3 days in Fes itineraryGates, Mosaics & Medinas

4 stops · 13:00 to 19:30 · about 4.9 km between stops, in a straight line

Highlights: Ibn Danan Synagogue and Dar Batha.

1. 1

   13:00about 60 min

   Arrive & Check In

   Settle into your riad in or near the medina — most have cool internal courtyards that make the perfect antidote to the afternoon heat. Drop your bags and let the sounds of the city orient you before you head out.

2. 2

   14:30about 45 minSight

   Ibn Danan Synagogue

   Begin in the Mellah of Fes el-Jdid at this 17th-century synagogue, restored and reopened in 1999, a trace of the Jewish community that shaped this quarter for centuries. Look for the large carved wooden Torah ark, and for the mikveh, a ritual bath found during the restoration in a vault beneath the bimah.

   

   About 1.2 km to the next stop

3. 3

   15:40about 60 minSight

   Dar Batha

   About 20 minutes on foot from the Mellah, near Bab Bou Jeloud, this late-19th-century palace reopened in February 2025 as the Al Batha Museum of Islamic Arts. Its rooms hold historic Qur'ans, astrolabes, carpets and the 14th-century minbar of the Bou Inania Madrasa. The Andalusian-style garden, laid out around a central fountain, is worth the visit on its own. It is reported to close on Tuesdays, and hours vary, so check before you go.

   

   About 3.7 km to the next stop

4. 4

   19:30about 75 minDinner

   Dinner at La Grilladière

   After a first afternoon on your feet, pull up a chair at La Grilladière, the Ville Nouvelle branch of a Moroccan grill-house chain, known for its steaks and grilled meats.

10 stops · 08:00 to 20:00 · about 550 m between stops, in a straight line

Highlights: Volubilis, Meknes Grand Mosque, Bab Mansour & the Imperial Gates of Meknes and Mausoleum of Moulay Ismail.

1. 1

   08:00about 90 min

   Early Transfer to Volubilis

   Leave Fes early by hired car with a driver. Volubilis is about 95 km away, roughly an hour and a half by road, and the site opens at 8:30, so you arrive while the morning is still cool. Pack water and a hat.

2. 2

   09:30about 120 minSight

   Volubilis

   The ruins of this Roman colonial town, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1997, spread across a plain north of Meknes. Walk the Decumanus Maximus to the Arch of Caracalla, built in 217, past the Basilica and the Capitoline Temple, and look for the floor mosaics in houses such as the House of Orpheus, named for its mosaic of Orpheus playing to the animals. Open from 8:30 until an hour before sunset.

   
3. 3

   11:45about 40 min

   Moulay Idriss Zerhoun

   A few kilometres from Volubilis, this pilgrimage town spreads over two foothills of the Zerhoun mountains around the shrine of Idris I, the first Idrisid ruler. The shrine is closed to non-Muslims, but you can climb towards the top of Khiber, the taller hill, which looks down over the shrine and the town.

4. 4

   13:00about 60 min

   Lunch near Place el-Hedim

   Drive on to Meknes, about half an hour from Moulay Idriss, and find lunch around Place el-Hedim, the big square in front of Bab Mansour, so the afternoon's monuments are all within a few minutes' walk.

5. 5

   14:00about 20 minSight

   Meknes Grand Mosque

   Inside the Meknes medina, a few minutes' walk north of Place el-Hedim, pause at the Grand Mosque, whose minaret rises above the medina's rooftops. It is a visual anchor before Moulay Ismail's more theatrical monuments around the square.

   

   About 300 m to the next stop

6. 6

   14:30about 45 minSight

   Bab Mansour & the Imperial Gates of Meknes

   Nothing quite prepares you for Bab Mansour, the monumental gate begun under Sultan Moulay Ismail and finished in 1732 by his son Moulay Abdallah. Its facade and flanking bastions are covered in polychrome zellij, and massive marble columns with ornate capitals, probably taken from Volubilis where you were this morning, support the projecting pilasters. Stand on Place el-Hedim in front of it and let the scale sink in.

   

   About 250 m to the next stop

7. 7

   15:20about 40 minSight

   Mausoleum of Moulay Ismail

   A short walk from Bab Mansour, the burial place of Sultan Moulay Ismail is one of the few religious sites in Morocco that welcome non-Muslim visitors. It is closed to visitors on Fridays, when it is used as a mosque, and the complex has been under long-running restoration, so check that it is open before you go. When it is, non-Muslims can walk through the courtyards, with their fountains and zellij paving, and see the tomb chamber through a doorway from the anteroom, but cannot enter it.

   
8. 8

   16:00about 75 min

   Drive back to Fes

   Head back east to Fes, about 60 km and roughly an hour by road, and return to your riad.

9. 9

   17:30about 120 min

   Rest at Your Riad

   After a long day on the road, take a couple of hours back at your riad to rest and freshen up before dinner.

10. 10

    20:00about 75 minDinner

    Dinner at Café-Restaurant Alessio

    Wind down the day at Café-Restaurant Alessio, a relaxed spot for an evening meal that won't demand another decision after a long day on the road.

9 stops · 09:00 to 21:15 · about 1.0 km between stops, in a straight line

Highlights: Bab Bou Jeloud & Bab Mahrouk, Bou Inania Madrasa, Dar al-Magana and Al-Attarine Madrasa.

1. 1

   09:00about 25 minSight

   Bab Bou Jeloud & Bab Mahrouk

   Start the morning at Fes el-Bali's great blue gate — the iconic entry point to the oldest part of the medina. The faïence tiles are a vivid blue on the outer face and green on the inner, a colour code you'll find echoes of all morning long. A couple of hundred metres away, on the north-western corner of Place Bou Jeloud, Bab Mahrouk is a large horseshoe arch in a shallow rectangular frame, built in 1204 under the Almohad ruler Muhammad al-Nasir.

   

   About 150 m to the next stop

2. 2

   09:30about 60 minSight

   Bou Inania Madrasa

   A few steps inside Bab Bou Jeloud, the Bou Inania Madrasa is the largest and most important madrasa built by the Marinid dynasty — three bands of ornament stacked from floor to ceiling: carved cedar at the top, stucco filigree in the middle, zellij at the base. Stand in the courtyard and work your way up slowly.

   
3. 3

   10:30about 20 minSight

   Dar al-Magana

   Directly across the lane from the madrasa, this 14th-century water clock is one of the strangest objects in Fes — a row of windows and wooden brackets that once released balls into brass bowls to mark each hour. Its mechanism is long silent but the carved façade remains a puzzle worth pausing over.

   

   About 850 m to the next stop

4. 4

   11:10about 45 minSight

   Al-Attarine Madrasa

   Deeper into the souk district, the Attarine Madrasa sits beside the Kairaouine Mosque and takes its name from the spice market outside its door. Stand in the courtyard by its marble fountain basin, with the old student rooms on the upper floor above you.

   
5. 5

   12:30about 60 min

   Lunch in the medina

   Break for lunch inside the medina rather than heading out to the new town. You stay a short walk from Place Seffarine for the afternoon.

6. 6

   14:00about 30 minSight

   Seffarin Madrasa & Place Seffarine

   The Seffarin Madrasa, built in 1271 and the first of the madrasas founded by the Marinid dynasty, stands on Place Seffarine, just south of the Qarawiyyin Mosque. The square is named for its coppersmiths. The madrasa still houses students, so you may only see it from the door.

   
7. 7

   14:45about 105 min

   Free Wander: the Andalusian Quarter

   Cross to the quieter east bank of the medina and let the afternoon slow down. The lanes here are less trafficked and more residential — laundry overhead, cats on doorsteps, the occasional smell of baking bread. No agenda, just walking.

8. 8

   19:30about 90 minDinner

   Farewell Dinner at MB Restaurant Lounge

   Round off the trip in the Ville Nouvelle at MB, on Rue Ahmed Chaouki: a minimalist grey dining room, a French menu with Moroccan spices, and a well-stocked list of Moroccan and French wines.

   More about MB Restaurant Lounge
9. 9

   21:15about 45 min

   Last Evening at Your Riad

   Take a taxi back from the new town and close the trip with a pot of mint tea in your riad's courtyard. It is a moment to sit still, let the past three days settle, and decide which gate you'll return to first.