Fez or Marrakech: Which City Fits Your Trip?

The facts

	Fez	Marrakech
Founded	789	About 1070
UNESCO medina	Listed 1981	Listed 1985

Fez is one of the largest car free urban areas in the world, and Marrakech is built around the great square Jemaa el Fna.

The two cities side by side

	Fez	Marrakech
Character	Scholarly, craft based, quieter evenings	Lively, theatrical, busy evenings
Main sights	Bou Inania, Al Attarine, the tanneries, the Mellah, Al Batha Museum	Jemaa el Fna, Bahia Palace, Saadian Tombs, Ben Youssef Madrasa, Majorelle Garden
Medina	Hilly, very large, car free, easy to get lost	Flatter, easier to walk, more scooters
Airport	Fes Saiss, fewer direct flights	Marrakech Menara, many direct flights
Nearby	Volubilis, Meknes, Chefchaouen, Middle Atlas, Sefrou and Bhalil	High Atlas, Ourika Valley, Agafay, Essaouira
Way to the Sahara	About 8 hours by road to Merzouga	About 9 to 10 hours to Merzouga, or Zagora for a shorter trip

What Marrakech does best

Marrakech was founded around 1070 by the Almoravids, and its red walls, the Koutoubia minaret and the square of Jemaa el Fna make it the most theatrical city in Morocco. In the evening the square fills with food stalls, storytellers, Gnawa musicians and acrobats. The Bahia Palace, the Saadian Tombs with their Hall of Twelve Columns, the Ben Youssef Madrasa and the Majorelle Garden are all within a short drive or walk. It is also the gateway to the High Atlas and Essaouira.

What Fez does best

Fez is older, quieter and more introverted. Behind plain walls you find the finest Marinid madrasas, a living guild system of craftsmen, and a medina where families still shop, study and work as they have for centuries. Evenings are calmer, and the city is the natural base for Volubilis, Chefchaouen and the Middle Atlas.

Getting between them

Fez and Marrakech are about 530 kilometres apart. The train and the road both take about 7 hours. The best way, in my view, is not direct at all: travel through the Middle Atlas and the Sahara, so the journey between the two cities becomes the best part of the trip. See Fez to Merzouga.

Choose Fez if

• You want crafts, madrasas and a medina where daily life goes on.
• You like quieter evenings.
• You want to visit the Middle Atlas, Sefrou and Bhalil.

Choose Marrakech if

• You want easy flights, many hotels and a lively evening square.
• You are visiting the High Atlas or Essaouira.

A note of honesty

I live near Fez, so I am not neutral. Fez feels more authentic and Marrakech is easier, and both can be true. The best answer for many guests is both, with the Sahara in between. See how many days in Morocco and our Imperial Cities tour.