From Fes: Shopping Tour with Hidden Medina Markets, Chouara Tannery & Spice Souks

Explore the Fes old medina souks with an English or French licensed local guide on a 4 or 8-hour shopping tour.

Getting started

Meet your English or French licensed local guide in Fes and confirm whether you are on the approximately 4-hour or approximately 8-hour tour. After a brief overview of the route through the old medina souks and hidden markets, you set off on foot toward the first trading streets. From here, you follow your guide into the denser lanes of Fes Medina.

Fes Medina souks and hidden markets

What to expect

You spend your guided shopping tour of Fes Medina moving through its main souks and lesser-known alleys, with time to look for handcrafts that interest you most.

Features

• Time in the souks focuses on exploring local artisan shops where you can cover the handcrafts on offer, with no obligation to buy if you prefer to browse.

• Your knowledgeable local guide leads the route in English or French, helping you navigate the hidden markets and explaining where to find specific items across the different quarters.

• Free time to explore sites is built into the itinerary, so you can pause in particular streets or stalls that catch your attention without losing your way.

• Any products you choose to purchase benefit from free delivery to your hotel or riad, which lets you continue walking the medina without carrying bags.

• Depending on the option selected, transportation included is provided on the full-day English or French guided shopping tour, while the half-day English or French guided shopping tour focuses on the walkable core of the medina.

• The duration is approximately 4 or 8 hours as per option selected, giving you either a concentrated introduction to the main souks or a fuller circuit of both central and more hidden shopping areas.

Chouara Tannery

What to expect

Chouara Tannery is one of the most recognized sites in Fes, where traditional leather processing still takes place in open-air pits.

Features

• Views over the tannery highlight the layout of dyeing and curing pits, so you can see how leather production is organized within the medina.

• Your guided shopping tour of Fes Medina incorporates this visit so you can understand how leather goods in nearby shops are produced before you consider buying.

Ceramics workshops and carpet and rug shops

What to expect

Ceramics workshops and carpet and rug shops form another key part of the route, connecting you with crafts that Fes is well known for.

Features

• At ceramics workshops, you observe the environment where tiles, pottery, or other clay pieces are prepared before appearing in the medina’s stalls.

• Time in carpet and rug shops allows you to look closely at different designs and techniques, which supports more informed shopping decisions if you decide to purchase.

Al Quaraouiyine, Attarine Madrasa, and Nejjarine Museum area

What to expect

The area around Al Quaraouiyine, Attarine Madrasa, and Nejjarine Museum adds architectural and cultural context to your day among the markets.

Features

• Passing near Al Quaraouiyine places the commercial life of the souks beside one of the city’s most important religious and educational sites.

• The surroundings of Attarine Madrasa and Nejjarine Museum show how historic buildings and nearby trading streets interconnect inside Fes Medina.

Spice markets

What to expect

Spice markets form a distinct section of the medina, where stalls focus on ingredients and aromatic products.

Features

• Walking through the spice markets, you move among displays of spices and related goods that differ from the textiles, leather, and ceramics elsewhere on the tour.