Marrakech or Fes — which city should you visit first?

Travellers usually have to pick one. They are both imperial cities with UNESCO-listed medinas, but they reward completely different visits.

Choose Marrakech if you want energy and variety

Marrakech is the Red City, and it is the more theatrical of the two. Jemaa el-Fna fills every evening with musicians, food stalls and crowds. Around it sit the Bahia Palace, the Saadian Tombs, the Koutoubia minaret, the Majorelle Garden and the Menara pool.

Its real advantage is what surrounds it. The Ourika Valley in the Atlas foothills is about an hour away, and Essaouira on the Atlantic is a comfortable day trip. You can have a city, a mountain and an ocean in the same week.

Choose Fes if you want depth

Fes is older, quieter and more serious. Its medina is among the largest in the world, and the Al Quaraouiyine mosque and university is considered one of the oldest still-operating universities anywhere. The tanneries still work the way they have for centuries.

Marrakech is the city people fall in love with. Fes is the city people come back to.

How we handle each

Our Marrakech programme bases you in the city with excursions out. Our northern programme gives Fes two full days, reached through Meknes and the Roman ruins at Volubilis, then continues to Chefchaouen and the coast.