# Fes & the Imperial Cities Fes, Meknes and Volubilis — the medieval medina and the Roman ruins below it. Morocco's four imperial cities were, at various points over the past millennium, seats of royal power. Fes, Meknes, Rabat and Marrakech each carry that weight differently — in the grain of their stone walls, the layout of their medinas, and the particular rhythm of daily life that continues inside them. ## Fes Fes el-Bali, the old city, is one of the largest car-free urban areas on earth. Its alleys and covered passages were not planned in a single stroke but accreted over centuries, so the city has an organic, labyrinthine quality. The tanneries — circular stone vats filled with natural dyes — are visible from the terraces above. The smell of chrome and saffron reaches you before the view does. Nearby, the Bou Inania and Al-Attarine madersas are compact, precisely carved in cedar and plaster, and often quiet in the morning before the market stalls open. ## Meknes About an hour's drive north, Meknes feels more provincial and less crowded. The Dar Jamai museum occupies a former palace and presents craft traditions of the region — woodwork, ceramics, textiles. The Bab Mansour gate, a monumental entrance to the old city, is faced in green zellij tilework that catches afternoon light. The Roman ruins at Volubilis lie twenty kilometres further west, scattered across a hillside with olive groves and fig trees between the columns. ## Rabat and Marrakech Rabat, the capital, is coastal and more spread out. The Hassan Tower and Chellah necropolis are open sites where stonework and stork nests coexist. Marrakech is busier and louder — the Djemaa el-Fna square changes completely from morning to evening, and the souks behind it are organised by trade: leather, metalwork, wool, spices. The Majorelle Garden offers a different kind of quiet, with bamboo, water features and the particular blue Yves Klein used to paint the studio walls. ## What Connects Them Each city was a capital at a different moment, and each absorbed influences — Andalusian, Sub-Saharan, Saharan, French colonial — without entirely overwriting what came before. The result is layered. Walking through a medina gate into a souk and then into a quiet residential quarter, you move between centuries without clear boundaries. ## Places in Fes & the Imperial Cities - Fes ## Tours that visit Fes & the Imperial Cities No tours visit this place just yet. ## Before you book you should know ### Is this trip right for you? Our groups are capped at eight travellers, which is about a third of what the industry calls a small group. Eight people share one vehicle, one table at dinner and one guide's attention, and the day can change on the road without anybody being left behind. If you are looking for a coach, a fixed script and a microphone, this is not that. Most days involve real walking, often on ground that was laid two thousand years before walking shoes: marble worn smooth, cobbles, uneven steps and long site paths with little shade. Bring shoes you can spend a morning in. Some days move between regions and are largely a drive, with stops along the way. Summers are hot — well over 35°C inland — and winters are colder than most people expect, so layers, a hat and sunscreen earn their place in the bag whatever the month. How demanding a particular trip is, is written on the trip itself: the physical rating in the header, and the day-by-day itinerary above. ### Rooms, and travelling on your own Trip prices are per person, sharing a twin room. Each traveller picks their own room while booking, so a party can mix the three: - **Twin share** — two single beds, shared with someone you are travelling with or with a traveller of the same gender. - **Travelling as a couple** — one double room. - **Individual room** — a room of your own, for a single supplement on top of the trip price. Availability is limited, and the supplement for a given date is shown next to the option when you book. Solo travellers are welcome on every departure, and most of our groups have one or two aboard. ### Accommodation The hotels named in an itinerary are a guideline rather than a guarantee. Where one is full, or has dropped below the standard we booked it for, we substitute a property of a similar standard in the same area — we would rather change the hotel than the trip. Check-in is usually mid-afternoon. If you arrive early we will ask for the room, but no hotel can promise one before its own check-in time; luggage can normally be left at reception in the meantime. If you want the room from the night before, ask us and we will add the extra night to your booking. ### Passports, visas and insurance Entry requirements depend on your nationality and change without much notice, so the only reliable source is the official one: the government of the country you are travelling to, and your own foreign ministry's travel advice. Check both before you book a flight. Many countries ask for a passport valid for at least six months beyond your travel dates, and for blank pages. It is worth looking at yours now rather than at the airport. We ask every traveller to carry travel insurance covering medical treatment and repatriation, and we would strongly encourage cover for cancellation and for your luggage as well. ### Your departure is guaranteed — the day can change Once a departure is on the calendar it runs. We do not cancel a trip for want of a minimum number of bookings, so a booked date is one you can plan flights and leave around. What can move is the shape of a day. Museums and archaeological sites change their hours, roads close, weather turns, a local holiday lands in the middle of the week. Where that happens your guide reorders the day, or swaps a stop for one of the same weight, and tells you why. Changes to a booked itinerary are covered by our Booking Terms & Conditions. --- Full page: https://www.smallvoyage.com/destination/imperial-cities/