Fez Medina and Royal Palace Walking Tour

Your Experience

Explore Fez on a full-day guided tour that combines city exteriors, historic interiors, and an in-depth walk through the ancient Medina.

Getting started

Begin your full-day tour with hotel or riad pickup in a comfortable air-conditioned vehicle, with your driver and expert guide ready to lead the day. After a short city drive, you reach the Royal Palace area to start exploring Fez from the outside. Your guide then brings you to the edge of the historic Medina to continue on foot through its narrow streets.

What to expect

Royal Palace exterior and panoramic viewpoint

Your first main stop focuses on Fez from the outside, with a look at key monuments and an overview of the city layout.

Features

• At the Royal Palace exterior, you stop at the impressive golden gates, one of Fez's most photographed landmarks, and learn about the role of this complex in the city's history.

• A panoramic viewpoint over Fez Medina gives you wide views of one of the world's largest and best-preserved medieval cities, helping you understand how the different quarters fit together before you go inside.

• Travel between these outside viewpoints in a comfortable air-conditioned vehicle with your driver, as your professional guide explains how this full-day tour balances exteriors and interiors.

Jewish Quarter Mellah

From the palace area, you move into the historic Jewish Quarter, known as the Mellah.

Features

• Walking through the Mellah, you see distinct architecture and street layout while your guide explains the quarter's Jewish heritage and how it fits into Fez's identity as Morocco's spiritual and cultural capital.

• This stop is part of the city exteriors section of your full-day itinerary, giving you context for the communities that have shaped Fez over centuries.

• Your expert guide is with you throughout, answering questions and helping you navigate between the Mellah and the entrance to the old Medina.

Historic Medina: Al-Attarine Madrasa, Al Quaraouiyine University and souks

You then enter the historic Medina for the interior part of the experience, following a guided walking route through its busy lanes.

Features

• At Al-Attarine Madrasa, your guide leads you to admire its zellige mosaics and carved cedar wood, highlighting why this religious school is considered one of Fez's most refined examples of Marinid architecture.

• Near the University of Al Quaraouiyine, recognized as the world's oldest continuously operating university, you pause at the best exterior viewpoints while your guide explains its educational role and religious significance.

• Along the way, you wander through vibrant souks, meeting local artisans and seeing centuries-old craftsmanship in metalwork, textiles, and wood as part of your guided walking tour of the historic Medina.

• The full-day tour structure lets you move between interiors like Al-Attarine Madrasa and bustling commercial streets without worrying about navigation, since your professional guide manages the route.

Nejjarine Museum of Wooden Arts & Crafts

Deeper inside the Medina, you arrive at the Nejjarine Museum area, dedicated to woodwork.

Features

• From the exterior and interior viewpoints around the Nejjarine Museum of Wooden Arts & Crafts, you can appreciate its elegant architecture and the traditional wooden details that give the building its character.

• Your guide explains how wooden arts and crafts have long been central to Fez's artisan economy, connecting what you see here to the broader network of workshops in the Medina.

• This stop is included in your full-day itinerary alongside Al-Attarine Madrasa and Al Quaraouiyine University, so you cover several key cultural institutions in one visit.

Moulay Idriss II Mausoleum

The route also takes you to the area around the Mausoleum of Moulay Idriss II, a major religious landmark.

Features

• At the Moulay Idriss II Mausoleum, considered one of Morocco's holiest sites, you view the complex from permitted exterior vantage points while your guide shares historical context about the city's patron figure.

• Non-Muslim visitors cannot enter the interior, so your guide focuses on architecture, rituals, and the Mausoleum's role in Fez's spiritual life from outside viewpoints.

• This visit to the Mausoleum of Moulay Idriss II is combined with other religious and educational stops to give you a rounded sense of Fez as a spiritual and cultural capital.

Traditional tannery and artisan workshops

Later in the Medina, the focus shifts to living craftsmanship, including the oldest and most famous leather tannery.

Features

• At the traditional tannery, you observe the pools and work areas where leather is processed with age-old techniques, learning how hides are treated, dyed, and prepared before reaching the shops.

• Your guide introduces you to artisan workshops, where you see local artisans at work on leather, wood, and other materials, connecting these spaces back to places like the Nejjarine Museum of Wooden Arts & Crafts.

• This part of the full-day tour emphasizes the "inside" of Fez's economic life, complementing the earlier exterior city viewpoints.

Souks and free time

The final part of your day allows you to explore the commercial heart of the Medina in more depth.

Features

• You walk through traditional souks, with your guide pointing out sections dedicated to different trades so you can focus on what interests you most, from textiles to metalwork.

• Built-in free time for photos and shopping lets you slow down, revisit favorite stalls, or capture the atmosphere of the Medina without a fixed schedule.

• The day concludes with hotel or riad drop-off in your air-conditioned vehicle, wrapping up your full-day tour of Fez city exteriors and interiors with a direct return to your accommodation.