📍 Where Is Fes?
Fes is located in Morocco.
Morocco's walled medieval capital of craft
Fes is located in Morocco.
Fes is Morocco's spiritual and intellectual heart in a way Marrakech, for all its energy, isn't quite — this is the country's oldest imperial city, home to one of the world's oldest universities, and its medina (Fes el-Bali) is widely considered the best-preserved medieval Arab city anywhere. Unlike Marrakech's more tourism-oriented souks, Fes still functions largely as it always has: leather tanned in the same vats for centuries, brass worked by hand in tiny workshops, and a medina so labyrinthine that even residents occasionally need directions.
Make the most of your time on the ground.
One of the oldest and largest traditional leather tanneries in the world — viewing terraces overlook the colourful dye pits, with mint leaves offered to combat the smell.
Check Availability →An exquisitely tiled 14th-century Islamic school, one of the finest examples of Marinid-era architecture and craftsmanship in the city.
View Experiences →A guide is genuinely worthwhile here — the medina's 9,000+ narrow lanes are notoriously easy to get lost in, and a local guide unlocks workshops and views you'd otherwise miss.
See Activities →Riads (traditional courtyard guesthouses) inside the medina from $20–35/night.
Check Prices →Restored boutique riads with rooftop terraces from $55–90/night, full of original carved plasterwork and zellige tilework.
Compare Options →Palace-style riads from $180/night, several converted from genuine historic merchant mansions.
View Luxury Hotels →Mild and comfortable for walking the medina — generally considered the best window.
Very hot, often exceeding 35°C — manageable with careful planning around the heat.
Cooling down again, a quieter alternative to spring with comfortable temperatures.
Fes is even better value than Marrakech, with fewer tourist markups on food and crafts.
A medina guide is worth the cost here more than almost anywhere else in Morocco — the lanes are genuinely disorienting, and a good guide adds real historical context to what would otherwise be just an impressive maze.
Fès–Saïs Airport (FEZ) has direct flights from several European cities, with many visitors also arriving by train from Marrakech (about 7 hours) or Casablanca (about 4 hours) along Morocco's reasonably comfortable rail network.
Days 1–2 — Fes el-Bali Medina: Guided walk through the old medina, the Chouara Tannery, Al-Attarine Madrasa, and the medina's countless craft workshops.
Day 3 — Fes el-Jdid & Royal Palace: The newer medina quarter and the exterior of the Royal Palace with its ornate brass doors.
Day 4 — Day Trip: Meknes, another imperial city about an hour away, or the Roman ruins at Volubilis nearby.
Plan now, travel smarter — book before peak season pushes prices up.