Fez is a northeastern Moroccan city often referred to as the country’s cultural capital. It’s famous for the walled medina, with medieval Marinid architecture. The souks are vibrant, atmosphere is old-world and the smells are pungent. An intermingling of religious schools, elaborate architecture, ornate details, endless color palettes– a sensory overload experience!

EXPERIENCE

We arrived late to Fez and were told by our driver that there would not be much evening action in the Medina. We relaxed in the Riad for the evening then got an early start with a local guide to see some overviews of the city at a lookout. We did not have time to hit Palais El Mokri and Palais El Glaoui but would be sure to check those out on a future visit. The next stop was a local ceramics shop where we saw how the tagines, bowls and platters are made and glazed.

The MedinART Gallery and Atelier de Brocart are meant to be lovely places to take in the local art as well. From here we ventured further into the Medina to see kilim rugs, tanneries, silks and other locally made textiles. The processes and final output from these crafts is simply stunning. This is one of the best shopping countries I have found in all my travels. The market is bustling with food vendors as well as spice sellers and argan oil makers. This is a great place to stock up on saffron and mint teas. For me, Fez was the highlight of Morocco and I felt we had a great sampling of what Morocco uniquely has to offer here.

STAY

We only spent one night in Fez and we stayed at Riad Dar Cordoba. While the service at this riad was slightly less impressive than our stay at the Riad in Marrakech, the interior was lovely and accommodations were very clean. Here we were welcomed in a slightly more disorganized fashion and presented with the customary mint tea but with no cookies, haha. While our stay here was short, I’d recommend this riad to others but would not insist on it, I’m sure there are many other fantastic options in the area.

EAT

While in Fez, we actually skipped dinner after a long car ride on account of two earlier meals and preference for a bottle of red wine in the room. On our full day in the city we ate breakfast at the hotel which is standard and then explored the Medina and grabbed some snacks there. Had we had more time, we would have checked out Eden, Nur, The Ruined Garden or Barrada Family Restaurant in Fes based on recommendations.

The cuisine in Fez seems similar to what I described in my Marrakech post with a large focus on tagine and meat skewers with breads and salads.