Fes (Fez) Travel Guide

You have to travel to Fes (Fez) if you're visiting Morocco. Fes is Morocco's oldest imperial city, founded in the 8th Century. Behind the 5 miles of wall that surround the old city (Fes el-Bali), is a labyrinth of more than 9000 narrow streets just filled to the brim with shops, artisans, donkeys, houses, mosques, fountains and the fascinating (but smelly) tanneries.

Fes is a place that you are guaranteed to get very lost in. You need a guide, at least for the first day, to get oriented. Once you figure out there are two main streets (alleys, really) which basically thread through the maze, you'll be fine on your own just asking shopkeepers which way to go.

While the main joy of Fes is simply wandering around, there are several mosques, museums and specific souqs (markets) that are worth seeing. The highlight of the sights would have to be the tanneries, where the process of treating leather has changed little in hundreds of years.

I would recommend you stay inside old Fes in a Riad or apartment when you visit. Cars cannot enter old Fes, the streets are simply too narrow, so your luggage upon arriving at a gate into the medina, is carried by donkey or put on a cart. I love that.

Fes can be a tad overwhelming for some people though, so be aware that this is a busy place, there are a lot of donkeys and mules wandering around and it's a little grittier than Marrakech. The Fassis (people of Fes) are also a little more intense than in other parts of Morocco. Fes is considered the spiritual and cultural capital of Morocco and Fassis take this pretty seriously.

To find out more see my Travel Guide to Fes and to see what it's like, check out this Photo Gallery of Fes.