Fes, in North Central Morocco, is the country’s second-largest city. Its cultural history and intriguing cityscapes have rightly long made it a favourite with foreign visitors.
The main draw is undoubtedly the city’s historic Medina market area. Set in a natural bowl, the narrow and sometimes claustrophobic winding alleys that lead you through the market are packed full of colour and atmosphere, with the city’s tannery, in particular, an enduring attraction for tourists.
Despite sometimes feeling plagued by the hassle and unhelpful misinformation from the army of stall-holders and locals, a visit to the Fes Medina is still an essential stop on any tour of Morocco.
Surrounding the Medina area, the city also boasts some pleasant and wide, palm-lined avenues and a network of gardens and green spaces to explore.
This all makes Fes a great city to visit, as well as a good base for exploring the wider region. For those wanting to see what else is on offer in this part of Morocco, here are several of the best day trips from Fes.
Meknes
As one of the four imperial cities of Morocco, nearby Meknes is well worth a visit. Despite a wealth of grand palaces and interesting Moorish-Spanish architecture, the city receives relatively few foreign visitors when compared to Fes, making for a pleasant environment to explore.
Meknes was actually once the capital of the ancient Moorish kingdom of Sultan Moulay Ismail in the 17th and 18th centuries, which stretched all the way into southern Spain. As the power centre of this enormous empire, Meknes served as home to both the Sultan and also to his grand army, with stables to accommodate thousands of horses.
Today, though the walls may be crumbling in places, the legacy from this period of prosperity for the city remains, with the grand palaces and former stables open for tourists to visit.
Perhaps the best way to experience the city’s sights is aboard one of the beautifully decorated horse carriages that ply their trade.
If dining out, Restaurant Baraka is located inside a family house and serves up traditional and delicious Moroccan food, in beautiful surroundings.
Although the major sights of the city can comfortably be visited within a day, for anyone wanting to stay for longer, Riad El Ma is located in a historic building and offers good sized rooms with private bathrooms. The guesthouse also boasts an outdoor swimming pool for the summer months.
Meknes is located approximately a 1 hour drive to the west of Fes.
Volubilis
Just north of Meknes sits the fascinating remains of the once-important Roman and Berber city of Volubilis.
The sprawling city remains were unfortunately largely flattened in the Lisbon earthquake of 1755, but efforts have been made since to gradually excavate and reconstruct portions of the city – work that continues to this day.
Visitors are now treated to a circular route to walk around the remains, with several of the significant reconstructed buildings and columns to view, as well as some well preserved floor mosaics.
Volubilis is particularly interesting from a historical perspective as some of these mosaics clearly show a mixture of both Berber and Roman design influences, pointing to an unusually extended period of cohabitation and cooperation between these peoples.
For those wanting a better insight into the history of the city, various guides are available for hire at the entrance of the site and are well worth their fee.
Be aware that the site is very exposed with little shade, so be sure to take appropriate precautions if visiting during the warmer months of the year.
Volubilis can be reached by driving for approximately 1½ hours west from Fes.
Sefrou and Bhalil
While there is perhaps not enough at either of these places to justify a visit to them on their own, their close proximity means that they can be combined for an interesting day trip.
Sefrou was known historically as Morocco’s city of tolerance – in large part due to its previously large Jewish population, who for hundreds of years lived mostly harmoniously alongside the city’s Berber and Arab residents.
Although now mostly all but gone, one Jewish legacy that remains is the knowledge of the production of silk buttons. These are still made in Sefrou today, in small cramped workshops and by groups of women occupying patches of shade all around the old city.
The finished articles are used to decorate the djellabas (the long hooded gowns) that are worn ubiquitously all over Morocco.
Just outside of Sefrou are the Sefrou Falls, a small waterfall that was popular with the first waves of French hippies that descended on Morocco.
It may not be the most impressive natural feature you’ll ever see, but it is worth the small extra drive to go and see.
A short detour off the road back to Fes, brings you to the hillside town of Bhalil, famous for its troglodyte houses dug into caves. These houses were originally constructed by nomad shepherds and have been passed down through generations since.
Nowadays, a modern town has been constructed over the top, largely hiding the hidden world underneath.
On entering the town, however, we were quickly approached by a local with an offer of a paid tour and visit to his own family cave house.
He was very welcoming and served us mint tea within his main cave, which as an experience was definitely something a bit different. In addition to visiting his cave, we also explored the town and admired the hilltop views.
A good thing about visiting Sefrou and Bhalil is that you definitely get a feeling of authentic Morocco.
There are very few other tourists or hassle from locals, making a nice change from the at times frantic atmosphere of Fes. The downside of fewer tourists, however, is a clear lack of investment in these towns.
The infrastructure is crumbling and poverty is clearly evident all around. Waste management (or lack of it) is also a big problem, with this whole area seemingly blighted by plastic and other rubbish strewn everywhere, which unfortunately does make these places a little depressing to visit.
Sefrou and Bhalil can both be reached in approximately 40 minutes, by driving south out of Fes.
In Summary
Fes is a wonderful city, full of colour and vibrancy. Exploring the cramped and covered, winding lanes of the old Medina is definitely something special to experience.
Despite being blighted at times by hassle and annoyances from some of the more unscrupulous locals, the city still deserves to rightly be one of the most visited locations in all of Morocco.
Surrounding the city, this wider region of the country is also home to several other places of interest for tourists.
Ancient Moorish palaces, Roman remains and all sorts of interesting cultural heritage remain in evidence. If staying in Fes for a few days, it is definitely worth the effort of venturing out of the city to discover everything else that is on offer.
About the Author
This article has been contributed by Rachel, from Children of Wanderlust, a family travel and parenting blog. Her love for Morocco comes from touring the country last year, in a vintage motorhome with her husband and 3 young children.
More reading on Morocco:
Off-The-Beaten-Path in Morocco
I recommend using SafetyWing Travel Insurance for your trip, just in case, it’s best to be prepared.
For an overall guidebook for Morocco take Lonely Planet Morocco.
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