Meknes tour

Transfer from Fes, Chefchaouen or any city of your choice. Check in your Riad and after refreshment, start your journey exploring Meknes rich history.

Visit the magnificent gateway of Bab el-Mansour the main gate between Meknes' Medina and Imperial City districts. Bab el-Mansour is an enormous and highly picturesque edifice with intricate architectural style of zellige tiling and carving work. It is one of North Africa's best examples of persisting gateways. Continue to Place Hedim the main square in the old part of the city.

The Bab Mansour gate faces onto Place Hedim, the main square in the old part of the city. Place Hedim is much smaller than Marrakech’s Jemaa el Fna square and also much less interesting. However, there will likely be a few people selling things, charming snakes and running games

Visit the Mausoleum of Moulay Ismail   that is home to the tomb of Sultan Moulay Ismail, who made Meknes his imperial capital in the 17th century. The interiors are truly incredible. It shows the glorious exuberance of Moroccan religious ornament. The actual mosque is not open to non-Muslims, but you can enter the outer parts of the complex and enter the tomb hall itself, with its magnificent decorated interior.

Continue to Meknes Medina (Old Town) an exciting, busy place full of local products. For enthusiastic shoppers Souk Nejarine offers plenty of textile shops. Souk Sebbat is also home to many traditional Moroccan craft shops as well as clothing and Morocco's famous slippers.

The 12th-century Grand Mosque, with its distinctive green-tiled roof, sits right in the medina's center. The medina is still enclosed by its glorious walls built during the reign of Sultan Moulay Ismail.

Visit also The Imperial City area that has plenty of interesting old ruins to explore, most dating from the reign of Sultan Moulay Ismail. The Koubat Al Khayatine is the city's old ambassador building and today, part of the building is open to the public, with a small photography exhibit on Meknes.

Visit the museum The Dar Jamai built in 1882 as the residence of the famous Jamai family and was converted into the Museum of Moroccan Art in 1920. The museum holds the rich traditional decoration of painted wood and sculpted plaster that were popular interior design of the 19th-century Moroccan higher-classes. The museum is dedicated to arts and crafts of the region.

Continue your visit to  Bou Inania Medersa that was founded in the 14th century. It is located within the loops of Meknes' souk streets. The Madrasa is still gorgeously preserved with much of its rich zellige tile decoration. The rooftop of the Madrassa has   excellent views across the whole Meknes Medina district and the Ville Nouvelle (new town).

Stop for lunch in the Nouvelle Ville of Meknes at a charming restaurant that offers Moroccan cuisine and a variety of local wines from the Meknes region.

Vendor a little bit out of the old town, past the Royal Gold Course (which is protected by a huge wall), and visit the Heri es-Souani granaries. The site is made up of two main areas. The first is the interior part which feels a bit like the Habs Qara prison except not as creepy. It was used to store huge amounts of grain . The exterior part of the complex also has rows of stone arches but it was used to as a royal stable to keep horses and other animals.

Visit Sahrij Souani , built by Moulay Ismail, is located in the imperial city, northwest of the granaries. It is a hydraulic structure that measures 148.75 m by 319 m and has a maximum depth of 1.20 m. The lake was constructed to guarantee the supply of water, in times of siege or drought, to the palaces and mosques of the town, as well as to the public baths, homes, gardens and the orchards that surrounded the town and provided for its daily fruit and vegetable requirements. After the tour go back to your Riad to be prepared for the following day adventure. B&B accommodation in nice Riad in the old medina