Things to Do in Fes

Details

About each place in Fes

9 of 23 places have a photo of the place itself so far. The others show none rather than a stand-in.

Fes el Bali

Quarter, 4 h, best morning or afternoon

The old walled city of Fez, founded as the Idrisid capital between 789 and 808. With Fes Jdid it makes up the medina, a UNESCO World Heritage Site that keeps its pre-modern street plan. Cars stop at the gates and you go on foot.

Near: Place Seffarine (190 m), Al-Qarawiyyin Mosque (300 m), Al-Attarine Madrasa (310 m). On our trip Fes Medina Guided Day Tour. Fes el Bali on Wikipedia Back to Fes list

Chouara Tannery

Tannery, 30 min, best morning

The largest and one of the oldest of the three tanneries in Fez, on the river near the Saffarin Madrasa. Hides soak in round stone vats of dye and softening liquid, worked by hand much as in the city's early centuries. You watch from the terraces of the leather shops that ring it.

Near: Al-Attarine Madrasa (260 m), Al-Qarawiyyin Mosque (270 m), Place Seffarine (270 m). On our trip Fes Medina Guided Day Tour. Chouara Tannery on Wikipedia Back to Fes list

Al-Qarawiyyin Mosque

Mosque, 20 min, best morning or afternoon

Founded as a mosque by Fatima al-Fihri in 857-859, it grew into one of the great centres of learning of the Islamic world and joined Morocco's state university system in 1963. The building itself carries work from many periods of Moroccan architecture.

Non-Muslims cannot enter; the open doors on the lanes around it give views into the courtyard.

Near: Al-Attarine Madrasa (20 m), Zawiya of Moulay Idris II (100 m), Place Seffarine (120 m). On our trip Fes Medina Guided Day Tour. Al-Qarawiyyin Mosque on Wikipedia Back to Fes list

Bou Inania Madrasa

Madrasa, 40 min, best morning

Built in 1350-55 by the Marinid sultan Abu Inan Faris on Tala'a Kebira, and the only madrasa in Morocco that also served as a Friday mosque. Its courtyard is a high point of Marinid building. The old water clock, Dar al-Magana, faces it across the street.

Near: Café Clock Fes (60 m), Bab Bou Jeloud (130 m), Dar Batha (180 m). On our trip Fes Medina Guided Day Tour. Bou Inania Madrasa on Wikipedia Back to Fes list

Al-Attarine Madrasa

Madrasa, 30 min, best morning or afternoon

A small madrasa beside the Qarawiyyin, built in 1323-1325 by the Marinid sultan Abu Said Uthman II and named after the spice and perfume souk at its door. Its courtyard fits dense, even decoration into very little space.

Near: Al-Qarawiyyin Mosque (20 m), Zawiya of Moulay Idris II (110 m), Place Seffarine (130 m). On our trip Fes Medina Guided Day Tour. Al-Attarine Madrasa on Wikipedia Back to Fes list

Bab Bou Jeloud

Gate, 15 min, any time

The tiled gate most visitors use to enter Fes el Bali, built in 1913 by the French administration as a grand entrance to the old city. Tala'a Kebira, the main street down to the Qarawiyyin, starts just inside.

Near: Café Clock Fes (100 m), Bou Inania Madrasa (130 m), Dar Batha (170 m). On our trip Fes Medina Guided Day Tour. Bab Bou Jeloud on Wikipedia Back to Fes list

Bab Mahrouk

Gate, 10 min, any time

Historically the main western gate of Fes el Bali, dating from 1204, on the north-west corner of Place Bou Jeloud.

Near: Bab Bou Jeloud (180 m), Café Clock Fes (220 m), Bou Inania Madrasa (270 m). Bab Mahrouk on Wikipedia Back to Fes list

Tala'a Kebira

Street, 1 h, best morning or late afternoon

One of the longest and busiest streets of Fes el Bali, running from near Bab Bou Jeloud down to the al-Attarine Madrasa. Souks and monuments line it, the Bou Inania among them.

Near: Bou Inania Madrasa (190 m), Café Clock Fes (230 m), Bab Bou Jeloud (320 m). Tala'a Kebira on Wikipedia Back to Fes list

Dar Batha

Museum, 1 h, best midday or afternoon

A late 19th-century palace begun by Sultan Hassan I and finished under Abdelaziz, turned into a museum of arts and crafts in 1915. Since a renovation completed in 2025 it is the Al Batha Museum of Islamic Arts, with more than 6,500 objects.

Near: Bab Bou Jeloud (170 m), Bou Inania Madrasa (180 m), Café Clock Fes (200 m). Dar Batha on Wikipedia Back to Fes list

Nejjarine Fondouk

Museum, 45 min, best morning or afternoon

The carpenters' inn on Nejjarine Square, built to lodge visiting merchants and store their goods. The tiled Nejjarine Fountain is set into the square beside it.

Near: Zawiya of Moulay Idris II (110 m), Al-Qarawiyyin Mosque (210 m), Al-Attarine Madrasa (210 m). On our trip Fes Medina Guided Day Tour. Nejjarine Fondouk on Wikipedia Back to Fes list

Zawiya of Moulay Idris II

Shrine, 10 min, any time

One of the holiest shrines in Morocco, holding the tomb of Idris II, who ruled from 807 to 828 and is held to be the founder and patron saint of Fez.

The shrine is for Muslims; others see the doorway and the lanes around it.

Near: Al-Qarawiyyin Mosque (100 m), Al-Attarine Madrasa (110 m), Nejjarine Fondouk (110 m). Zawiya of Moulay Idris II on Wikipedia Back to Fes list

Place Seffarine

Square, 15 min, best morning or afternoon

A small square on the south side of the Qarawiyyin, named after the coppersmiths who have kept their workshops here for centuries. The Qarawiyyin library and the Saffarin Madrasa border it.

Near: Al-Qarawiyyin Mosque (120 m), Al-Attarine Madrasa (130 m), Fes el Bali (190 m). Place Seffarine on Wikipedia Back to Fes list

Mosque of the Andalusians

Mosque, 10 min, any time

Founded in 859-860 in the district settled by Andalusi immigrants, which makes it one of the oldest mosques in Morocco and one of the few Idrisid-era buildings left.

Non-Muslims see the mosque from outside.

Near: Sahrij Madrasa (50 m), Fes el Bali (410 m), Chouara Tannery (410 m). Mosque of the Andalusians on Wikipedia Back to Fes list

Sahrij Madrasa

Madrasa, 30 min, best morning or afternoon

A 14th-century Marinid madrasa near the Mosque of the Andalusians, joined to the smaller Sba'iyyin Madrasa built at the same time.

Near: Mosque of the Andalusians (50 m), Fes el Bali (360 m), Chouara Tannery (400 m). Sahrij Madrasa on Wikipedia Back to Fes list

Marinid Tombs

Viewpoint, 40 min, best sunset or early

Ruined royal tombs of the Marinid dynasty on the hill north of Fes el Bali. People climb up for the view: the whole old city spread out below.

On our trip Fes Medina Guided Day Tour. Marinid Tombs on Wikipedia Back to Fes list

Borj Nord

Bastion, 40 min, best morning or late afternoon

A fort built in 1582 under the Saadians, modelled on Portuguese forts of the time, and now the Museum of Arms.

Borj Nord on Wikipedia Back to Fes list

Borj Sud

Viewpoint, 40 min, best sunset

The Saadian fort on the southern hills, built around 1582 as Borj Nord's twin across the valley. The view back over Fes el Bali is why you climb.

Borj Sud on Wikipedia Back to Fes list

Jnan Sbil Gardens

Garden, 30 min, best morning or late afternoon

A public garden, also called the Bou Jeloud Gardens, between Fes Jdid and Fes el Bali, the two halves of the old city.

Near: Bab Bou Jeloud (460 m), Dar Batha (460 m), Fes Jdid (460 m). Jnan Sbil Gardens on Wikipedia Back to Fes list

Fes Jdid

Quarter, 1.5 h, best morning or afternoon

'New Fez', founded by the Marinids in 1276 as a royal citadel and capital. The Royal Palace fills much of it, and the Mellah lies inside it.

Near: Ibn Danan Synagogue (320 m), Mellah of Fez (350 m), Royal Palace of Fez (390 m). Fes Jdid on Wikipedia Back to Fes list

Royal Palace of Fez

Palace, 15 min, best morning

The king's palace in Fez, founded with Fes Jdid in 1276 and mostly built under the Alawis from the 17th century on. Its ornate main gates on the square are the stop.

The palace is closed to visitors; you see its gates from the square.

Near: Mellah of Fez (180 m), Ibn Danan Synagogue (190 m), Fes Jdid (390 m). On our trip Fes Medina Guided Day Tour. Royal Palace of Fez on Wikipedia Back to Fes list

Mellah of Fez

Quarter, 1 h, best morning or afternoon

The historic Jewish quarter, in Fes Jdid beside the Royal Palace, believed to date from the mid-15th century. Few Jewish families live here now, but synagogues and other landmarks of the community remain.

Near: Ibn Danan Synagogue (30 m), Royal Palace of Fez (180 m), Fes Jdid (350 m). On our trip Fes Medina Guided Day Tour. Mellah of Fez on Wikipedia Back to Fes list

Ibn Danan Synagogue

Synagogue, 20 min, best morning or afternoon

A synagogue in the Mellah, first built in the 17th century and destroyed and restored several times since. It reopened after its latest restoration in 1999.

Near: Mellah of Fez (30 m), Royal Palace of Fez (190 m), Fes Jdid (320 m). Ibn Danan Synagogue on Wikipedia Back to Fes list

Café Clock Fes

Café, 1 h, best midday or evening

The first Café Clock, opened by Mike Richardson after a visit to Fez in 2006, at 7 Derb el-Magana off Tala'a Kebira. It takes its name from the water clock facing the Bou Inania Madrasa. Expect live music every night and classes from cooking to calligraphy.

Near: Bou Inania Madrasa (60 m), Bab Bou Jeloud (100 m), Dar Batha (200 m). Official site Back to Fes list

Questions about visiting Fes

How many days do you need in Fes?

Two to three days lets you explore Fes el-Bali at a relaxed pace, visit the main medersas and tanneries, and still fit a day trip to Volubilis and Meknes.

Can non-Muslims visit the mosques and medersas in Fes?

Non-Muslims cannot enter active mosques such as Al-Qarawiyyin, but several historic medersas, including Bou Inania and Al-Attarine, are open to all visitors for a small entry fee.

Is it worth hiring a guide in Fes?

Yes. The medina's thousands of unmarked lanes are famously easy to get lost in, and a licensed local guide adds context to the crafts, history and architecture while helping you navigate.

More on Fes: the Fes city guide.

More things to do in Morocco: Things to Do in Marrakech, Things to Do in Essaouira, Things to Do in Chefchaouen, Things to Do in Ouarzazate, Things to Do in Merzouga, Things to Do in Tangier, Things to Do in Rabat, Things to Do in Meknes. All cities.