Dar Mnebhi (Mnebhi Palace), Fes

This early-20th-century palace in the middle of Fes’s Old Medina has a résumé far more dramatic than its calm courtyards suggest. This is where the 1912 Treaty of Fes was signed, the document that placed Morocco under French colonial rule—so yes, big history, quietly sealed behind carved doors. The palace was commissioned between 1900 and 1908 by Mehdi Mnebhi, defense minister to Sultan Abdelaziz, and built along Tala’a Seghira, one of the Medina’s busiest souq streets. Mnebhi clearly liked to build on a grand scale—he also financed another palace that now houses the Marrakech Museum.

Once completed, the building quickly moved from private ambition to political spotlight. Having served as the first residence of the French resident-general Lyautey, it then shifted role as the headquarters of Morocco’s Independence Party. Few buildings in Fes have hosted such opposing chapters of power: colonial administration on the one hand, nationalist resistance on the other. These days, the palace has softened its tone and reinvented itself as a restaurant, where mint tea replaces political negotiations and the rooftop delivers wide views over the Medina’s rooftops.

On the inside, the architecture does all the talking. The main reception hall opens dramatically, crowned by a high wooden dome supported by four imposing columns. A large wall fountain draws the eye, covered in finely detailed zellij mosaic tiles that shimmer as the light shifts. On either side of the hall, two richly decorated rooms echo the same craftsmanship, layered with carved plaster, painted wood, and patterned tilework.

Once a place where treaties were signed and movements were organized, today, it hosts conversations drifting lazily over tea. Pause here for a moment—history doesn’t always announce itself loudly, but in this palace, it’s everywhere you look.