The experience
Fes is the intellectual and spiritual capital of Morocco. Its medina, Fes el-Bali, is a UNESCO World Heritage site and the largest car-free urban area in the world. Witness the ancient craft of tanning at the Chouara Tannery, admire the intricate tilework of Al-Attarine Madrasa, and step back in time through its narrow, winding alleys.
Now in Fes
27°C
Ciel dégagé
Best time to visit
April–June & September–October
Spring and early autumn balance comfortable walking temperatures in the medina with lower flood risk than winter rains.
Mid-summer is hot for long medina walks; mid-winter nights are cool and rain is more common.
Five moments that shape the city — from Almohad heritage to its modern luxury chapter.
Step inside the courtyard of the world's oldest continuously operating university, founded in 859 by Fatima al-Fihri — a female scholar whose vision shaped centuries of learning.
UNESCO and Guinness World Records recognize Al-Qarawiyyin as the oldest existing, continually operating educational institution on Earth.
Wander through the finest Merinid madrasa in Morocco — zellij mosaics, carved cedar, and stucco calligraphy form a jewel of 14th-century Islamic architecture.
Built between 1350 and 1355 by Sultan Abu Inan Faris, it is one of the few religious buildings in Fes that non-Muslims are allowed to enter.
Climb to a leather-shop terrace for the iconic view of Chouara's honeycomb of dye pits — a craft practiced here, unchanged, for more than a thousand years.
The tanners still use natural ingredients — pigeon droppings, cow urine, saffron, poppy, and indigo — exactly as they did in medieval Fes.
Pass through the emblematic western entrance to the medina, its cobalt-blue tilework (Fes's colour) facing out, and vivid green (Islam's colour) facing in.
The gate as you see it today was actually built by the French in 1913 — a faithful Moorish-revival reconstruction beside the original 12th-century Almohad gateway.
Lose yourself in the largest car-free urban area on the planet — a labyrinth of over nine thousand lanes, souks, fondouks, and hidden riads listed by UNESCO.
Fes el-Bali has been a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1981, recognised as the most complete medieval Islamic city still in use today.
