Morocco · Fès-Meknès · Fes
Fès al Bali, Fes — Area Guide & Where to Stay
The medina of Fez begins here: Fès al Bali is its oldest quarter, listed by UNESCO with Fes Jdid for a surviving pre-modern plan.
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Where to stay in Fès al Bali
How the choice of base plays out on the ground.
Riad Ba Mohamed Chergui names the kind of bed the old quarter keeps, a courtyard house on a lane rather than a block with a forecourt, and it sits within a short walk of Funduq al-Najjariyyin and Dar al-Magana. Lanes, not avenues. Fes Jdid completes the medina on the other side, while the French-created Ville Nouvelle holds the wider streets and the larger hotels for anyone who would rather not carry a bag through Fès al Bali.
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Fès al Bali
The oldest quarter of Fez keeps its rooms in courtyard houses of the Riad Ba Mohamed Chergui type, reached through the pre-modern lane plan that carries the Al-Wad School Mosque and Kasbah Tamdert.Find hotels in Fès al Baliguests who want the walled medina without the deepest lanes of Fès al BaliFes Jdid
Fes Jdid forms the other half of the medina of Fez, so Dar Batha and the Mnebhi Palace stay within reach while the streets stay easier to wheel a case along.Find hotels in Fes Jdidarrivals who want a full-size hotel and a road to the doorVille Nouvelle
The French-created quarter of Fez lies outside the medina and takes the traffic, leaving the Museum of Arms of Borj Nord and Dar Batha as the crossing points back toward Fès al Bali.Find hotels in Ville NouvelleHotel links are affiliate links: booking through them may earn us a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never affects how places are ranked. How this works
Things to do in and around Fes
Ranked by global recognition; descriptions from Wikidata (CC0).
Museums & Galleries
3- Funduq al-Najjariyyin Heritage
- Dar Batha Heritage
- Museum of Arms of Borj Nord
Churches & Religious Sites
1- Al-Wad School Mosque Heritage
Castles & Historic Sites
2- Mnebhi Palace Heritage
- Kasbah Tamdert
Landmarks & Notable Places
2- Dar al-Magana Heritage
- Riad Ba Mohamed Chergui Heritage
worth knowingacross 4 categories in and around Fes
About Fès al Bali
What are the main landmarks in Fès al Bali?
Dar al-Magana, Funduq al-Najjariyyin and Dar Batha stand inside the same walled quarter, and the register adds the Mnebhi Palace, Kasbah Tamdert and the Al-Wad School Mosque to that short list. Eight names, one district. Riad Ba Mohamed Chergui appears on it as well, so the monuments of Fès al Bali run to houses and courtyards at least as much as to public halls, and the Museum of Arms of Borj Nord stands apart from that pattern.
What is the history of Fès al Bali?
Fes el Bali is the oldest part of Fez. What earned the UNESCO World Heritage inscription was not one building but the survival of a whole pre-modern urban layout together with the monuments standing in it, from Dar Batha to Kasbah Tamdert. The Ville Nouvelle came later, drawn up by the French outside the walls, which left Fès al Bali and Fes Jdid to hold the medina between them.
Where is Fès al Bali?
Fès al Bali, Fes Jdid and the Ville Nouvelle divide Fez between them, and the first two together make up the medina.
Common questions
What is the best area to stay in Fès al Bali?
Fès al Bali: riad nights within a few turns of Funduq al-Najjariyyin and Dar al-Magana. Fes Jdid: guests who want the walled medina without the deepest lanes of Fès al Bali. Ville Nouvelle: arrivals who want a full-size hotel and a road to the door.
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Updated October 2026