Fabulously Festive Fes

Itinerary – Fes

Day 1 (Arrival):
• Arrived from Chefchaouen
• Quick roadside tour of new Fes thanks to a few “wrong turns”
• Checked into a stunning riad where even the tiles are works of art
• Got a private whirlwind tour through the old medina, led like a donkey to market:
• Visited the tanneries, widows’ carpet market, Koran school, camel head butchers, and aloe silk spinners
• Saw the world’s oldest continuously operating university
• Explored the tomb of Fes’s founder, wet markets, herborists, woodworkers, and more
• Ended dazed and covered in spices, sweat, and awe

Day 2 (Friday, rest day):
• Started slow with a terrace breakfast
• Visited the Jewish Quarter (Mellah) and sat for an hour-long lecture in a historic synagogue
• Spoke about history, heritage, and language with the hotelier guide
• Stopped at a ceramics co-op, then a veterinary clinic for donkeys built by an American in the 1940s
• Strolled through Fes’s Royal Palace (gardens closed, but still regal)
• Returned for a swim in the hotel’s ornate pool…ripped swim trunks and all
• Slid across glazed tile like a wet-footed rhino

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🏨 Accommodation

Riad Rcif – A 14th-century palace turned into a luxurious labyrinth. Indoor pool with bronze lions, grand mosaic halls, and a rooftop that gives you a front-row seat to the call to prayer (and weddings). Staffed by helpful guides, attentive servers, and friendly faces.

🍽️ Food Recommendations
• Riad-cooked meals were fantastic
• Sardonic dinner scenes featuring:

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📌 Tips
• Get a guide—it’s a sensory overload otherwise
• Ignore the “Ali Baba” jokes unless they come with good food or a bargain
• “La shukran” = survival
• Fes is steeped in tradition. Every alley holds a story, every rooftop has a stork, and every spice stall hides a history lesson
• Watch your step. And your stomach.