3 days in Morocco's imperial heartland: Fes, Meknes and Roman Volubilis

A full guided day in the 9th-century walled medina — the old city. Enter at the blue Bab Bou Jeloud gate and work through the Bou Inania and Al-Attarine medersas, the Kairaouine mosque and university (among the oldest still operating in the world), the Nejjarine fountain and woodwork museum, and the famous Chouara tanneries seen from a leather-shop terrace above the dye pits. Spend the afternoon getting pleasantly lost in the souks of Talaa Kebira and Talaa Seghira.

On the way: Bab Bou Jeloud, Bou Inania Medersa, Al-Attarine Medersa, Kairaouine University, Chouara tanneries, Talaa Kebira souks

A day trip west into the imperial heartland. Meknes is about an hour from Fes: see the monumental Bab Mansour gate on the Place el-Hedim, the vast Heri es-Souani granaries and stables of Moulay Ismail, the Mausoleum of Moulay Ismail and the walled medina. From Meknes it is roughly half an hour on to Volubilis, Morocco's best-preserved Roman city, with its mosaics still in place, a basilica, a capitol and a triumphal arch set in rolling farmland. The sacred hilltop town of Moulay Idriss Zerhoun, holiest in Morocco, sits about ten minutes from Volubilis — a viewpoint, lunch and a wander before the drive back to Fes for the night.

On the way: Bab Mansour, Meknes, Heri es-Souani granaries, Moulay Ismail Mausoleum, Roman Volubilis, Volubilis mosaics, Moulay Idriss Zerhoun

A slower second Fes day. Begin above the city at the Merinid Tombs and the Borj Nord fortress for a panorama over the whole medina, then cross to the Andalusian quarter (Fes el-Andalous) and its mosque across the Oued Fes. Stroll the restored Jnan Sbil gardens beside the royal palace, then visit a pottery and zellige cooperative in the Aïn Nokbi quarter to watch craftsmen shape and glaze the city's signature blue ceramics before a final walk through the souks.

On the way: Merinid Tombs viewpoint, Borj Nord, Andalusian quarter, Jnan Sbil gardens, Pottery & zellige cooperative