| Page Views: 4,409 Last Visit to Fes: March, 2007 | A medieval city in Morocco by barryg23 - last update: May 10, 2007 |
The city of Fes is composed of three distinct parts.
Fes Ville Nouvelle is what most visitors to Fes first see, as the train and bus stations are located there, as well as most of the more expensive hotels and restaurants. The Ville Nouvelle was designed by the French colonisers, and it's layout is a traditional French model with wide boulevards and tree lined avenues.
Fes el-Bali, or the medina, the heart of Fes, now a UNESCO world heritage site, is what attracts most visitors to Fes. But the medina does not exist just for the tourists. It's a working city, where work continues in ways which have changed little for centuries. It has often been compared to a medieval city and indeed when you see the medina for the first time it can feel like you've been transported to the middle ages. Covering an area of 750 acres, with a population of over 150,000, Fes el-Bali contains over 10,000 streets, alleys and lanes.
Finally, there is Fes el-Jdid, between the Ville Nouvelle & the medina. Few tourists stop here though there are a couple of interesting things to see such as the Royal Palace & the old Jewish quarter. |
|  | Our brief visit to Fes I’ve visited Fes twice: first, back in 2005 on our first trip to Morocco, and more recently in 2007, when we started a two week visit here. On our first trip we were a little wary of the city (after having being led around Tangier by a faux guide) so we hired an official guide for a half-day tour before exploring on our own. Though tourists here do receive occasional hassle, it was nothing compared to Tangier, which we were glad to see the back of. If your time in Fes is limited a half day's tour is a good idea, especially as it can be difficult to find your way around the medina, and once you leave the main streets it's easy to get lost. On our most recent trip we explored the city, the medina especially, in much more depth. |
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| Pros: | "Historic medina" | | Cons: | "Occasional hassle from faux guides" | | In A Nutshell: | "Like stepping back in time" |
barryg23's Fes Travel Tips
 Comments for barryg23 about Fes | | | | |
hindu1936 Sun Jul 20, 2008 12:59 UTC
thanks for the good tips and in particular the ones about places to stay. Doesn't matter how nice a city is if you cant get a good nights sleep. Is there only one cafe at FEs station? | travolta159 Thu Jun 5, 2008 13:08 UTC
nice page greeting from Fes | oceania26 Fri Aug 17, 2007 18:42 UTC
Great tips...I enjoyed your stories...the mattress one made me laugh out loud..haha | JLBG Thu Mar 1, 2007 15:46 UTC
A very good page with even a glimpse to Fes El-Jdid ! I agree that Fes requires a guide but what is fine is to have a little more time and to stroll in the town without a guide on another day! |
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