Fes City Tour & Medina Walk with a Licensed Guide
The Royal Palace gates, the Mellah, the Merenid viewpoint and the madrasas, souks and tanneries of Fes el-Bali with a licensed guide
Tour Overview
This Fes city tour is a private, half-day tour of about 5 hours with a guide licensed by the Ministry of Tourism. A car takes you to the Royal Palace gates, the Mellah and the viewpoint by the Merenid Tombs, then you walk through Fes el-Bali, the car-free medina listed by UNESCO, to the Bou Inania and Al Attarine madrasas, the Al Qarawiyyin mosque and the Chouara tannery.
Fes el-Bali has thousands of lanes and few signs, and unlicensed guides wait at every gate. A licensed guide carries a numbered badge, keeps you on the route you agreed, and only takes you into shops if you ask.
- Route: Royal Palace (Dar el-Makhzen) → Mellah → Merenid Tombs viewpoint → Bab Bou Jeloud → Bou Inania Madrasa → Talaa Kebira → Al Attarine Madrasa → Al Qarawiyyin → Seffarine Square → Chouara tannery
- Length: about 5 hours, starting at around 09:00
- Start and end: pickup and drop-off at your riad or hotel in Fes
- Group: private, just your group and your guide
- Price: from $45 per person, based on two travellers sharing. Entrance fees are paid at each monument. Prices are indicative: the final price is set once the tour is personalised.
- Good to know: non-Muslims cannot enter the mosques, including Al Qarawiyyin, but your guide shows you the courtyard through the main doors. The madrasas are open to everyone.
- Customisable: extend to a full day, add a cooking class or a pottery workshop.
Highlights
Royal Palace gates: See the brass doors and tilework of Dar el-Makhzen in Fes Jdid.
Merenid Tombs viewpoint: Look over the whole of Fes el-Bali from the hill above the medina.
Bou Inania Madrasa: Step into the 14th-century Marinid school with carved cedar, stucco and zellige.
Al Qarawiyyin: See the mosque and university founded in 859 by Fatima al-Fihri.
Seffarine Square: Listen to the coppersmiths hammering pots in the square.
Chouara tannery: Look down on the dye pits from a terrace above the oldest tannery in Fes.
Why Choose a Private Tour?
Detailed Itinerary
The Journey
"Your guide and driver collect you at around 09:00. You start in Fes Jdid, the Marinid royal city, at the gates of Dar el-Makhzen, then walk through the Mellah, the old Jewish quarter, with its balconied houses."
The Journey
"The car takes you up to the ruins of the Merenid Tombs on the hill north of the medina, for the view over the rooftops, minarets and green tiles of Fes el-Bali."
The Journey
"You enter the medina through Bab Bou Jeloud, the Blue Gate. Visit the Bou Inania Madrasa, then walk down Talaa Kebira, the main street of the medina, past food stalls, workshops and fondouks."
The Journey
"Continue to the Al Attarine Madrasa and the doors of Al Qarawiyyin, then to Seffarine Square, where coppersmiths work in the open. The tour ends on a terrace above the Chouara tannery. Viewing from the leather shops is free and you do not have to buy. Your guide walks you back to the car or to your riad."
Trip Logistics & Comfort: What to Expect
Hotel Pickup
Your driver collects you at your riad or hotel in Fes. The tour usually starts at around 09:00.
Your Pickup Vehicle
Your Licensed Guide
"A licensed guide takes you where you want to go, not where a shop pays commission."
Transparent Pricing & Inclusions
The price covers your licensed guide for about 5 hours and the car for the sights outside the medina walls. Entrance fees are paid at each monument.
What is Included
- Licensed City GuideEnglish-speaking guide licensed by the Ministry of Tourism, for your group only.
- Car and DriverFor the Royal Palace, the Mellah and the Merenid viewpoint, with pickup and drop-off at your hotel.
- Experiences
- • Royal Palace gates and the Mellah.
- • Merenid Tombs viewpoint.
- • Bou Inania and Al Attarine madrasas.
- • Al Qarawiyyin and Seffarine Square.
- • Chouara tannery terrace.
What is Not Included
- Entrance FeesBou Inania and Al Attarine madrasas, paid at the door.
- Lunch & DrinksYour guide can recommend a restaurant in the medina.
- TipsDiscretionary tips for your guide and driver.
Booking, Payment and Cancellation
- Price basis
- Prices are per person, based on two travellers sharing. Larger groups pay less per person; a solo traveller pays more. The final price is confirmed in your written quote.
- Currency
- Tour prices are in US dollars. Meals, entrance fees and tips during the trip are paid in Moroccan dirhams (MAD).
- Deposit and balance
- A 15% deposit confirms the booking (PayPal, bank transfer or credit card). The balance is paid on arrival in Morocco.
- Cancellation
- Tell us in writing. Your deposit is fully refundable.
- Travel insurance
- Required, covering medical expenses, emergency repatriation and personal liability.
Full details: booking terms and how tour prices work.
Questions About This Tour
Some of the best sights are outside the medina walls: the Royal Palace gates in Fes Jdid, the Mellah and the view over the whole city from the Merenid Tombs. The car covers those, so your time on foot is spent in Fes el-Bali.
Non-Muslims cannot enter the mosques, including Al Qarawiyyin, but your guide shows you the courtyard through the main doors. The Bou Inania and Al Attarine madrasas are open to everyone.
$45 is per person, based on two travellers sharing. It covers your licensed guide for about 5 hours and the car and driver for the sights outside the walls, with pickup and drop-off at your riad or hotel. Entrance fees to the madrasas, lunch and tips are extra.
No. You view the Chouara tannery from the terraces of the leather shops around it, and there is no obligation to buy.
The tour starts at around 09:00 all year. March to May and September to November are the most comfortable months for walking; in July and August the morning is the best part of the day.
Tour Details
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