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Fes el Bali packed across the valley, the green-tiled roofs of the Qarawiyyin and Moulay Idriss shrine among the minarets

Fes el Bali · Photo: Petar Milošević, CC BY-SA 4.0

Fes tours and day tripsEvery trip begins at a gate.

Private and small-group trips from Fes, planned with you by people who live here.

See the seven ways inPlan my trip

Choose your way in

We plan private and small-group Fes tours and day trips with you: a local guide through the medina and the tanneries, the Merinid Tombs at sunset, the potters, a riad cooking class, and day trips to Meknes, Volubilis and the Middle Atlas. Every trip is quoted for your dates. Open a door to see what is behind it.

  1. Bab BoujloudThe medinaNine thousand lanes, walked with a local guide.    Plan a medina day: The medina
  2. Bab R'cifThe river and the tanneriesThe dye pits of Chouara, seen from the terraces.    Plan the tanneries: The river and the tanneries
  3. Bab GuissaThe rooftops and the Merinid TombsThe whole city at your feet at sunset.    Plan a sunset: The rooftops and the Merinid Tombs
  4. Bab FtouhThe pottersZellige cut by hand, the kilns, the brass.    Plan the workshops: The potters
  5. Bab MahroukThe Middle Atlas and beyondCedar forests, Ifrane, Sefrou, the road south.    Plan the mountains: The Middle Atlas and beyond
  6. Dar el-MakhzenImperial Fes, Meknes and VolubilisBrass doors, then Meknes and Roman Volubilis.    Plan Volubilis & Meknes: Imperial Fes, Meknes and Volubilis
  7. A riad doorThe kitchenShop the souk, then cook in a riad kitchen.    Plan a cooking class: The kitchen

The ten gates of Fes

Fes el-Bali and Fes el-Jdid are walled cities, and every way in is a gate with its own story: who built it, what came through it, what waits on the other side. Open one.

Eight of these gates are in the walls of Fes el-Bali, the old medina on both banks of the river. Bab Semmarine and Bab Segma belong to Fes el-Jdid, the Marinid royal town beside it. Each pin on the map opens that gate’s page.

All ten gates, with their history and the walks between them
باب بوجلودBab BoujloudBuilt in 1913 in a Marinid-revival style: three horseshoe arches onto Talaa Kebira and Talaa Seghira.

Bab BoujloudThe medina

Through the green arch, nine thousand lanes.

Talaa Kebira and Talaa Seghira start here, the two old streets that run down through Fes el-Bali. A local historian walks you in, past the Bou Inania minaret, to the Qaraouiyine and the souks.

باب الرصيفBab R'cifA working square, not a monument: a daily market, a taxi stop and the easiest way in or out of the lower medina.

Bab R'cifThe river and the tanneries

Down to the river, where the leather is dyed.

Place R'cif sits low in the medina by the Oued Fes, under the green-tiled minaret of the R'cif mosque. From here the lanes climb to the Chouara tannery, still working its stone dye pits.

باب الكيسةBab GuissaThe northern gate of Fes el-Bali, on the way up to the hill of the tombs.

Bab GuissaThe rooftops and the Merinid Tombs

Up the hill, the whole city at your feet.

Above the northern gate stand Borj Nord, a 16th-century Saadian fort, and the ruined Merinid Tombs. At sunset the call to prayer rolls up the valley from every minaret below.

باب الفتوحBab FtouhThe eastern gate of Fes el-Bali, on the side of the potters' quarter.

Bab FtouhThe potters

East, to the kilns of Ain Nokbi.

Outside the eastern gate, the potters' quarter does the whole craft under one roof: grey Fassi clay, the wheel, wood and olive-pit kilns, hand-painted glaze and zellige cut tile by tile.

باب المحروقBab MahroukThe 'burnt gate', a plain Almohad gate of rammed earth on the western side of the medina.

Bab MahroukThe Middle Atlas and beyond

Out past the walls, into the cedars.

From Fes the road climbs to Ifrane's pitched roofs and the cedar forest above Azrou, where Barbary macaques live among Morocco's oldest cedars. Keep going, and three days later you are in the Sahara.

دار المخزنDar el-MakhzenThe doors of the royal palace in Fes el-Jdid. Seen from the square; the palace itself is not open.

Dar el-MakhzenImperial Fes, Meknes and Volubilis

Brass doors, then two empires in a day.

In Fes el-Jdid the royal palace shows the city its brass doors, framed in zellige and carved cedar. It is closed to visitors; you stand in the square. Beyond it lie imperial Meknes and Roman Volubilis.

باب الدارA riad doorFes houses face inward. The door on the lane says nothing; the courtyard says everything.

A riad doorThe kitchen

Behind a plain door, the courtyard and the kitchen.

Fes is the culinary heart of Morocco. A class starts in the souk with the shopping, then goes into a riad kitchen: salads, a tagine layered by hand, bread for the oven, and mint tea poured from height.

Before you knock

The questions people ask us most before they plan a trip to Fes.

Is Fes worth visiting?

Yes, especially if you want history and living craft rather than polish. Fes el-Bali is a UNESCO-listed, car-free medieval medina of thousands of lanes, with the Kairaouine, the Bou Inania and Al-Attarine medersas and the Chouara tanneries still at work. It is also the natural base for day trips to Volubilis, Meknes, Chefchaouen and Sefrou.

How many days do you need in Fes?

Plan two to three days. One full day covers the medina highlights — the tanneries, the medersas and the Kairaouine quarter — but it is a brisk day. A second day adds the artisan quarters, the Andalusian side and the Merinid Tombs viewpoint; a third leaves room for a day trip to Volubilis and Meknes or to Chefchaouen.

What is the best time to visit Fes?

Spring (March to May) and autumn (September to November) are the most comfortable, with mild days for long hours on foot in the medina. Summer is very hot in the Fes basin, so start early and rest at midday; winter is cool and quiet, with lower riad rates. For a Sahara trip from Fes, October to April is best.

How far is Chefchaouen from Fes?

Chefchaouen is about 200 km north of Fes, roughly 3.5 to 4 hours each way by road through the Rif mountains, and there is no train between them. It works as a long private day trip from Fes, or more comfortably as a one- or two-night stay in the blue medina.

How much of Fes can I really see in a day?

Fes el-Bali is one of the largest car-free urban areas in the world, a medieval medina of thousands of lanes. In a full day with a Fassi guide you'll cover the Kairaouine quarter, the Chouara tanneries, the Bou Inania and Al-Attarine medersas, and the artisan souks for copper, weaving and zellige. Two days lets you slow down and meet the makers properly.

Who operates Fes & Imperial Cities?

Fes & Imperial Cities is operated by Serenity Morocco Tours, a private Moroccan tour operator. Guides and drivers are booked directly — never resold from a marketplace.

What is included in a private Fes tour quote?

Your written quote lists exactly what is included, usually your guide, a private air-conditioned car for day trips, monument entry fees (Bou Inania, Al-Attarine, the Nejjarine museum), artisan-workshop visits and WhatsApp support during the trip. Riad stays can be added to the quote; international flights and personal shopping are yours.

Can you build a custom imperial-cities itinerary?

Yes, most of our trips are planned from scratch. Tell us your dates and what draws you to Fes — tanneries, calligraphy, Andalusian music, ceramics. You'll receive a written itinerary, route options and an itemised quote.

Which day trips pair best with a Fes base?

From Fes el-Bali we run private day trips to the Roman ruins of Volubilis and the imperial city of Meknes (often combined with the holy town of Moulay Idriss), and a longer run north over the Rif to the blue lanes of Chefchaouen. All depart from your riad door.

What should I know before entering the tanneries?

The Chouara tanneries are a working medieval dye-yard, not a museum. Your guide arranges a leather-balcony viewpoint, and the shopkeepers offer a sprig of mint for the smell. Mornings give the best light and the most activity in the stone vats.

Mint tea, a glass of fresh mint and a plate of homemade pastries on a steel tray beside an enamel teapot

Come inside. We’ll plan it with you.

  1. Tell us your gates. Your dates, who is travelling, what drew you in.
  2. A person reads it. We write a day-by-day proposal for your group, private or small.
  3. You change anything. Then we confirm guides, drivers and riads.
Open the door: plan my tripAsk a question first

Photographs

Real photographs from Wikimedia Commons, used under their licences. The gates are drawn: we will not show a photo of somewhere else as a Fes gate.