Where to Stay in Fez: Medina Riads vs the New Town

Where should you stay in Fez?

On a first visit, stay in a riad inside Fès el-Bali close to a gate that taxis can reach; Bab Boujloud and the Batha side are the easiest. Pick Fès Jdid for a calmer medina edge, the Ville Nouvelle for cars and chain hotels, and Route d’Imouzzer for pools, families and space.

Fez is really three towns. Fès el-Bali, the walled medina, was founded by the Idrisids between 789 and 808 and had reached roughly its present size by the Almohad period; the Merinids then built Fès Jdid to the west in 1276, with the royal palace inside it, according to UNESCO’s World Heritage listing. The 20th-century Ville Nouvelle lies beyond both, with wide avenues, traffic and most of the international chain hotels.

Where you sleep decides how every day starts. Inside Fès el-Bali you are on foot: a riad deep in the medina means walking in with your bags and walking out for every taxi, while a new-town hotel means a ride each time you want the old city. UNESCO notes that the medina’s unpaved urban space still keeps most of its original functions, which is both the charm and the logistical catch.

Use this page to choose the area, then shortlist properties on our Fez hotels page and the Fez destination guide. Read it alongside the best time to visit Fez, because a July stay and a January stay call for very different rooms.

How do the main areas of Fez compare?

Seven bases cover almost every Fez trip. Bab Boujloud and Batha balance medina atmosphere with taxi access; the Qarawiyyin core and the Andalous bank are the most immersive but hardest with luggage; Fès Jdid is calmer; the Ville Nouvelle and Route d’Imouzzer trade atmosphere for parking, lifts, pools and space.

Fez has no metro or tram, so the getting-around column below is about where a petit taxi can drop you and how far you then walk. The FCDO’s Morocco safety advice says to agree a fare in advance or check that the meter is used, warns that petits taxis often pick up other passengers, and notes that many cars booked through ride-hailing apps may be unregulated and unlicensed.

Price feel is relative rather than a quote. A small room in a well-placed riad can cost more than a larger room in the new town, and festival or holiday weeks move every column at once. Compare the final total, including any city tax and fees, before you pay.

Is Bab Boujloud a good base in Fez?

Yes, for a first visit. Bab Boujloud is the medina’s best-known western gate, taxis can reach it, and the Bou Inania medersa is a few minutes inside. You trade some quiet for that convenience: the gate square is the busiest spot for touts, cafés and evening crowds, so ask for a room off the main lane.

Bou Inania, the most celebrated of the city’s medersas, stands near Bab Boujloud and is the first stop on the classic medina circuit, which continues to the restored Cherratine and Attarine medersas, according to a 2022 Hespress and AFP report on the restored medersas. Founded in the 14th century and named after the Merinid sultan Abu Inan Faris, it was rehabilitated from 2017 and still houses students.

Two main lanes, Talaa Kebira and Talaa Seghira, run downhill from the gate towards the centre of the medina, so a riad near the top of either gives you a simple line home at night and an easy meeting point for drivers and guides.

The drawback is attention. The FCDO says it is common for people posing as official tourist guides to harass tourists, and that any guide you use in a medina should have an official badge and permission from the local authority. Arranging a pickup at the gate with your riad, and booking any guide in advance, avoids most of those conversations.

Should you stay deep in the medina or on the Andalous bank?

Stay deep in Fès el-Bali if you want the medersas and the Qarawiyyin quarter on your doorstep and are happy to walk everywhere, ideally with someone to carry bags. The Andalous bank, across the valley, is quieter and more residential, with fewer visitor services. Both feel very empty after dark, which matters for late arrivals.

UNESCO explains that the original town was two fortified quarters on either side of the Fez wadi, the banks of the Andalous and of the Kairouanais, until the Almoravids enclosed them in a single wall in the 11th century. The Qarawiyyin mosque, at the heart of the western bank, dates from 859 and is inseparable from the university around it (UNESCO; Hespress).

The upside is atmosphere: the medersas, the souqs and the call to prayer are all within a few minutes. The downside is distance and darkness. Lanes that are full of shoppers at noon can be empty late in the evening, and the FCDO advises avoiding quiet areas, particularly after dark, and not carrying large amounts of money or valuables.

If you choose the deep medina, ask the riad for walking directions from a named gate, whether someone meets you there, and how late arrivals work. The Qarawiyyin is a place of worship first; read our religious site etiquette guide before you look in from its doorways.

Are Batha and Fès Jdid good compromises?

Yes. Batha sits on the medina’s edge with road access and the reopened Batha Museum, while Fès Jdid offers calmer streets, the royal palace gates, the Mellah and the Jnan Sbil gardens. Both put you a short walk or ride from Bab Boujloud without sleeping in the busiest lanes, though riad choice is thinner in Fès Jdid.

The Batha palace reopened in February 2025 as the Musée Al Batha des Arts de l’Islam, with an Andalusian garden covering more than half the site. It opens 10:00–18:00, closes on Tuesdays, and charges foreign adults 60 dirhams, according to the Fondation Nationale des Musées. Staying nearby makes it an easy first or last stop.

Fès Jdid contains the royal palace, the old army quarters and residential districts (UNESCO). It is also where the Fes Festival of World Sacred Music sets up: the 2026 edition ran 4–7 June at Bab Al Makina, the Jnan Sbil gardens and the Batha prefecture hall, according to the festival programme. Book early if your dates overlap the festival.

The festival dates back to 1994 (Esprit de Fès), but its organisers had not published 2027 dates when we checked on 16 October 2026, so hold a refundable room if you are planning around it.

When does the Ville Nouvelle or Route d’Imouzzer make sense?

Choose the Ville Nouvelle if you arrive by train or car, want a lift and a standard hotel room, or need predictable costs. Route d’Imouzzer and the southern outskirts suit families and summer visitors who want a pool and space. Both mean a taxi for every medina visit, so budget time as well as fares.

Summer is the strongest argument for a pool. WMO 1991–2020 averages for Fes put the average high at 35.1°C in both July and August, with about two rain days a month, so a shaded pool can carry the afternoons when the medina is too hot to enjoy.

The new town is also the practical choice for drivers, because you cannot drive to a riad door in the old town and will leave a car outside the walls. If you are hiring a car for Meknes or Volubilis, read renting a car in Morocco first and choose a hotel with its own parking.

Taxi rides are the hidden cost of these bases. Keep the FCDO’s advice in mind for every ride: agree the fare or check the meter, and use petits taxis with caution late at night.

Riad or hotel: what should you check before booking in Fez?

Check heating in winter, air-conditioning in summer, how many stairs lie between your room and the roof terrace, and exactly which gate the riad uses. Fez nights fall to an average 3.7°C in January, so a beautiful courtyard room can feel cold; in July and August, a cool room matters more than a view.

Riads are built around an open courtyard, which is lovely in spring and autumn and less comfortable in midwinter. The WMO averages for Fes show January lows of 3.7°C and eight or nine rain days a month from November to April, so ask whether rooms are heated and whether the courtyard is covered in wet weather.

New-town and Route d’Imouzzer hotels tend to offer lifts, larger rooms and pools; riads offer character, roof terraces and steep stairs. Neither is better in the abstract. Families with small children, travellers with limited mobility and anyone landing late should weigh access above atmosphere.

• Which gate do taxis use, and how long is the walk with luggage?
• Will someone meet us at the gate, including after dark?
• Is the room heated in winter and air-conditioned in summer?
• How many flights of stairs to our room and to the terrace?
• How do breakfast and dinner work during Ramadan?

How do you get from the airport or station to your base?

The simplest arrival is a transfer arranged by your riad or hotel, because the driver knows which gate to use and someone can walk you in. Otherwise take a taxi, agree the fare first or check the meter is running, and ask to be dropped at the gate your riad names.

Fès-Saïss (FEZ) is the city’s airport. We could not load the airport operator’s pages when we checked, so we have not quoted bus routes, journey times or fares here; ask your accommodation for the current transfer price when you book, and check entry rules in our Morocco visa guide before you fly.

Rail arrivals are simplest in the new town. Fès is on the ONCF network that also serves Meknès, Rabat, Casablanca, Tangier and Marrakech (Seat 61); book trains through ONCF. From the station, a petit taxi to a medina gate is the usual last leg.

If you land late, a deep-medina riad is the hardest base to reach, because lanes are quiet and the walk from the gate can be long. That is the main case for a first night in Batha, Fès Jdid or the new town before moving into the medina.

Which Fez areas need extra care?

Petty crime concentrates where visitors do: the medina, its gates and busy squares. The FCDO lists pickpocketing, bag-snatching and confidence tricks, warns about bogus guides, and advises avoiding quiet areas after dark. Women may receive unwanted attention, especially alone. None of this rules out a medina base; it shapes where and when you walk.

The FCDO says petty crime is common in tourist areas, especially medinas, and that credit card fraud and scams, including swapping inferior goods for ones you bought, are common. It also warns that terrorists are likely to try to carry out attacks in Morocco, including in places visited by foreign nationals, and advises staying alert and following local authorities. The advice was still current on 16 October 2026 (FCDO Morocco).

For women travellers, the FCDO suggests loose-fitting clothes that cover the arms, legs and chest. Our solo female travel in Morocco and what to wear in Morocco guides go further. When you book, ask whether staff are on site overnight and who answers the door after dark.

Ramadan changes the rhythm of every district. The FCDO says the next Ramadan starts in February 2027 and that eating, drinking or smoking in public in the daytime may cause offence; ask how your riad handles meals, and see Ramadan travel planning.

Which Fez base should you book?

Book Bab Boujloud or Batha for a first trip of three nights or fewer, the Qarawiyyin core if immersion matters more than convenience, Fès Jdid for calm, and the new town or Route d’Imouzzer for cars, pools and families. Keep one base for the whole stay; Fez is compact enough that moving rarely pays.

For plans built on these bases, the Fez 3-day itinerary keeps every day inside the city, while the Fez 7-day itinerary adds Volubilis, Meknes and Chefchaouen. The longer plan works best from Batha, Fès Jdid or the new town, where drivers can collect you at the door.

Compare booking sites in Booking.com vs Agoda vs Hotels.com, and sort mobile data before you land with eSIM vs pocket Wi-Fi vs roaming; a working map makes the walk from the gate far easier.