Fez and the Middle Atlas
We’ve compiled the best of the best in Fez and the Middle Atlas - browse our top choices for the top things to see or do during your stay.
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1. Bab Boujeloud
This Moorish-style gate dating to 1913 is considered the principal and most beautiful point of entry into Fez el-Bali, even though it's 1,000 years younger than the rest of the medina. It was built by General Hubert Lyautey, Moroccan commander under the French protectorate. The side facing toward Fez el-Djedid is covered with blue ceramic tiles painted with flowers and calligraphy; the inside is green, the official color of Islam—or of peace, depending on interpretation.
Pl. Pacha el-Baghdadi, Fez, Fez-Meknès, Morocco -
2. Bou Inania Medersa
From outside Bab Boujeloud you will see the green-tile tower of this medersa (school), generally considered the most beautiful of the Kairaouine University's 14th-century residential colleges. It was built by order of Abou Inan, the first ruler of the Merenid dynasty, which would become the most decisive ruling clan in Fez's development. The main components of the stunningly intricate decorative artwork in this now-nonoperating school are the green-tile roofing; the cedar eaves and upper patio walls carved in floral and geometrical motifs; the carved-stucco midlevel walls; the ceramic-tile lower walls covered with calligraphy (Kufi script, essentially cursive Arabic) and geometric designs; and, finally, the marble floor. Showing its age, the carved cedar is still dazzling, with each square inch a masterpiece of handcrafted sculpture involving long hours of the kind of concentration required to memorize the Koran. The black belt of ceramic tile around the courtyard bears Arabic script reading "this is a place of learning" and other such exhortatory academic messages.
Talâa Kebira, Fez, Fez-Meknès, MoroccoSight Details
Rate Includes: 20 DH -
3. Chouara Tannery
The city's famous medieval tanneries are at once beautiful, for their ancient dyeing vats of reds, yellows, and blues, and unforgettable, for the malodorous smell of the sheep, goat, cow, and camel skins. The terrace overlooking the dyeing vats is high enough to escape the place's full fetid power and get a spectacular view over the multicolor vats. Absorb both the process and the finished product on Rue Chouara, just past Rue Mechatine (named for the combs made from animals' horns): numerous stores are filled with loads of leather goods, including coats, bags, and babouches (traditional slippers). One of the shopkeepers will hand you a few sprigs of fresh mint to smother the smell, before explaining what's going on in the tanneries below—how the skins are placed successively in saline solution, quicklime, pigeon droppings, and then any of several natural dyes: poppies for red, turmeric for yellow, saffron for orange, indigo for blue, and mint for green. Barefoot workers in shorts pick up skins from the bottoms of the dyeing vats with their feet, then work them manually. Though this may look like an undesirable job, the work is relatively well paid and still in demand for a strong export market.
Rue Chouara, Fez, Fez-Meknès, Morocco -
4. Jnan Sbil Garden
Gardens play an important role in Moroccan culture, and this gorgeous green space just outside the medina walls is one of the oldest in Fez. Once part of the Royal Palace, it was donated to the city in the 19th century by Sultan Moulay Hassan. A stroll around the shady pathways of this well-restored garden, with time to admire its many towering palms, rose bushes, lakes, and fountains, is the perfect escape from the medina’s hubbub.
Av. Moulay Hassan, Fez, Fez-Meknès, MoroccoSight Details
Rate Includes: Free, Closed Mon. -
5. Plan-it Morocco
This outfitter offers engaging cultural tours, from unveiling the medina's secrets on the Architecture and Islamic Gardens Tour to culinary adventures on the excellent Souk Tasting Trails tour. Or join a family as they shop for produce in their local souk, pick up bread at their neighborhood farran (bakery), then learn how to preserve lemons, make mint tea, and conjure up typical salads and a tagine of your choice in the kitchen of their traditional dar. You’ll end by sitting down with the family to share the meal in true Moroccan style. Day trips beyond Fez—take a Roman picnic to Volubilis, barter at the carpet auction in Khenifra, or hike through the Rif Mountains—and longer excursions to the Sahara, the High Atlas, the coast, and all major Moroccan cities are also available.
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Recommended Fodor’s Video
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6. American Fondouk
Ville NouvelleYou may have dodged a few donkeys laden with skins from the tannery as you explore the medina, and this long-established nonprofit organization is dedicated to improving the lives of these working animals—donkeys, mules and horses—by offering support to them and their owners. Visitors are welcome; just contact the fondouk to arrange a tour of the clinic and meet the animals. Ask about the organization's new project, Mules of the Medina, a stable just a 10-minute drive from the clinic.
1, rte. de Taza, Fez, Fez-Meknès, Morocco0535-93–19–53Sight Details
Rate Includes: Free (donations welcome), Closed weekends but can open for visits on request -
7. Andalusian Mosque
The grand carved doors on the mosque's north entrance, domed Zenet minaret, and detailed cedarwood carvings in the eaves, which bear a striking resemblance to those in the Musée Nejjarine, are the main things to see here, as the mosque itself is set back on a small elevation, making it hard to examine from outside. It was built in AD 859 by Mariam, sister of Fatima al-Fihri, who had erected the Kairaouine Mosque on the river's other side two years earlier with inherited family wealth. The gate was built by the Almohads in the 12th century.
Rue Nekhaline, Fez, Fez-Meknès, MoroccoSight Details
Rate Includes: Entrance restricted to Muslims -
8. Attarine Medersa
Graceful proportions, elegant, geometric carved-cedar ornamentation, and its excellent state of preservation make this 14th-century building one of the best representations of Moorish architecture in Fez. Named for local spice merchants, the former Koranic school was founded by Merenid sultan Abou Saïd Othman as a students' dormitory attached to the Kairaouine Mosque next door.
Boutouil Kairaouine, Fez, Fez-Meknès, MoroccoSight Details
Rate Includes: 20 DH -
9. Bab es Seba
Named after the seven brothers of Moulay Abdellah, who reigned during the 18th century, the Bab es Seba (also known as Bab Dekkakin) connects two open spaces originally designed for military parades and royal ceremonies, the Petit Méchouar and Vieux Méchouar. It was from this gate that the corpse of Prince Ferdinand, brother of Prince Henry the Navigator of Portugal, was hanged head-down for four days in 1443 after being captured during a failed invasion of Tangier.
Fez, Fez-Meknès, Morocco -
10. Borj Nord
Sitting high above the city, this former fortress, now the national Museum of Arms, was built in 1582 under the command of Saadian sultan Ahmed el Mansour to guard and control Fez el-Bali. In 1963, a huge collection of weapons originally housed in the Batha Museum was brought to the historic site, creating an interesting display. Sabers, swords, shields, and armor from the 19th century showcase the history of how arms played a social role in tribal hierarchy. Especially important is the arsenal of sultans Moulay Ismail and Moulay Mohammed Beh Abdellah—the elaborate Amazigh guns encrusted in enamel, ivory, silver, and precious gems date back to the 17th century. It's a 20-minute walk uphill from the medina or a short petit taxi ride. Walk up to the crenellated rooftop in late afternoon for a beautiful panoramic view of the city.
Borj Nord, Fez, Fez-Meknès, Morocco0535-64–52–41Sight Details
Rate Includes: 10 DH, Closed Mon. and at lunchtime -
11. Cherratine Medersa
Constructed in 1670 by Moulay Rachid, this is one of Fez's two Alaouite medersas and an important historical site. More austere than the 14th-century medersas of the Merenids, the Cherratine is also more functional, designed to hold over 200 students. It's interesting primarily as a contrast to the intricate craftsmanship and decorative intent of the Merenid structures. The entry doors beautifully engraved in bronze lead to the douiras, narrow residential blocks consisting of a honeycomb of small rooms.
Ras Cherratine, Fez, Fez-Meknès, MoroccoSight Details
Rate Includes: 20 DH -
12. Culture Vultures Fez
Fez is undoubtedly Morocco’s capital of art and crafts, and Culture Vultures leads an interactive small-group tour of the medina workshops of traditional craftsmen—weavers, coppersmiths, tanners, tile makers, and more. As well as gaining an insight into the daily lives of the artisans, you can try your hand at their various crafts. Tours run from Saturday to Thursday with a maximum of six people. They also run artisanal tours in Sefrou.
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13. Dar el-Makhzen
Fez's Royal Palace and gardens are closed to the public, but even from the outside they're an impressive sight; inside are various palaces, 200 acres of gardens, and parade grounds, as well as a medersa founded in 1320. From Place des Alaouites, take a close look at the door's giant brass knockers, made by artisans from Fez el-Bali, as well as the imposing brass doors themselves. The street running along the palace's southeast side is Rue Bou Ksissat, one side of which is lined with typically ornate residential facades from the Mellah's edge. Security in this area is high and should be respected. Guards watch visitors carefully.
Fez, Fez-Meknès, Morocco -
14. Fontaine Nejjarine
This ceramic-tile, cedar-ceiling public fountain is one of the more beautiful and historic of its kind in Fez el-Bali. The first fountain down from Bab Boujeloud, Fontaine Nejjarine seems a miniature version of the nearby Nejjarine fondouk, with its geometrically decorated tiles and intricately carved cedar eaves overhead.
Pl. Nejjarine, Fez, Fez-Meknès, Morocco -
15. Glaoui Palace
Among the medina's many hidden palaces, the extraordinary Dar al Glaoui is one of its most atmospheric. The Pasha of Marrakesh’s second home—he ruled over most of southern Morocco in his day—has fallen into disrepair since Morocco's independence from France in 1956, when his power waned. But amid the crumbling ruins of the late-19th-century structure, evidence of former grandeur is visible in the exquisite cedarwood doors, intricate stucco, tiled salons, and the carved wooden balconies that line its patios. The large estate comprised 17 buildings and two gardens, with ornate salons, an enormous kitchen, Koranic school, garages, stables, a harem, and a hammam. Abdou—an artist and one of the remaining family members—or his sister will show you some of its treasures.
1, rue Hamia Douh, Fez, Fez-Meknès, MoroccoSight Details
Rate Includes: 50 DH -
16. Henna Souk
This little henna market is one of the medina's most picturesque squares, with a massive, gnarled fig tree in the center and rows of spices, hennas, kohls, and aphrodisiacs for sale in the tiny stalls around the edges. The ceramic shops on the way into the henna souk sell a wide variety of typically blue-and-white Fassi pottery. At the square's end is a plaque dedicated to the Maristan Sidi Frej, a medical center and psychiatric and teaching hospital built by the Merenid ruler Youssef Ibn Yakoub in 1286. Used as a model for the world's first mental hospital—founded in Valencia, Spain, in 1410—the Maristan operated until 1944.
Fez, Fez-Meknès, Morocco -
17. Kairaouine Mosque
Built in AD 857 by Fatima, the daughter of a wealthy Kairaouine refugee, this is considered one of the most important mosques in the Western Muslim world, and one look through the main doorway will give you an idea of its immensity. With about 10,760 square feet, the Kairaouine was Morocco's largest mosque until Casablanca's Hassan II Mosque came along in the early 1990s. It became the home of the West's first university and the world's foremost center of learning at the beginning of the second millennium. Stand at the entrance door's left side for a peek through the dozen horseshoe arches into the mihrab (marked by a hanging light). An east-facing alcove or niche used for leading prayer, the mihrab is rounded and covered with an arch designed to project sound back through the building. Lean in and look up to the brightly painted and intricately carved wood ceiling. If you get there just before prayer times, the two huge wooden doors by the entrance will be open, providing a privileged view of the vast interior. For a good view of the courtyard, head to the rooftop of the Attarine Medersa. Note that entry is restricted to Muslims.
Bou Touil, Fez, Fez-Meknès, Morocco -
18. Mellah
Known for its characteristically ornate balconies and forged-iron windows, the Mellah was created in the 15th century when the Jews, forced out of the medina in one of Morocco's recurrent pogroms, were removed from their previous ghetto near Bab Guissa and set up as royal financial consultants and buffers between the Merenid rulers and the people. Fez's Jewish community suffered repressive measures until the beginning of the French protectorate in 1912. Faced with an uncertain future after Morocco gained independence in 1956, nearly all of Fez's Jews migrated to Casablanca, Israel, and the United States.
Fez, Fez-Meknès, Morocco -
19. Moulay Abdellah Quarter
Some highlights of this historic district include the vertically green-striped Moulay Abdellah Mosque and the Great Mosque Abu Haq, built in 1276. The neighborhood was designed by the Merenids as a government seat and a stronghold against their subjects, but the area lost its purpose when Rabat became the Moroccan capital under the French protectorate in 1912. Subsequently filled with brothels and dance halls, the quarter was closed to foreigners for years.
Fez, Fez-Meknès, Morocco -
20. Musée Nejjarine des Arts et Métiers du Bois
A 14th-century, three-story Nejjarine fondouk, the Inn of the Carpenters is now home to a fascinating museum that displays Morocco's various native woods, 18th- and 19th-century woodworking tools, and a series of antique wooden doors and pieces of furniture. Enjoy a mint tea on the rooftop terrace with panoramic views over the medina. Don't miss the former jail cell on the ground floor or the large set of weighing scales, a reminder of the building's original functions—commerce on the ground floor and lodging on the levels above. Check out the palatial, cedar-ceiling public bathrooms, certainly the finest of their kind in Fez.
Pl. Nejjarine, Fez, Fez-Meknès, Morocco0535-74–05–80Sight Details
Rate Includes: 20 DH
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