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Fes el-Bali is one of the world’s great medieval cities — and with the right plan, it is genuinely brilliant for children. Here is what to prioritise, what to skip, and how to make the medina navigable with a family in tow.
Leila Tazi· Fes, Culture & Cuisine Editor
Fes-based journalist with a food and crafts obsession, Leila spends her weeks between the tanneries, the Qarawiyyin quarter and the kitchens of the old city. She covers Fes, Meknes, food and Moroccan culture. Fes · 11+ years covering Morocco
Published 12 August 2024 Last updated 18 April 2026
Fes rewards families who plan, and punishes those who don’t. The medina of Fes el-Bali is a UNESCO World Heritage site with around 9,000 lanes — narrower, hillier, and more labyrinthine than Marrakech’s souks. Donkey carts really do appear from nowhere. The tanneries really do smell. And getting genuinely lost with tired children in 35°C heat is less charming than the guidebooks suggest.
That said, the payoff is extraordinary. The Chouara tanneries from a rooftop terrace are one of Morocco’s great visual experiences, and children tend to react to them with a mixture of fascination and theatrical disgust that makes for memorable family moments. The Bou Inania Madrasa has carved cedarwood and geometric tile that genuinely impresses even phone-addicted teenagers. The Jnan Sbil gardens are a calm green escape minutes from the chaos. And a local guide — which is less of a luxury here than almost anywhere else in Morocco — transforms the whole experience.
Below is the practical framework: the activities worth doing, the logistics of getting around with small children, the stroller reality, and where to stay. The route works whether you have one day or three.
Fes has five standout experiences for families — each suited to different ages and paces.
The best family-friendly way to see the famous leather dyeing vats is from one of the leather-shop terraces that surround them — free entry when you browse. Kids find the rainbow of dye pits genuinely spectacular. The smell of pigeon dung and ammonia is strong; pick up the free mint offered at the door and tell older children what creates the colours. Visits lasting 20–30 minutes are plenty.
The most ornate madrasa in the medina, with carved cedarwood screens and geometrical stucco that even bored teenagers tend to photograph. Entry is around 20 MAD per adult; children under 12 are usually free. The courtyard has a small central pool and enough space to breathe — a rare commodity in the dense medina. Avoid Friday midday prayer time.
The Nejjarine fountain square is one of the more spacious and calm spots in Fes el-Bali. The adjacent wooden-arts museum has a rooftop terrace with good views and carved furniture that children can circle at their own pace. The cool tiled interior is a welcome break from the alley heat. Entry around 20 MAD.
About 2 km from Bab Bou Jeloud, the working pottery district has open kilns and potters at wheels you can watch for free. Some workshops let children try shaping clay for a small fee — an easy 30-minute stop that keeps small hands happy. The fumes are minimal outdoors and there is enough space for strollers on the wider street.
The public Jnan Sbil park sits just outside the medina walls near Bab Bou Jeloud and is the only proper green space in central Fes. There are shaded paths, small ponds, and benches — ideal for a post-medina decompression. Toddlers can run freely here. Entry is free. Busy on weekend afternoons but never crowded to the point of stress.
The Fes medina is significantly harder to navigate with a pushchair than Marrakech. Here is a zone-by-zone reality check — plan accordingly, and consider bringing a soft-structured carrier as a backup.
| Zone | Verdict | What to expect |
|---|---|---|
| Ville Nouvelle (new city) | Possible | Flat pavements, wide roads — push anywhere. |
| Main derbs near Bab Bou Jeloud | Difficult | Cobbles, steps and tight corners. A carrier or backpack carrier is better. |
| Tannery alley approaches | Not recommended | Multiple flights of steps; you will need to fold and carry. |
| Riad courtyard access | Possible with help | Many riads have a step at the entrance; ask when booking. |
Practical tip: A compact, foldable stroller (the type that fits in an aircraft overhead) handles the Fes medina far better than a full-size travel system. If you are hiring a private guide, ask them to route you via the wider lanes — they know which alleys avoid the worst steps.
Not everything in the standard Fes itinerary works with children. Here is what to approach differently.
Long souk crawls with toddlers
The derbs (alleys) in Fes el-Bali are narrower than Marrakech's, and donkey carts really do appear without warning. One hour of souk wandering is plenty before meltdowns — plan this early morning before heat and crowds build.
The tanneries in July–August midday heat
The ammonia smell intensifies dramatically when temperatures exceed 38°C. If you're visiting in summer, go at 9 am when the vats are freshest and the air marginally cooler.
Al-Qarawiyyin mosque interior
Non-Muslims cannot enter. Brief exterior viewing is fine but don't oversell it to children; the exterior is less dramatic than Bou Inania.
Back-alley carpet shops
Aggressive touts can stress children and parents alike. A private guide sidesteps the worst of these routes entirely.
Getting into the medina. The easiest drop-off point for taxis is Bab Bou Jeloud (the Blue Gate), the most visible landmark in Fes el-Bali. From here you walk the main artery of Talaa Kebira, which is wide enough for a compact stroller and gives you access to Bou Inania Madrasa within 200 m. Taxis cannot enter the old medina — plan your pickup/drop-off in advance and save the map location offline.
Heat management. Summer (June–August) midday heat in Fes regularly reaches 38–42°C in the medina. The alleys are narrow and shaded but airless. Visit from 8–11 am and again after 4 pm; plan a riad lunch-and-rest in between. October to April is dramatically more comfortable and is the recommended family travel window.
Food for children. The medina has plenty of bread and snack sellers at low prices (flatbreads from 2–5 MAD, fresh juice from 8 MAD). For a sit-down meal, the restaurants on the main lane of Talaa Kebira serve straightforward kefta, chicken tagine, and omelettes that most children accept. Harira soup and sfenj (Moroccan doughnuts) are genuinely child-pleasing. Avoid ice from carts; stick to sealed bottled water (around 5 MAD for 1.5 litres).
Day trips from Fes. Volubilis (the best-preserved Roman ruins in Morocco, about 1 hour by private car) is the standout family day trip from Fes — wide open spaces, impressive mosaics, and enough room for children to move around freely. The nearby town of Moulay Idriss Zerhoun adds a Moroccan pilgrimage-town dimension. Indicative private car cost: from 500–700 MAD for a half-day round trip. Alternatively, Meknes (45 minutes by train) has a functioning royal stable, Bab Mansour gate, and a much flatter, easier medina than Fes.
Guide or no guide? In Marrakech, a guide is helpful; in Fes, with children, it is close to essential for at least the first day. The medina really is difficult to navigate, and a licensed local guide (from around 300–450 MAD for a half-day) routes you efficiently, handles touts, and knows which leather-shop terrace has the best tannery view with the least ammonia hit. A private guided experience also integrates the best stops in a logical sequence that avoids unnecessary backtracking — which matters a great deal when you are managing children’s energy levels. The SerenityCTA below links to private family-oriented guided options in Fes.
Best ages
4 and above
Ideal duration
2–3 days
Stroller tip
Bring a carrier
A standard pushchair works well in the Ville Nouvelle (new city) and along the wider derbs near Bab Bou Jeloud, but deeper in the medina — particularly near the tanneries — there are staircases, uneven cobbles, and passageways barely 80 cm wide. A soft structured carrier or a compact lightweight buggy you can fold and carry over your shoulder is the practical answer. Most families find a mix works: stroller for long stretches to and from the medina gate, carrier inside. Ask your riad which route to your door avoids the worst steps.
It depends on the child — and the season. The traditional tanning process uses pigeon dung, quicklime, and ammonia-rich agents. The viewing terraces of leather shops hand out sprigs of mint, which help considerably. In cooler months (October to March) the smell is manageable for most children over age four; in summer heat it can be overwhelming even for adults. Go early (before 10 am) and limit the stop to 20 minutes. Frame it to older kids as a chemistry lesson: they are watching 1,000-year-old biotechnology.
Jnan Sbil Gardens, just outside Bab Bou Jeloud, is the standout — free entry, shaded paths, small ponds, and room to run. Children's playgrounds are rare by European standards; the garden is about open space rather than equipment. About 25 minutes by taxi from the medina, the Borj Fes Shopping Centre has a small indoor soft-play area useful on hot or rainy days. The municipal Lalla Mina Gardens near the Royal Palace are also pleasant and less visited.
For ease, the Fes Jdid area (just west of Fes el-Bali, near Bab Bou Jeloud) places you close to the main medina sights without the deepest, most disorienting derbs. Alternatively, the Ville Nouvelle has wider streets and modern hotels with lifts and proper cots — the tradeoff is a 10-minute taxi ride into the medina. Many families with toddlers find a riad in the first ring of streets behind Bab Bou Jeloud is the sweet spot: authentic atmosphere but manageable navigability.
A licensed local guide for the first day is near-essential with children in Fes. The medina of Fes el-Bali is a UNESCO-listed maze of roughly 9,000 alleys — adults get lost; children panic. A guide routes you on the quietest derbs, times your visit around donkey-cart delivery windows (7–11 am is the busiest), and steers you past the souvenir-shop touts who can overwhelm younger visitors. For day two, once you have your bearings, a gentle self-guided walk with a downloaded offline map is very manageable.
Pools are less common in Fes riads than in Marrakech — the older medina architecture often doesn't allow the space — but they exist. Look for riads in Fes Jdid or the newer parts of the medina periphery that advertise family rooms and a courtyard plunge pool. Confirm pool depth before booking: some traditional courtyard pools are 1.5 m+ with no fencing. A handful of modern boutique guesthouses on the medina edge have shallow splash pools specifically suited to toddlers. Indicative room rates with pool: from around 800–1,500 MAD per night for a family room.
Two full days is the sweet spot for families with school-age children: day one with a guide covering the tanneries, Bou Inania Madrasa, Nejjarine fountain, and a cooking experience; day two at a slightly easier pace — the pottery village, Jnan Sbil Gardens, and an afternoon in the Ville Nouvelle for a café break. Toddlers do well with a single medina morning followed by pool time or the gardens in the afternoon. Three days allows a day trip to the Roman ruins at Volubilis (about 1 hour from Fes), which children tend to love for the open space and mosaics.
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