Fez is one of those cities that simply refuses to be rushed. The medina — Fes el-Bali, the largest and oldest in the world, with more than nine thousand alleyways — was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1981, and walking through it still feels like stepping into a city that has been doing things its own way for well over a thousand years. Morocco's spiritual and cultural capital demands your full attention, and it will reward every moment you give it.
What to see in Fez
Nejjarine Square
Nejjarine Square is one of the medina's most photographed corners and earns that reputation without any fuss. Dating from the 18th century, it brings together Fez's oldest fountain, the carpenters' souk, an ornately decorated fondouk and the Nejjarine Museum — a tidy introduction to the artisan quarters that fan out beyond it.
Walls of the Medina of Fez
The ancient walls encircling Fes el-Bali are punctuated by several historic gateways that trace the city's long defensive history. Walking the perimeter gives a real sense of the medina's scale — something that's easy to lose once you're swallowed up by its narrower lanes.
Dar al-Magana (Water Clock House)
Beside the Bou Inania Madrasa stands this 12-windowed building, once home to a hydraulic clock that marked the hours using brass bowls. It's close to the Royal Palace entrance and easy to miss if you're not looking up — which, in Fez, is always worth doing.
Medersa Mesbahiya
One of Fez's largest Marinid madrasas, dating to the 14th century and recently restored, the Medersa Mesbahiya sits directly alongside the Al-Qarawiyyin Mosque. The quality of the tilework and carved plasterwork here is genuinely remarkable, even by the high standards set elsewhere in the medina.
Medersa Es Sahrij
Over in Fez's Andalusian quarter, this beautifully decorated 14th-century Marinid Quranic school is notable for the large ornamental pool at the centre of its inner courtyard. It sits slightly off the main tourist circuit, which makes it all the quieter for a proper look around.
Potters' Quarter
On the outskirts of the medina, the Potters' Quarter is where Fez's distinctive blue glazed ceramics, tiles and mosaics are still produced using ancestral techniques. You can watch the whole process — from raw clay to finished piece — without any pressure to buy, though most visitors find that hard to resist.
Jewish Cemetery of the Mellah
A historic cemetery of rounded white tombs in Fez's old Jewish quarter, the Mellah. It bears witness to centuries of Jewish life in the city and offers sweeping views across the medina rooftops — a quietly affecting spot that tends to stay with you long after you've left.
Borj Sur
An abandoned fortress set among olive trees on the southern hill above the city. Borj Sur provides the finest panoramic views of Fez from the south — a counterpart to Borj Nord in the north — and is far less visited, making it a genuinely worthwhile detour if you have the time.
Audio guide for Fez with Guipock
The medina of Fez is, by any measure, one of the more challenging cities to navigate independently. Streets that look identical fork in three directions; landmarks appear and disappear behind a wall of spice sacks or a passing cart loaded with leather. Having a reliable guide in your pocket makes a real difference — and that's precisely where the audio guide Fez on Guipock comes in.
The app uses a GPS-guided map that tracks your position as you move through the medina. When you reach a point of interest, Guipock notifies you so you can open the audio guide for that spot. There's no guesswork involved, no squinting at paper maps, and no need to look perpetually lost outside a 14th-century madrasa.
The audio itself is produced with high-quality generated audio across a wide range of languages and regional accents — British English, American English, Australian English, French, German, Spanish and more — so everyone in your group hears commentary in their own variant of their language. That matters more than it might seem when you're trying to explain the significance of a hydraulic clock to a curious ten-year-old.
Which brings us to two particularly useful features. The family code means a single purchase covers every member of the group, each listening on their own phone in their own language. And the children's mode adapts the same content — same route, same sites — into shorter, more accessible commentary pitched at younger visitors. No separate children's tour to book; it's built in.
The offline download is worth highlighting as well. Fez's medina is dense and the mobile signal can be patchy inside the older lanes. Download the full Fez audio guide app content over Wi-Fi before you set off — at the riad, say, or back at the hotel — and the GPS and audio work perfectly throughout the day without burning through mobile data or hunting for signal at every turn.