Fez Walking Tour: 50 Free Video Stops

This Fez walking tour links 10 sights and 50 short video stops narrated by Clarissa, from the fortress above the medina to the Marinid Tombs on the opposite hill. The notes below turn those stops into practical day plans, with walking order, timing, transport, etiquette and the free sights worth knowing before you go. For official visitor information, also check Visit Morocco, the official site of the Moroccan National Tourist Office.

Route 1, the view and the Blue Gate (stops 1 and 2). Start early at Borj Nord, the 16th-century Saadian fortress on the hill north of the old city, for the first view over the roofs of Fes el Bali, the medina listed by UNESCO in 1981. Then walk or take a short taxi ride down to Bab Bou Jeloud, built in 1913. Its tiles are blue on the outside, the colour of Fez, and green on the inside, the colour of Islam. The videos take you from the square outside, through the arch and into the first lanes.

Route 2, the great street and the schools (stops 3 to 5). Just inside the gate, the Medersa Bou Inania, built in the 1350s by the Marinid sultan Abu Inan, is one of the few religious buildings in Fez that non-Muslims can enter, with carved cedar, stucco and zellij tilework around its courtyard. Follow Talaa Kebira, the main street of the medina, downhill past shops and the covered stretch, to the Al Attarine Madrasa near the spice market, a smaller Marinid college from the 1320s with some of the finest detail in the city.

Route 3, the heart of the medina (stops 6 to 8). From Al Attarine, it is a short walk to Al Qarawiyyin, founded in 859 by Fatima al-Fihri and often described as one of the oldest continuously working universities in the world. Then follow the leather quarter to the Chouara Tannery, where the dye pits are best seen from the terraces of the surrounding leather shops. Finish at Place Seffarine, the coppersmiths' square, where hammers ring around a small fountain beside the entrance to the Qarawiyyin library.

Route 4, the south gate and the tombs (stops 9 and 10). Walk down to Bab Rcif, the gate on the south side of the medina and a busy taxi and bus hub. From here, take a taxi up to the Marinid Tombs, 14th-century ruins on the hill north of the medina, near Borj Nord. They are the classic place to watch the sunset over the whole of the old city, with the calls to prayer rising from the minarets below.

If you only have one day, Routes 2 and 3 give the best Fez walking tour on foot, because the madrasas, the university, the tannery and Place Seffarine all sit along the same downhill line through the medina. A two-day Fez walking tour works well as Borj Nord and Routes 2 and 3 on day one, and a slower medina morning with the Marinid Tombs at sunset on day two.

Spring and autumn are the most comfortable seasons for a long Fez walking tour. Summers are often very hot inland, so walk in the morning and late afternoon and rest in the middle of the day. Winters are mild by day but cold at night, with some rain, and riads can be chilly. During Ramadan, many food stalls and some shops close during the day, while the medina fills with life after sunset.

The tannery is at its most colourful in the morning, when the pits are full and the work is under way. Friday is the main prayer day, so some shops in the medina close at midday, and the lanes around the mosques are busy. Check the opening days of the madrasas and the Borj Nord museum on official sources before your Fez walking tour, since smaller monuments can close for restoration.

Inside the medina there are no cars, so you walk everywhere, and mules and handcarts carry the goods. Outside the walls, red petit taxis are cheap and easy to find; ask the driver to use the meter. Bab Bou Jeloud at the top and Bab Rcif at the bottom are the two most useful taxi points, so a common plan is to taxi to the top and walk downhill through the medina.

Use the Map button at each stop to check walking time, but expect to get a little lost. The medina is a maze of thousands of lanes, many without signs, so download an offline map before your Fez walking tour and use the main streets, Talaa Kebira and Talaa Seghira, as your guide back to the Blue Gate.

Dress modestly: cover shoulders and knees, and bring a light scarf. Non-Muslims cannot enter working mosques or shrines, including Al Qarawiyyin and the Zaouia of Moulay Idriss II, but you can glimpse the courtyard of Al Qarawiyyin through its open doors. Ask before photographing people, and expect craftsmen and sellers to ask for a small tip for posing. When you hear “Balak!”, step aside quickly, because a loaded mule or cart is coming through.

For food, try pastilla, the sweet and savoury pie that Fez is famous for, harira soup with dates, and khlii, the preserved spiced meat of the city, often fried with eggs for breakfast. Bowls of snail soup are a popular street snack, and the food stalls near Bab Bou Jeloud are good for a quick meal. Mint tea is offered everywhere, and a small tip in cafés and restaurants is customary on a Fez walking tour.

Unofficial guides may approach you near the gates, offer directions, or tell you a lane is closed. Decline politely and keep walking, or hire a licensed guide through the tourist office or your riad, who will carry an official badge. At the tannery, shops let you up to their terraces and expect you to browse; you are free to say no. Bargaining is normal in the souks, so agree on a price before you buy.

The Moroccan dirham is a closed currency, so change only what you need, keep receipts and carry cash, since few medina shops take cards. Wear shoes with grip, because the lanes are steep and worn smooth, and carry water and a small torch for the darker covered passages in the evening.

Many stops cost nothing at all. Borj Nord's grounds, Bab Bou Jeloud, Talaa Kebira, the outside of Al Qarawiyyin, the tannery viewpoints, Place Seffarine, Bab Rcif and the Marinid Tombs are free to see. The Medersa Bou Inania and the Al Attarine Madrasa need tickets. That is why this free walking tour Fez visitors can start at any hour works well: the 50 videos are free, and you only pay for what you choose to enter.

Ticket prices and opening days change, so confirm them at each ticket desk or with the tourist office before your Fez walking tour. If you hire a guide, agree in advance on the price, the length of the walk and whether shop visits are included, so the day stays focused on the sights.

For accessibility, the Fez medina is one of the hardest old cities in the world for wheelchair users: the lanes are steep, narrow, uneven and often stepped, and there are no vehicles inside the walls. Visitors with limited mobility can still enjoy the views from Borj Nord and the Marinid Tombs by taxi, the square outside Bab Bou Jeloud, and a short, level stretch of the lanes just inside the gate.

When you finish this Fez walking tour, carry on with more free walks nearby: the Marrakech walking tour, the Tunis walking tour, the Seville walking tour, just across the Strait of Gibraltar in southern Spain, and the Madrid walking tour. You can browse every city on the Free City Tours home page.