City · The Spiritual Capital
Fes
Hire a licensed local guide for one day. You will not find the tanneries alone, and you should not try.
Fès holds the world's largest car-free medina — 9,000 alleys where tanners still work pits as they did a thousand years ago, and the call to prayer echoes off walls that pre-date the printing press. It is Morocco's intellectual and spiritual heart, and it does not perform for tourists.
A short history
Founded in 789, Fès grew into the Islamic world's great centre of learning — Al-Qarawiyyin, founded in 859, is the oldest continuously operating university on Earth. The medina, Fès el-Bali, has barely changed in 1,200 years and is a UNESCO World Heritage site in its entirety.
The editor's guidance
Best for
- Culture lovers
- Slow travellers
Reconsider if
- Navigating without a guide
The ledger
- Tier
- UNESCO · GOLD
- Match
- 92/100
- Best season
- Mar–May · Oct–Nov
- Why shown
- Editorial flagship · Written by the UseMorocco editors