Day 1 in Fes
9 stops · 09:00 to 20:20 · about 4.9 km between stops, in a straight line
Highlights: Bab Bou Jeloud — The Blue Gate, Bou Inania Madrasa, Dar al-Magana — The Water Clock and Al-Attarine Madrasa.
09:00about 45 min
Arrive & Check In
Drop your bags at your riad inside or just outside the medina walls and let the sounds of the city orient you before you step out. A good riad will give you a hand-drawn map — take it seriously.
10:00about 30 minSight
Bab Bou Jeloud — The Blue Gate
Start where virtually every medina walk begins: the ornate 1913 gateway, tiled in deep ceramic blue on its outer face and in green on the side that faces the medina. Beyond it, a small square leads into Talaa Kebira, the medina's main souk street, and Talaa Seghira — pause here before plunging in.
About 150 m to the next stop
10:35about 60 minSight
Bou Inania Madrasa
A short walk from Bab Bou Jeloud, this 14th-century Marinid madrasa is one of Morocco's finest religious monuments open to non-Muslim visitors. Stand in the central courtyard and work your eyes upward: zellij tilework gives way to carved stucco, then to cedarwood screens and a sky-open lantern. The craftsmanship repays slow looking.
11:40about 20 minSight
Dar al-Magana — The Water Clock
Directly across Talaa Kebira from the Bou Inania stands the water clock completed in 1357 for the madrasa: a facade of twelve windows with platforms beneath them, framed by carved stucco and carved wooden corbels. The brass bowls that once caught a falling ball each hour were taken down in 2004 for a repair that has not yet succeeded, and how the mechanism worked is still only partly understood. Expect an empty row of platforms rather than a working clock.
12:15about 60 min
Lunch on the way down Talaa Kebira
Find lunch in the medina as you make your way from Bou Inania down Talaa Kebira towards the Kairaouine quarter. Allow about 20 minutes of walking on top of the meal, so the afternoon's madrasas are close at hand when you finish.
13:40about 60 minSight
Al-Attarine Madrasa
Tucked beside the great Kairaouine Mosque, the Al-Attarine Madrasa was built in 1323–1325 and named for the spice and perfume market that surrounds it. It is counted among the high points of Marinid architecture: zellij tilework covers the floor, lower walls and pillars, carved stucco with calligraphy rises above it, and carved cedar wood finishes in sculpted eaves, all fitted into a compact courtyard.
About 150 m to the next stop
14:45about 25 minSight
Seffarin Madrasa
A five-minute walk from Al-Attarine, the Seffarin Madrasa opens onto Place Seffarine, the coppersmiths' square. Built in 1271, it was the first madrasa built by the Marinids, and it still houses students of al-Qarawiyyin University, so you may only be able to look in from the doorway at the courtyard and its large water basin. The metalwork sounds from the square provide an unexpected soundtrack.
About 2.9 km to the next stop
18:30about 90 min
Drinks at Sky Bar, Hôtel Sahrai
End the first day with a drink at the Sky Bar of Hôtel Sahrai, perched above the city. With the call to prayer echoing across Fes el-Bali, you'll understand why people return to this city again and again.
About 1.7 km to the next stop
20:20about 75 minDinner
Dinner at MB Restaurant Lounge
Take a short taxi ride from the Sahrai to MB Restaurant Lounge in the Ville Nouvelle for a proper sit-down dinner after a day of serious walking. The kitchen serves French and Italian dishes — steaks, pasta and seafood — in a modern dining room, and alcohol is served. Call ahead to book a table.
More about MB Restaurant Lounge
Photos: Bjørn Christian Tørrissen (CC BY-SA 3.0) · Ziberat (CC BY-SA 3.0) · Jerzystrzelecki (CC BY 3.0) · Maureen from Buffalo, USA (CC BY 2.0)
