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Hiking & Walks in Fez: The Honest Guide

Fez is flat in the middle and hilly at the edges, which means honest hiking trails are thin on the ground. What the city offers instead: superb urban walks, viewpoint climbs, and real mountain country a short drive away.

No invented trail networks. Here's what's actually walkable.

The honest picture

Fez is a walking city, not a hiking destination.

Photo: Joe Mabel, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Fez is not a hiking town, so let's not pretend. There are no marked trail networks, no trailheads with parking lots, no hiking clubs publishing routes. The 'hiking' in Fez is urban: the medina's stairs, the climbs to the viewpoints, and the walks around the walls.

That's still a lot of walking. A full medina day with the Borj Nord climb is genuinely strenuous — visitors regularly report it as the most exercise they've had in months. Count it.

The honest advice: don't come to Fez for hiking. Come for the city, walk it hard, and save the mountain boots for the Middle Atlas day trip.

Keep reading: City walks: the medina and Jnan Sbil →

City walks: the medina and Jnan Sbil

The classic Fez walk is the medina itself: in at Bab Boujloud, through the souks, out the far side, and back along the walls. The lanes climb and drop constantly — the city is built on hillsides — and the staircases around the tanneries and the Andalusian quarter will test your legs.

Jnan Sbil gardens offer the only flat, green walking loop in the old city — shaded paths, fountains, and benches, good for a gentle morning circuit. In the Ville Nouvelle, the broad avenues work for a straightforward evening stroll.

Keep reading: Viewpoint climbs and the Middle Atlas →

Viewpoint climbs and the Middle Atlas

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

For views and a real climb, head up. The Borj Nord (north fortress) and Borj Sud overlook the medina from opposite hills — both are a solid uphill walk from the old city, best at sunset. The Merenid Tombs, on the hill north of Fes el-Bali, give the classic panoramic view over the whole medina and are the sunset spot of choice.

For actual mountain hiking, the Middle Atlas is the answer: the cedar forests around Azrou and Ifrane have real trails, Barbary macaques, and lakes. It's a day trip, not a city walk — arrange a car or join a tour.

Practical tips

• The medina is a workout on its own — 15,000 steps with stairs is a normal sightseeing day.
• Go early or late; midday heat makes any climb miserable from May to September.
• Take water on every walk — the medina has few places to refill.
• For real mountain hiking, you need a car or tour to the Middle Atlas.

Fez isn't a hiking destination — it's a walking city with hills at the edges. Lace up accordingly.

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