8-Day Tangier to Imperial Cities & Fes

Your eight-day journey through Morocco's imperial north begins the moment you land at Tangier Ibn Battouta Airport, where your private driver waits with a sign bearing your name. Tangier sits at the meeting point of the Mediterranean and Atlantic, and of Africa and Europe — on a clear day, Spain is visible across the Strait of Gibraltar, a strategic position that made the city a crossroads of civilisations for millennia. Time and energy permitting, your driver may suggest a stop at the Kasbah, the old fortified quarter with sweeping views over the strait, or the Petit Socco, once frequented by writers including Paul Bowles and William Burroughs during Tangier's mid-20th-century heyday as an International Zone. From here you are transferred to your riad to check in and rest. This evening, take a short walk for your welcome glass of Moroccan mint tea and use the relaxed evening to ask any questions about the days ahead, touring Chefchaouen, the Roman ruins of Volubilis, imperial Meknes, and the ancient medina of Fes. Tangier's cosmopolitan atmosphere, shaped by centuries as a meeting point of cultures, makes for a genuinely distinctive first impression before the imperial cities and ancient sites that follow over the coming week.

This morning we depart Tangier, heading into the Rif Mountains toward Chefchaouen, the famous 'Blue City', a drive of roughly two and a half hours through increasingly dramatic mountain scenery. Founded in 1471 as a small defensive fortress, Chefchaouen later became a refuge for Muslim and Jewish families fleeing the Spanish Reconquista, explaining its distinctly Andalusian character and famous blue-washed walls. We arrive around midday, with the afternoon free to explore the impossibly photogenic medina at your own pace — Plaza Uta el-Hammam, the 15th-century Kasbah fortress, and the labyrinth of blue stairways that make the town so beloved by photographers. Enjoy dinner on a rooftop terrace overlooking the Rif Mountains as the light turns golden over the blue walls. Lunch is usually taken independently in Chefchaouen's medina, an easy way to enjoy the town's relaxed pace before the golden-hour photography session later in the day.

This morning is dedicated to Chefchaouen, with no early departure — this remarkable town rewards unhurried time. Your guide leads you through the upper medina before free time to wander the blue alleyways independently, a good opportunity to pick up handwoven wool garments or the region's distinctive soft goat's cheese. Around midday, we head south toward Meknes, one of Morocco's four Imperial Cities, envisioned on a grand scale by Sultan Moulay Ismail in the late 17th century as Morocco's answer to Versailles. We arrive in the late afternoon for a visit to Bab Mansour, widely considered the most beautiful gate in North Africa, an enormous horseshoe archway decorated with elaborate zellige tilework, before checking in for the night in Meknes's considerably quieter, UNESCO-listed medina. Lunch en route to Meknes is typically a simple roadside stop, breaking up the drive south out of the Rif foothills.

This morning we drive around thirty minutes to Volubilis, the best-preserved Roman ruins in Morocco and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, once the thriving administrative capital of Roman Mauretania Tingitana. With your guide, we explore the Basilica, the Capitol, a triumphal arch honouring Emperor Caracalla, and a remarkable collection of intact mosaic floors depicting mythological scenes, preserved almost two thousand years thanks to Morocco's dry climate. A short drive brings us to Moulay Idriss Zerhoun, Morocco's holiest town, built across two hills and named for the great-grandson of the Prophet Muhammad, who founded Morocco's first Islamic dynasty here in the 8th century. In the early afternoon, we continue to Fes, Morocco's spiritual and cultural capital, arriving with time to check in and take an easy orientation walk before tomorrow's deeper exploration. Lunch after visiting Volubilis and Moulay Idriss is usually taken in Fes shortly after arrival, an easy introduction to the city's refined cuisine.

Today is dedicated entirely to Fes, and we recommend an early start, around 9am, before the midday heat and crowds build. Your driver hands you to a licensed local guide, compulsory in Fes given the medina's notoriously labyrinthine 9,000-plus alleyways, who leads you through Fes el-Bali, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1981. We begin at Bab Boujloud, the ornate blue-and-green tiled 'Blue Gate', winding through souks organised by traditional guild. A highlight is the Chouara Tannery, one of the oldest in the world, where hides are still dyed by hand in stone vats using methods essentially unchanged since the 11th century. We view the exterior of the Al-Qarawiyyin Mosque and University, founded in 859 AD, and visit the Bou Inania Madrasa, celebrated for its intricate cedar carving. Lunch is at a traditional Fassi restaurant, with the afternoon free to browse the souks. Lunch during the guided medina tour is typically at a traditional Fassi restaurant near the souks, a welcome midday pause in the day's walking.

With a full extra day in Fes, today moves at a more relaxed pace, exploring beyond yesterday's headline sights. We recommend a visit to a traditional pottery cooperative on the edge of the medina, where artisans hand-throw clay on foot-powered wheels and hand-paint the distinctive cobalt-blue Fassi ceramics for which the city is famous — a genuinely fascinating process to watch, and an excellent place to purchase authentic pieces directly from the makers. We can also arrange visits to a metalworking workshop, where craftsmen hand-hammer intricate brass and copper trays and lanterns, or a weaving cooperative producing traditional textiles. The afternoon is free to wander the quieter residential quarters of the medina, away from the main tourist routes, or to revisit favourite corners of the souks. Many guests use this evening for a hammam and massage at their riad, a relaxing way to close out the Fes portion of the trip. Lunch on this more relaxed second Fes day is often at a smaller, local restaurant away from the main tourist routes, a good way to sample more everyday Fassi cooking.

Your final full day in Fes is left free to spend however you like. Some guests choose to revisit particular corners of the medina for photographs in better light, or to make final purchases now that they have a good feel for prices and quality after several days in the city — leather goods, ceramics, brassware, and spices all travel well. Others prefer a quieter day, relaxing at their riad or enjoying a leisurely lunch on a rooftop terrace with views over the medina's rooftops and minarets. Your driver and riad host remain available throughout the day for any questions or recommendations, and we suggest closing out your Moroccan journey with a memorable final dinner featuring a proper Fassi tagine or pastilla, the dishes for which the city is justly famous. Whatever you choose on this final free day, your driver and riad host remain available for any questions or last-minute arrangements.

Our journey together comes to an end this morning. Depending on your flight time, enjoy a final breakfast on your riad's rooftop terrace and a last stroll through the medina for any remaining gifts. At the appropriate time, your private driver collects you and your luggage and transfers you directly to Fes-Saïs Airport, a journey of around twenty minutes from the medina, timed comfortably to your departure flight. Over these eight days, you will have travelled from the Mediterranean-Atlantic crossroads of Tangier, through the mountain calm of Chefchaouen's blue alleyways, the imperial grandeur of Meknes, the Roman ruins of Volubilis, and finally into the deep medieval intensity of Fes's ancient medina — a well-paced introduction to Morocco's imperial north. On behalf of your driver, guides, and the entire Marokko Travel team, thank you for travelling with us through Morocco's imperial north.