The arcaded courtyard of Dar Batha with its sunken zellige pool

What's new in Fes for 2027

Since 2025 the city has opened a museum of Moroccan Jewish culture, reopened the Batha museum, hosted Africa Cup of Nations football and kept restoring the old medina house by house. Here is what's different, with the dates we could confirm.

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Dar Batha, Fes. Photo: R Prazeres, CC BY-SA 4.0

Five things that have changed

Updated 3 November 2026. Where there's no confirmed date, we say so.

The main street of the Fes Mellah with balconied houses, a palace gate at the end — Mellah, Fes

Inaugurated 12 October 2026

A museum of Moroccan Jewish culture in the Mellah

After years of building work, the Museum of Moroccan Jewish Culture opened in the heart of the Mellah, the old Jewish quarter beside the Royal Palace. It is the newest reason to spend a morning in Fes el-Jdid.

The Andalusian garden of Dar Batha with its tiled paths and cypresses — Dar Batha, Fes

Reopened 26 February 2025

The Batha museum, restored

Dar Batha, the 19th-century palace that holds the city's museum of Islamic arts, reopened after restoration. Its Andalusian garden is one of the calmest places on the edge of the medina.

The long Fes-Saïss terminal facade at sunset (wide crop) — Fes-Saïss Airport

December 2025 to January 2026

Africa Cup of Nations football

Fes hosted four AFCON 2025 matches at the renovated Fes stadium, including Nigeria's 4-0 round-of-16 win over Mozambique on 5 January 2026. More work on the stadium is planned with the 2030 World Cup in mind. We don't have a photo of the stadium; pictured is Fes-Saïss airport, the city's gateway.

Riad rooftops in Fes el Bali bristling with satellite dishes at dusk — Fes el Bali

Reported April 2025

The medina, still being restored

The programme to save the old city goes on. The governorate reported 399 projects and 4,671 buildings at risk of collapse rehabilitated. Expect fresh plaster, new woodwork and the odd scaffolded lane.

Fes el Bali spread through its valley under a blue sky, seen from the Merinid Tombs hill — Fes el Bali from the Merinid Tombs

Reopening date not announced

Fes on the 2026 lists, and the Palais Jamaï

Condé Nast Traveler named Fes among the best African destinations for 2026, and noted the coming reopening of the Palais Jamaï, the 1879 vizier's palace turned hotel above the medina. We haven't seen a confirmed reopening date.

A marble fountain on the patterned zellige floor of the Dar Batha courtyard

The old city doesn't stand still. It gets restored, one courtyard at a time.

Dar Batha, Fes

What it means for your trip

How we'd fit the new sights into a visit.

Morning

Start in the Mellah

The new museum, the Ibn Danan synagogue and the balconied main street, with a licensed guide.

Late morning

Past the palace gates

The brass doors of the Royal Palace are a few minutes' walk from the Mellah.

Lunch

Into Batha

Lunch near Bab Boujloud, then the restored Batha museum and its garden.

Afternoon

Down into the old medina

The Bou Inania madrasa and the lanes below it, freshly restored in places.

Keep planning 2027

The rest of our 2027 pages.

The Mellah's main street of Fes: balconied houses over shopfronts, people and traffic below

Half day in FesJewish heritage tourThe Mellah, the synagogue and the new museum.See the walk

Fes el Bali at blue hour, its lanes and minarets lit up beneath the dark hills

Planning hubFes in 2027Ramadan, festivals and holidays, month by month.Plan 2027

Musicians in striped djellabas playing horns at the Moulay Idriss moussem procession, Place Boujloud

JournalThe 2027 calendarEvery date we could confirm, and the ones we couldn't.See the dates

What's new: questions

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

What is new in Fes for 2027?

The biggest change is the Museum of Moroccan Jewish Culture, inaugurated in the Mellah on 12 October 2026. The Batha museum reopened in February 2025 after restoration, the city hosted Africa Cup of Nations matches in December 2025 and January 2026, and the long programme to restore the old medina continues.

Is the Palais Jamai hotel open again?

Its reopening after about a decade of work has been reported as coming soon, but we haven't seen a confirmed date. If you'd like to stay there, tell us and we'll check before we quote.

Will Fes be a 2030 World Cup host city?

The Fes stadium was renovated for AFCON 2025, and further work is planned with the 2030 World Cup in mind. The final list of 2030 venues has not been confirmed in what we've read, so we don't promise matches in Fes yet.

Is the Fes medina still being restored?

Yes. In April 2025 the governorate reported 399 projects and 4,671 buildings at risk of collapse rehabilitated under the medina programme. You may see scaffolding on some lanes and monuments; your guide routes around it.

How much does a tour of the new sights cost?

We don't publish prices. Every tour is private or small-group and quoted for your date and group.

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