. The new route ends at a shop that pays him a commission, which is added to your price. The UK government warns that people posing as official guides harass tourists, and Wikivoyage says hustlers work the incoming trains too, steering people to overpriced rooms and desert tours.

"The Chouara tannery is a free tour." You watch from a leather shop's balcony, and the free part ends at the sales pitch. Wikivoyage suggests tipping the boy who leads you Dh1 to 5. Walking into the working tannery itself costs about Dh10. Go once, early, then spend the time in the Bou Inania and Al-Attarine madrasas.

"Prices in this shop are government regulated." You'll hear it all over the medina, and it isn't true. Wikivoyage knows of one fixed-price government shop, and it's in the Ville Nouvelle. Everywhere else you bargain. For reference, a leather satchel runs about Dh200 to 400 and a full-size tagine dish Dh10 to 20.

"Fez works as a day trip from Marrakech." The train takes about seven hours each way, and a flight plus transfers takes most of a day too. Tours that sell Fez as a long day out from Marrakech leave you a couple of hours in a medina that needs two or three days. Give it at least two nights, or put it on a north-south loop with Tangier and Chefchaouen.

"Watch the sunset over the medina from the Marinid Tombs." As of 2026 the tombs are closed for reconstruction. Borj Nord, the fortress next door, has a similar view and an arms museum for Dh50, Borj Sud across the valley is a short uphill walk from Bab Ftouh, and the terrace of the Sofitel Palais Jamai lets you in for the price of a Dh30 glass of tea.

Ideas to Consider for Your Visit

Have you thought about doing the madrasas as the main event? The Bou Inania, at the top of the Talaa Kbira near Bab Boujloud, costs Dh20, opens 9am to 6pm, and is the finest Islamic interior a non-Muslim can walk into in Fez. Across the street is the Dar al-Magana, whose facade carries a famous water clock that hasn't worked in a long time and has lost its metal bowls. Downhill, the smaller Al-Attarine (Dh50, 8am to 6pm) is just as richly carved, and the 1670 Cherratine (Dh20) is plainer, but you can climb to its student rooms upstairs.

Eat where the city eats. The food stalls in the lanes around Bab Boujloud sell grilled brochettes and snacks for a fraction of restaurant prices, and Wikivoyage reckons a cheap restaurant costs up to twice as much for food of the same quality. For a sit-down meal, Bouanania on the Talaa Kbira does tagine, couscous and brochettes for around Dh40, less if you bargain. Fez is the city to try pastilla, the flaky pie layered with spiced meat and sugar, and Fassi cooks also serve a sweet milk version called jowhara as dessert. Dar Tazi on Place R'cif is known for its pastilla, at about Dh350 for the full meal.

Spend an afternoon at Cafe Clock, in a restored house off the Talaa Kbira, which runs cooking and baking classes, calligraphy workshops, storytelling nights and live music, and serves modern Moroccan food on a terrace where the call to prayer reaches you from several minarets at once. If you're staying longer, the Arabic Language Institute in Fez runs three- and six-week courses in Modern Standard and Moroccan Arabic and can place students with host families.

Take the train to Meknes, about 50 minutes and Dh35 in second class, for a calmer imperial city without the faux guides. From the grand taxi rank opposite the Institut Francais in Meknes, a shared seat to Moulay Idriss costs about Dh12 and takes 20 to 30 minutes. From the roundabout below town it's a 2.4-kilometer walk or a Dh40 taxi to Volubilis, the Roman city on a UNESCO list of its own, open from 8:30am until an hour before sunset for Dh100. A hired taxi that waits while you walk the mosaics runs Dh300 to 350.

Go up to the Middle Atlas. Ifrane is an hour south by grand taxi from the rank beside the CTM station, about Dh25 a seat or Dh30 on weekends, when half of Fez seems to make the same trip. It's a mountain town of steep roofs, storks, a carved stone lion and the English-teaching Al Akhawayn University, and it looks nothing like the medina. Even Wikivoyage says there isn't much to do, and a long drought had dried its lake as of 2024. Go for the cooler air in July, not for sights.

Watch the pottery being made. A Dh5 petit taxi from Bab Ftouh takes you to the potteries, where workers shape a tagine on the wheel in under a minute and the cobalt-blue Fassi ceramics are glazed and fired. Buying is optional, though they'd rather you didn't know that.

The Part Most Guides Miss

Most visitors live in Fes el-Bali and never cross to Fes el-Jdid, the walled royal town the Marinids built in 1276, and they miss the best walk in Fez. Start at Bab Boujloud and cut through Jnan Sbil, the 19th-century royal garden, free and open 9am to 8pm, where the sacred music festival puts on its late concerts. Keep going past the walls of the Royal Palace into the Mellah, the old Jewish quarter. Its houses look outward, with open balconies and windows over the street, the opposite of the blank walls in the Muslim quarters. The guardian of the 17th-century Ibn Danan Synagogue lets visitors in for Dh25 and gives a short tour. The hustle drops away almost as soon as you leave Bab Boujloud.

Where to Base Yourself

Bab Boujloud and Batha. The top of the medina is the easiest first base, because taxis reach Bab Boujloud and Place Batha, the Bou Inania and the Batha museum are a few minutes away, and the street food is right there. The Talaa Kbira and Talaa Sghira both start here, so you can learn the medina from one end. The catch is that the main gate is where most visitors arrive, so offers of help are thickest here, every time you step out.

Deep medina, toward R'cif and the Andalusian quarter. Riads in the middle of Fes el-Bali, on the lanes around Place R'cif or across the river near the Andalusian Mosque, put you among the workshops, and taxis reach R'cif, which is also where you'll come out if you keep walking downhill. It's the most atmospheric choice. The catch is that riads deep in the lanes are hard to find on arrival, GPS is unreliable in the medina, and it takes a few days before you stop needing your riad's directions.

Ville Nouvelle. The French-built new town around Avenue Hassan II is close to the train station and the CTM terminal, has wide streets, ordinary cafes, the Italian restaurant San Remo and the city's one fixed-price crafts shop. It suits a short stop between trains, travelers who want a pizza after a week of tagine and anyone who finds the medina too much at night. The catch is a taxi ride of several kilometers every time you want the old city.

Fes el-Jdid. The royal town and the Mellah are a quieter, more residential choice, and Jnan Sbil is the green link between them and the old medina. It suits a second visit or a long stay. There are fewer restaurants listed here than in Fes el-Bali, and the walk back from the madrasas in the evening is longer.

Realities to Be Aware Of

Fez is cheap if you skip the shopping detours. Medina hostels on Hostelworld start at about US$5 to $16 for a dorm bed, madrasa tickets run Dh20 to 50, petit taxis Dh15 to 20, and a filling restaurant meal about Dh40, so a budget traveler can get by on Dh300 to 400 (about $30 to $40) a day. A riad room, a museum or two, a cooking class and a dinner like Dar Tazi's Dh350 meal push a mid-range day to roughly double that. The money goes on souvenirs and guides who take a cut.

Hassle is the real risk. Canada warns about pickpockets and bag snatching in medinas and markets, the UK about bogus guides and scams, and Wikivoyage about harassment of women in quiet alleys. Walk like you know where you're going, say no once and keep moving, and don't follow anyone who tells you a road is closed. False guides can get up to two days in jail if caught, which hasn't put them out of business. The UK says terrorists are likely to try to carry out attacks in Morocco, and Canada advises a high degree of caution.

Fez is more traditional than Casablanca or Marrakech. Canada says to dress conservatively, and the UK suggests women consider loose clothing that covers arms, legs and chest. Expect few bars outside hotels. Non-Muslims can't enter mosques or the shrine of Moulay Idris II, but can visit the madrasas. Same-sex sexual acts are illegal in Morocco, and Canada tells LGBTQ+ travelers to weigh the risks carefully. Discretion in public is the norm for everyone.

Practicalities are simple once you know them. The airport has ATMs and a Maroc Telecom shop selling SIM cards, so sort both before the taxi. Bargaining is normal for everything in the souks, and Moroccans bargain with each other too. Street food is cheap and often safe. Crowds gather on the Talaa Kbira, the main lane down from Bab Boujloud, and around the tanneries, so the side lanes and the madrasas at opening time are where Fez feels like a neighborhood rather than a route.

If Fez Is Part of a Longer Trip

Fez sits on Morocco's rail spine, so it slots into almost any loop. The classic line runs Fez, Meknes, Rabat, Casablanca, Marrakech, and a second line runs Fez, Meknes, Tangier. A sensible north-to-south route starts in Tangier off the ferry from Spain, heads to Chefchaouen by bus, then to Fez, and finishes by train via Rabat and Casablanca to Marrakech. From Fez, CTM runs five daily buses to Chefchaouen, taking about 4 hours 15 minutes, and they're often booked out days ahead, so buy early or use the other companies' departures.

Fez is also the usual start for the Sahara. Supratours runs one bus a day from Fez to Merzouga village for Dh160, and CTM runs an overnight bus at 8pm to Rissani, about 30 kilometers short of the dunes. By car it's a full day's drive south to Erfoud. Going Fez, then the desert, then on to Marrakech by road beats doubling back on the train.

For flights, Fez-Saiss links straight to Madrid, Barcelona, Malaga, Paris and London on low-cost carriers, so you can fly into Fez and out of Marrakech or Casablanca without backtracking. That kind of open-jaw is where AirTreks can help if Morocco is one stop on a longer route. Overland east is closed, because the land border with Algeria has been shut since 1994.

Yearly Things to Consider

Fez sits inland on the edge of the Sais plain, and its airport weather station stands at 579 meters. July and August average 95°F (35°C) highs, and the record is 116°F (46.7°C). November to January are the wettest months, and snow falls about once every three to five years. Spring and October are the sweet spots, and early June brings the sacred music festival.

The calendar that can matter more than the weather is Ramadan, which Canada expects to begin on or around February 7 in 2027. Canada asks travelers not to eat, drink or smoke in public during daylight, which changes how a day in the medina works. If you want a cooler, quieter visit, February and March 2027 will be both, so go in knowing the rhythm and plan your meals around it.

Ideas for Itineraries

3 Days in Fez

Day one, arrive by train, take a metered petit taxi to Bab Boujloud and settle in, then walk the Talaa Kbira down to the Bou Inania before the light goes and eat at the Boujloud food stalls. Day two, start at the Al-Attarine at 8am, see the Nejjarine woodwork museum (Dh20) and its rooftop cafe, look at the Qarawiyyin library gate on Place Seffarine, and watch the Chouara tannery from a balcony around midday. Day three, walk through Jnan Sbil into Fes el-Jdid and the Mellah, visit the Ibn Danan Synagogue, and finish at the Batha museum.

5 Days in Fez

Do the three-day plan, then add a day trip by train to Meknes, with a shared grand taxi on to Moulay Idriss and Volubilis, back in Fez by evening. On day five, take a cooking or calligraphy class at Cafe Clock in the morning, a Dh5 taxi from Bab Ftouh to the potteries in the afternoon, and a sunset from Borj Nord or the Palais Jamai terrace, since the Marinid Tombs are closed.

1 Week in Fez

A week lets you slow down and use Fez as a base for the north. Spend four days in the medina, giving one to Fes el-Jdid and one to wandering with no plan, and two to day trips, Meknes and Volubilis on one, Ifrane by grand taxi on the other. On day seven, take the morning CTM bus to Chefchaouen and either stay there or carry on to Tangier, which saves backtracking.

2 Weeks or More in Fez

Two weeks in Fez is a language course or a writing month. ALIF runs three- and six-week Arabic courses and can arrange a host family, and a rented riad room in Batha or Fes el-Jdid makes daily life easy. Cafe Clock's nightly music and workshops give a long stay some structure. For weekends, go to Chefchaouen (about 4 hours 15 minutes by CTM), Meknes and Moulay Idriss, Ifrane in the Middle Atlas, or the overnight bus south to Merzouga and the dunes.

Sources

What this guide is built on. Every page below was read for this guide; prices and rules were checked in October 2026.

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