7 Things to Do in Fes

If you are considering visiting Morocco and want to visit a city that truly captures the country’s spirit and culture, visit Fes. Fes, Morocco’s third largest city, is home to over one million people. It was founded in the 8th century and still has a distinct traditional charm. We went on a half-day tour of Fes with Morocco Easy Tours during our visit.

Here are seven things to do in Fes:

1) Visit the Palais Royale / Royal Palace

We started our tour by stopping at the famous Royal Palace. Although it isn’t open to the public, its majestic doors are enough to attract plenty of visitors. Seven stunning brass doors mark the entrance to the palace. Surrounding the doors are beautiful tile work, “zelligi,” and carved cedar wood. The current King of Morocco stays in the Royal Palace while visiting Fes. I can only imagine how beautiful the palace is inside!

2) Walk through the iconic Bab Bou Jeloud/ The Blue Gate of Fes

With its elegant mosaic tiles, the Blue Gate of Fes’ lofty entryway is the most recognizable portal to the old medina, Fez el-Bali. The side of the gate that welcomes visitors is blue, which symbolizes the color of Fes. When you pass through the entryway, you’ll see the side that faces the medina, which is green- the color of Islam.

3) Explore Fes el-Bali/ Old Medina of Fes

Roaming through the alleyways of the old medina was my favorite part of the tour. The old medina is the largest surviving medieval city in the world. It is also an urban car-free zone, where cars are replaced by donkeys transporting goods. Once you pass through the Blue Gate, you will come across two main alleyways into the medina, the Tala’a Kbira and Tala’a Sghira. However, it doesn’t matter which one you take. With 10,000 alleys and over 20 entrances and exits, as a visitor, getting lost in the old medina is inevitable.

We arrived early; the shopkeepers prepared for their day by washing the ground. One thing our guide, Hassan, emphasized as soon as we entered the medina was that the medina isn’t just filled with souks (markets); it’s a place where over 150,000 people live. I enjoyed being guided through the medina with Hassan because he was born and raised there and provided us with a lot of insight into its history that we wouldn’t have received exploring on our own. I also loved watching him interact with his friends. It seemed like Hassan knew 90% of the people there!

4) Visit Al Karawiyyin of Fes: The Oldest University in the World

Al Karawiyyin is located in the old medina, and is home to the oldest university in the world, dating back to 859. It was founded by Fatima al Fihri, who spent all of her inheritance on this endeavor. It was initially created as a mosque, with a madrasa and an associated mosque school. Its initial focus was religious instruction and Qu’ran memorization, but later, the curriculum expanded into Arabic grammar, music, Sufism, medicine, and astronomy. In 1963, it joined the modern state university system. The school educates students from all over the world.

5) Visit the Chouara Tannery

Fes is well known for its leather products and is home to three ancient leather tanneries. The largest and oldest, the Chouara Tannery, is close to 1,000 years old. Chouara is fascinating because high-quality leather goods are manually created without modern machinery. The process hasn’t changed much since medieval times. The stone vessels are filled with an array of dyes and various liquids. The men stand waist-deep in the dyes, working under the hot sun, looking after the soaked hides in the vessels.

6) Explore the Art Naji Ceramic Factory

Art Naji is a ceramic pottery shop and factory. Throughout my time in Morocco, I saw exquisite ceramic work everywhere. It was a fun experience to go to this factory and see how these masterpieces are created manually. The fact that the whole production process—cutting tiles, chipping mosaics, and painting —was done without machines gave me a higher level of appreciation for their craftsmanship.

7) Catch a Sunrise

After a half-day of exploring the Fes medina and surrounding areas, there was nothing better than getting up at dawn to catch a sunrise on the rooftop of my riad. The city’s panoramic view was incredible and provided me with a meditative space to reflect on my experience.

Fes, stay magical!

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