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Day Trips from Fez

Fez sits in the middle of Morocco's most historic region, and the day trips are genuinely excellent: a Roman city, an imperial capital, a holy town, and mountain forests with monkeys. All are easy day trips by tour, grand taxi, or rental car.

Four trips worth your time, with honest notes on each.

Volubilis & Moulay Idriss: Romans and saints

Morocco's best Roman ruins, an hour away.

Photo: Jeffhollett, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Volubilis is Morocco's great Roman site — a UNESCO-listed city with remarkable mosaics still in place, triumphal arches, and the whole urban plan readable under your feet. It's about an hour from Fez and pairs naturally with Moulay Idriss Zerhoun, the holy hill town overlooking it (non-Muslims couldn't enter the town proper until recently; the viewpoint and the town's edges are the visit).

Go with a guide or at least the guidebook — without context it's a field of pretty stones; with context it's a Roman provincial capital. Morning light is best, and there's minimal shade, so bring water and a hat.

Keep reading: Meknès: the other imperial city →

Meknès: the other imperial city

Meknès is the underrated imperial city — Moulay Ismail's 17th-century capital, with the massive Bab Mansour gate, the royal granaries and stables (the Heri es-Souani), and a medina that's calmer and cheaper than Fez's. It's 60-odd kilometres west, an easy train or grand-taxi ride.

The contrast with Fez is the point: same country, same century, completely different feel. The mausoleum of Moulay Ismail is one of the few working shrines non-Muslims can enter — quiet, beautiful, and worth the trip alone.

Keep reading: Ifrane & the Middle Atlas: forests and monkeys →

Ifrane & the Middle Atlas: forests and monkeys

Photo: M. Lounsbery / Mlouns at en.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

South into the Middle Atlas: Ifrane, the 'Little Switzerland' of Morocco with its alpine chalets and the famous stone lion; the cedar forests around Azrou, where Barbary macaques hang around the roadside; and Michliffen's lakes. In winter there's skiing at Michliffen; in summer it's 10 degrees cooler than Fez.

This is the nature day: forests, lakes, monkeys, and mountain air. Don't feed the macaques, however cute they are — keep your distance and your snacks hidden.

Practical tips

• Volubilis and Moulay Idriss pair perfectly — do them together in one day.
• Meknès deserves a full day on its own; don't rush it.
• Grand taxis are the local way to travel between towns; agree the price before getting in.
• Start early — the Roman stones of Volubilis are brutal at midday.

Fez is the base; the region is the bonus. One day out will change how you see the city when you come back.

Run day trips from Fez? List them on Dayfari free →