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Meknes rewards visitors who actually sleep here. Riads are cheaper than in Fes, the medina is walkable, and Volubilis is 30 minutes away. This is where to base yourself — and why.
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 13 January 2026 Last updated 7 April 2026
The best area to stay in Meknes for first-time visitors is the medina, a short walk from Bab Mansour and the royal stables. Most travellers skip an overnight stop here entirely, treating Meknes as a half-day detour from Fes — which is their loss, because staying in the old city changes the experience completely.
Meknes was once the most lavish capital in Morocco. Sultan Moulay Ismail spent fifty years in the late 1600s constructing palaces, granaries, and walls that stretch for 40 kilometres. The city never quite recovered its status after his death, which left it pleasantly preserved and conspicuously uncrowded. You can walk the main medina circuit in two hours without a guide following you, and a riad here costs 30–50% less than an equivalent in Fes or Marrakech.
The practical choice comes down to two zones: the historic medina inside the old walls, and the Ville Nouvelle laid out under the French Protectorate in the early twentieth century. Both work, but they offer very different experiences.
Budget riad
from ~350 MAD / night
Mid-range riad
600–900 MAD / night
Boutique hotel
900–1,500 MAD / night
From Fes
~1 hr by car / 45 min by train
Best for
Couples, culture travellers, day-trippers from Fes
Hub for
Volubilis, Moulay Idriss, Fes
Both areas are safe and well-serviced. The decision depends on what kind of stay you are after.
Best choice for most first-time visitors wanting the full Imperial City experience
Best for
Atmosphere, walking distance to sights, authentic Morocco
Worth knowing
Narrow alleys can disorient at night; car access limited
Prices: Riads from ~350–900 MAD / night (indicative)
Good if you are driving or want a more conventional hotel setup
Best for
Modern amenities, parking, international chain hotels
Worth knowing
A 20–30 minute walk or short taxi from the medina sights
Prices: Hotels from ~500–1,200 MAD / night (indicative)
Meknes has perhaps a dozen proper riad guesthouses, so the selection is more curated than in Fes. That is mostly a good thing — the weaker options tend not to survive in a low-volume market. A few things worth checking before you book:
If you are visiting with a private guide who already knows Meknes well, they can often point you to a specific property they trust. This is one practical advantage of arranging your imperial cities circuit through a specialist operator rather than booking each piece separately.
| From | Best option | Approx. time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fes | Train (ONCF) or private car | 45 min–1 hr | Trains run frequently; private car adds flexibility for Volubilis stop |
| Rabat | Train (ONCF) | 2 hr 15 min | Direct trains hourly; comfortable and cheap |
| Casablanca | Train (ONCF) or private car | 3–3.5 hrs | Change at Rabat or direct trains exist; car allows a Rabat stop |
| Marrakech | Private car or overnight train | 6–7 hrs | Not a common direct route; best built into an imperial cities loop |
Within Meknes, petits taxis are the go-to for covering the distance between the Ville Nouvelle and the medina — a ride costs 10–20 MAD (indicative), though meters are rarely used without prompting. Agree a price before you get in. For the medina itself, walking is the only sensible option once you get your bearings; the alleys are too narrow for vehicles.
There is no regular public transport to Volubilis from Meknes, so most visitors either hire a grand taxi from near the CTM bus station (roughly 150–200 MAD return, including waiting time at the site, indicative) or go as part of a pre-arranged half-day excursion. A private tour is the most convenient option if you are visiting Moulay Idriss at the same time, since the two sites are close and the driving is straightforward.
Meknes absolutely rewards an overnight stay. Day-trippers from Fes tend to spend three hurried hours and miss half the city. Stay at least one night and you get to see Bab Mansour lit after dark, wander the food stalls on Place el-Hedim at dusk, and tackle the souks before the tour buses arrive. Meknes is only about an hour from Fes by road or 45 minutes by train, so it is an easy addition to any imperial city circuit without backtracking.
The medina is the clear choice for most first-time visitors. Staying inside the old walls puts you within five minutes’ walk of Bab Mansour, Place el-Hedim, the Medersa Bou Inania, and the souks. A handful of well-run riads operate here, typically 30–50% cheaper than comparable properties in Fes or Marrakech. The alleys can feel labyrinthine on the first evening, but the scale of the Meknes medina is far more manageable than Fes — you will get your bearings quickly.
Yes, though the selection is smaller. Meknes has perhaps a dozen proper riad-style guesthouses compared to hundreds in Marrakech. The upside is that the ones that operate tend to be family-run with genuinely personal service, and prices are considerably lower for equivalent quality. Expect tiled courtyards, roof terraces, and home-cooked Moroccan breakfasts. Book ahead in spring and autumn (March–May, September–November) as inventory fills up fast on popular travel weekends.
Meknes is about 60 km from Fes — roughly an hour by car, or 45 minutes on the ONCF train. Combining them is a no-brainer for any imperial cities itinerary. The two cities share a common history under the Merinid and Alaouite dynasties and complement each other well: Fes for its living medieval medina and tanneries, Meknes for its grand imperial scale and proximity to Volubilis. A private tour with a driver makes hopping between the two effortless.
The Meknes medina is generally considered safe, and notably calmer than Fes or Marrakech. The streets thin out after 10 pm, so it is worth keeping your riad's address written down for when you need to ask for directions. The main tourist circuit around Bab Mansour and Place el-Hedim stays active until late evening and has streetlighting. As anywhere in Morocco, stay alert to overly persistent "guides" offering unsolicited tours, but persistent hustling is far less common in Meknes than in the bigger tourist cities.
The Ville Nouvelle was built under the French Protectorate and has a low-rise European boulevard feel, centred on Avenue Hassan II. Hotel options here tend to be more conventional: en-suite rooms, on-site parking, functioning lifts. Prices overlap with the medina riads but the atmosphere is entirely different — quieter and more workaday. The downside is that the main sights are a 20–30 minute walk away, so you will be relying on petits taxis (cheap, but the drivers rarely use meters — agree the fare first) for most of each day.
Volubilis is the standout — a UNESCO Roman ruin site just 33 km north of Meknes, with remarkably well-preserved mosaics and triumphal arches. Combine it with the hilltop holy town of Moulay Idriss Zerhoun on the same half-day. Fes is an obvious full-day from Meknes if you are basing yourself here for a few nights. With a private driver, you can also loop in the cedar forests of Azrou and Ifrane in the Middle Atlas, about 80 km south.
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