Fès el-Bali is the largest car-free urban area in the world, and it rewards a plan. This is the route we give our guests: ten stops sorted from the top of the medina (Bab Boujloud side) down to the river. Starting from Dar Fayrouz at R'cif, do it in reverse: begin at stop 9 and finish at stop 1, then take a taxi up to the tombs for sunset.
From Dar Fayrouz: start at stop 9, the tanneries, walk up to stop 1, then taxi to the Merenid tombs for sunset. Entrances cost about 2 euros each.
The ten stops
- Jnan Sbil gardens. Shade, water and the only quiet lawns of the old city, just outside the walls.
- Bab Boujloud, the blue gate. Blue on the outside, green on the inside; the classic photo of Fès.
- Bou Inania madrasa (about 2 euros). The most beautiful of the Merinid schools, with its cedar, stucco and zellige.
- Nejjarine museum (about 2 euros). A restored caravanserai of the carpenters, with a rooftop café view over the square and its fountain.
- Zaouia of Moulay Idriss II. The shrine of the founder of the city; non-Muslims admire it from the doorways of the surrounding lanes.
- Qarawiyyin mosque and university, founded in 859 and still teaching. Look in from the doors; the library next door is the world's oldest.
- Attarine madrasa (about 2 euros), small and perfect, at the entrance of the spice souk.
- Cherratine madrasa (about 2 euros), the sober 17th-century one, rarely crowded.
- Place Seffarine, the coppersmiths' square, where the hammering never stops. Sit down at Café Abdellah for a mint tea: guests tell us it is the best tea they drink in Morocco.
- The Chouara tanneries. The terraces above the vats belong to leather shops; a small tip for the sprig of mint and the view is expected.
Sunset: the Merenid tombs
End the day above the medina at the Merenid tombs, a short taxi ride from Bab Boujloud. The whole city turns gold, the call to prayer rises from a hundred minarets, and you understand the shape of what you walked through.
Two extras
- Riad Salam, for a drink only (around 5 euros): probably the finest architecture you can see for the price of a coffee.
- Café Clock, near Bou Inania, for the camel burger and the rooftop.
Before you go, read how not to get lost in the medina, and ask us for an official guide if you prefer to walk with someone: prices are on the good-to-know page.
