Family destination · Fes, Morocco

Morocco Family Trip in Fes: The Medina with Kids

Fes feels like a city from a storybook: thousands of narrow lanes, donkeys carrying goods and craftsmen working as they did centuries ago. With a good family guide, children see it as a giant adventure.

Fly into: Fes-Saïss airport (FEZ), about 30 minutes from the medina
From Marrakech: About 7 hours by road, or a day through the Middle Atlas
Best time: March to June and September to November
Stay: 2 to 3 nights

Why families love Fes

Fes el-Bali is one of the largest car-free medieval cities in the world. There are no cars inside, only people, mules and donkeys, which children find fascinating. Every street has a workshop: weavers, coppersmiths, potters and leather workers.

Things to do with kids

See the colourful tannery pits from a terrace (take mint leaves for the smell)
Watch the coppersmiths hammer in Seffarine square
Try a pottery or mosaic workshop
The golden gates of the Royal Palace
The Blue Gate, Bab Boujloud
Sunset over the city from the Merinid tombs

Day trips from Fes

Chefchaouen, the blue town in the Rif mountains (better with one night)
Volubilis, Roman ruins with mosaics, and Moulay Idriss
Meknes and its huge gates
The cedar forest near Azrou and its Barbary macaques

Tip: Fes is a great place to end a Sahara trip. The drive from Merzouga crosses the cedar forest, where children can see wild monkeys.

Keeping it easy

Use a baby carrier rather than a pushchair, keep a card with your riad's number in each child's pocket, and step aside when you hear "balak!": a donkey is coming.