Solo travel in Fes – how to enjoy Morocco's oldest medina on your own

Is Fes good for solo travel?

Fes is a wonderful city for solo travellers who enjoy history and craftsmanship. It feels less commercial than Marrakech, the pace is a little slower and there is a real sense of everyday life going on around the visitors: children carrying bread to the communal oven, students heading to class, artisans at work in tiny workshops.

The challenge is the medina itself. Fes el-Bali has thousands of winding lanes, many of them dead ends, and online maps are not always reliable. Getting lost is part of the experience, but it also makes you a target for people offering to show you the way.

Who Fes suits

• Culture lovers interested in madrasas, crafts and Islamic architecture.
• Food travellers, as Fes is known as one of Morocco's great kitchens.
• Solo travellers on the classic route, arriving from the Sahara or by train from Marrakech or Tangier.
• Slower travellers happy to spend hours in a riad courtyard or on a roof terrace.

Most solo travellers find that one guided morning makes all the difference. Once you know the two main streets and a few landmarks, exploring alone becomes enjoyable rather than stressful.

Things to do in Fes alone

Fes is best explored slowly, one area at a time, with plenty of tea stops in between.

In the old medina

Enter through Bab Bou Jeloud and follow Talaa Kebira downhill, stopping at the Bou Inania Madrasa. Continue to the Al-Attarine Madrasa and the doors of Al-Qarawiyyin, then on to Seffarine Square and the Chouara Tannery. The Nejjarine Museum is a peaceful place to rest, and its rooftop has good views.

Experiences that suit solo travellers

• A guided half day with a licensed guide to learn the layout of Fes el-Bali.
• A craft workshop, such as weaving, zellige mosaic or calligraphy, often in small groups.
• A cooking class that starts with shopping in a neighbourhood market.
• A local hammam, as Fes still has many traditional bathhouses used by residents.
• Sunset at the Merenid Tombs or Borj Nord for a panorama of the whole medina.

Beyond the old walls

Fes el-Jdid, the 13th-century royal town, has the Royal Palace gates and the Mellah. The Ville Nouvelle, built in the French period, has wide avenues and cafés, a good change of scene if the medina gets intense. The Dar Batha museum, near Bab Bou Jeloud, shows Fes ceramics, embroidery and woodwork.

Where to stay in Fes as a solo traveller

Your choice in Fes is between the old medina, with its riads and hostels, and the Ville Nouvelle, with modern hotels and easier transport.

Fes el-Bali

For atmosphere, stay in a riad or hostel inside the old medina. The area around Bab Bou Jeloud is the most practical for solo travellers: taxis can reach the gate, there are cafés and small shops, and the main streets start here. Riads near Bab Guissa or Bab Ftouh, on the other side of the medina, are often quieter and some have wonderful rooftop views.

Fes riads can be deep in the lanes, so check how far yours is from a gate where taxis stop and whether staff will meet you there. Many hostels near the Blue Gate have rooftop terraces and shared dinners, which make meeting people easy.

Ville Nouvelle

The new town is calmer, flatter and close to the train station, with supermarkets and international-style cafés. It suits travellers who prefer to visit the medina by day and return to a quieter base at night; a petit taxi to the old gates is quick.

Arriving and getting around

Fes station is in the Ville Nouvelle, with trains to Meknes, Rabat, Casablanca, Marrakech and Tangier. Fes-Saïss Airport is a short drive south. Red petit taxis cover the city; ask for the meter. Inside Fes el-Bali everything is on foot, and porters with carts can carry luggage to your door.

Is Fes safe for solo female travellers?

Many women travel to Fes alone and find it friendlier and less pushy than Marrakech. Serious crime against visitors is rare, but the medina has its own set of small hassles, mostly linked to people offering directions or guiding services. Read your government's latest travel advice before travelling.

Common situations

• Faux guides: young men may follow you, insist you are lost or tell you the tannery is closed. A calm, firm no thank you and walking on usually ends it.
• Tannery visits: the terraces belong to leather shops; you are free to look and leave, though a small tip to the person who shows you up is normal.
• Dead ends: if a lane goes quiet and empty, turn back towards a busier street.

Practical tips for women

Dress modestly, carry your riad's card and save its location offline. Hire a licensed guide through your accommodation for the first day rather than accepting offers on the street. If you need directions, ask a shopkeeper, a woman or a family.

The medina becomes very quiet after the shops close, usually in the early evening, and lanes can be dark. Plan to be back at your riad by then, or ask staff to walk you to and from dinner. Many riads serve dinner on request, which is an easy and safe option for solo travellers, and some hostels organise shared meals.

Friday midday is quieter in the souks, as many shops close for prayers.

Fes food to try on your own

Fes is famous across Morocco for its cooking, which blends Arab, Andalusian and Amazigh traditions. Eating alone is easy at the small counters and stalls along Talaa Kebira and Talaa Seghira.

Dishes to try in Fes

• Pastilla: the city's signature dish, a flaky pastry filled with pigeon or chicken, almonds and spices, dusted with sugar and cinnamon. There are also seafood versions.
• Bissara: a thick soup of dried split fava beans with olive oil and cumin, a cheap and filling breakfast sold from tiny stalls.
• Khlii: spiced dried meat preserved in fat, often cooked with eggs for breakfast.
• Snail soup and grilled kefta from evening street vendors.
• Fes pastries such as kaab el ghazal, crescent-shaped almond biscuits, and sticky chebakia.

Markets to browse

The food lanes near Bab Bou Jeloud are full of olive sellers, butchers, bread stalls and stands frying fresh doughnuts. The spice and herb stalls around the Al-Attarine area are fascinating to explore. In the Ville Nouvelle, the central market is a calmer place to see fresh produce.

Many solo travellers eat lunch at the stalls and dinner in their riad, where home-style tagines are cooked to order. A food walk or cooking class is the best way to try pastilla, khlii and Fes sweets in one go.

Day trips from Fes

Fes is a good base for exploring northern and central Morocco, and shared or private day trips make the most of a short stay.

• Meknes: another imperial city, around an hour away by train, with the monumental Bab Mansour gate, the royal granaries and a smaller, easier medina.
• Volubilis: the best-preserved Roman site in Morocco, with mosaic floors and a triumphal arch in open countryside. Often combined with Meknes.
• Moulay Idriss Zerhoun: a holy town on two hills near Volubilis, important in Moroccan history, with fine views from the terraces.
• Ifrane and Azrou: the Middle Atlas, with Ifrane's Alpine-style houses and the cedar forest near Azrou, where Barbary macaques live.
• Sefrou: a small walled town with a quiet medina and a waterfall, a gentle half day from Fes.

Chefchaouen is around four hours away by road, so it is better as a one or two-night stay than a day trip. Fes is also the usual starting or finishing point for desert trips to Merzouga, a long drive of around seven to eight hours each way, best done over at least three days.

Check the driving time and whether a guide is included at sites like Volubilis, where explanations bring the ruins to life.

How many days in Fes? A 1, 2 and 3-day itinerary

Two to three days is ideal for Fes. One day covers the main medina sights, two lets you explore at a gentler pace, and three adds a day trip.

One day in Fes

• Morning: a guided walk from Bab Bou Jeloud to the Bou Inania Madrasa, Al-Attarine Madrasa, Al-Qarawiyyin and Chouara Tannery.
• Afternoon: the Nejjarine Museum and Seffarine Square, then rest at your riad.
• Evening: sunset at the Merenid Tombs and dinner in your riad.

Two days in Fes

• Day 1: as above.
• Day 2: Fes el-Jdid, the Royal Palace gates and Mellah in the morning, Jnan Sbil Garden and the Dar Batha museum in the afternoon, and a hammam before dinner.

Three days in Fes

• Days 1–2: as above.
• Day 3: a day trip to Meknes and Volubilis, or a morning cooking class and an afternoon craft workshop.

Whatever the length of your stay, keep the hottest hours for rest and save the souks for morning and late afternoon. From Fes, many travellers continue to Chefchaouen, take the train north to Tangier or west to Rabat, or head south across the Middle Atlas to the Sahara.

Fes group tours for solo travellers

Fes is a key stop on most group trips in Morocco, usually arriving from the Sahara or leaving for it. For solo travellers, it is one of the places where being part of a group helps the most.

Why a group helps in Fes

A group visit almost always includes a licensed local guide for the medina, which saves time, explains the history behind the madrasas and crafts, and means you are not followed by unofficial guides. Shared dinners in a riad replace eating alone in a medina that goes quiet early, and the long drives to the desert are far easier with company.

What to look for

• Guided time in Fes el-Bali of at least half a day.
• Free time afterwards to return to places you liked on your own.
• Riad location: ideally close to a gate, so evenings out are easy.
• Group style: trips aimed at women, older travellers, families or culture lovers.
• Room sharing: whether solo travellers can share with someone of the same gender or have their own room.

If you prefer to travel independently, a shared food walk or day trip to Volubilis is an easy way to meet other travellers in Fes without committing to a full tour.