Audio Guide: Fes Old Town Walking Tour (Self Guided), Fes

Fes-also known as Fez-is an ancient Moroccan city gathered around the Fes River like it’s been holding a long, serious conversation for over a thousand years. People have called it the “Mecca of the West” and the “Athens of Africa,” which is a lot of pressure for one place.

Its story began in 789, when Idris I-an Arab emir and founder of the Idrisid dynasty-established the city, which his son, Idris II, later expanded. After that, Fes did what long-lived cities do: pass through successive ruling dynasties. The Marinids rose in the 13th century and left a major architectural stamp, followed by the Wattasids and Saadis, and then the Alaouite dynasty, which ruled until the French protectorate began in 1912.

The city's name comes with footnotes. The Arabic “Fas” gave rise to “Fez” or “Fes,” but nobody fully agrees on where Fas itself came from. One popular tradition links it to fas, which means “pickaxe,” with stories about Idris I or his builders using a special pickaxe during construction. Other theories point to the regional words that mean something like “ruins” or “wide plain.” Basically, the etymology is still open for debate, so feel free to enjoy the mystery.

Today, Fez is usually described in two parts: Medina (or the Old Town), incorporating the historic quarters of Fes el-Bali and Fes Jdid; and Ville Nouvelle (the New Town), developed in the French colonial period, with a more modern, cosmopolitan feel.

But the real pulse of the city is Fes el-Bali, the UNESCO-listed district that still runs on its own medieval logic. Many people enter it through the so-called Blue Gate, and then immediately discover that “maze” is not a metaphor here. Inside are markets, mosques, synagogues, hammams, and various schools, stitched together by daily life.

Here, Dar Batha Museum and the Mnebhi Palace showcase art and craftsmanship, while places like Nejjarine Museum of Wooden Arts and Crafts, the Schools of the Rope Makers and Perfumers, the Kairaouine Mosque and University, Al-Attarine Spice Market, Seffarine and R’cif Squares, the Chouara Tannery, Water Clock, and Bou Inania Seminary make one thing clear: faith, learning, and working trades are not museum pieces in the Old Town-they still shape its daily life.

So, don’t treat Fes like a quick stop between cocktails and a souvenir shop. Give it time. Let it pull you off your neat plan, let it surprise you, and let it stay a little complicated. Walk slowly, listen closely, follow the scents of spice and leather, and allow the city to unfold in layers. Old Fes doesn’t perform for visitors-it continues being itself. Your job is simply to show up properly.