October 2023 – Day 1 in Fez
Day 1 very early: arrival in the (very late) evening (around 1 in the morning) – yes, our flight was delayed – not the best start! The passport control went very smoothly (with our Italian passports we did not need a visa).
Luckily, we had arranged a transfer with our Riad, and our driver was waiting for us outside the arrivals. After a 30-min drive, we arrived at our Riad, where the owner welcomed us with a snack and water, which we thought was super nice and thoughtful!
The name of the Riad is Dar El Arfaoui – great and quiet location (just outside the Medina, or old center), very budget-friendly. Note: with this price, do not expect a 3-star hotel – it is perfect if you do not mind a simple setting; plus the hosts and amazing breakfast are way worth it!
…still day 1 (Friday): we had a late breakfast at the Riad – what a glorious homemade treat! Here’s a glimpse:
I particularly loved the eggs, with a sprinkle of cumin, and those lovely crepes (Msemen, the Moroccan-style crepe which is a breakfast staple). The owners, an elderly couple, were super nice and friendly: even though they did not speak English, they used google translator to give us advices and tips to make the most of Fez!
For today, we booked an authentic cooking class experience (link: cooking class & Fez tour). Since we had some time before meeting our guide, we wandered through the market streets to get a first taste of the place. We took one of the main streets nearby, Rue Talaa Kebira. Quite a few shops were indeed closed, but we managed to get a feeling of the place and managed to exchange some cash 😊
At around 11 am we met with our Cooking class and Medina tour guide, Asma. We went to the market right next to the blue gate where we got the ingredients to cook our delicious meal.
We then walked to the Riad (named dar Charifa) to cook our beautiful lunch. The place itself was stunning – such a pleasure to cook surrounded by such beauty! We cooked with Asma and their chef Oumaima the beautiful dishes which you can see below:
-to two tajin dishes: one with onions and chicken (our favorite) and one with meatballs and tomato sauce.
-a fresh tomato, onion and cucumber salad (where vegetables actually tasted of something LOL)
-potato salad
-beetroot salad
-seasoned olives from the market
-tomato and grilled aubergine spread
After enjoying the feast (so much food!), we chilled on the Riad’s wonderful terrace, where we enjoyed some deserve sunshine and the beautiful view.
We left the place at around 3.30 pm, walked through the old Medina to go see the Tanneries, open daily (24/7). They explained to us the process of treating and dying leather. Did you know that to prepare the animal’s skin they treat it with pigeon’s poo? Not so charming indeed.. on Fridays they change the colors in the tanks – hence why some of the containers are empty.
We then went back to our hotel to chill for a few hours, then went out for a dinner close to the blue gate. I would not recommend the place we went to (a proper tourist trap haha), but it had a nice terrace and we had a great time anyway. Make sure to never spoil the moment even when things don’t go according to plan!. We went back to the Riad for a good night of sleep, since we had an early morning alarm the following day.
Overall summary and scores:
Fez: 7/10 beautiful – but might have been better with a guide 😉
Cooking class: 9/10
Best food: Moroccan crepes and chicken Tajin
Day2: Day trip to the blue city of Chefchaouen.
Link of the tour here. They picked us up, then took a coach to get there. Unfortunately, after about 30 min drive, we stopped on a side road because the coach had some issues. Luckily, they stopped next to a small flea market so we got distracted while try tried to solve the issue. In the end, another car and drive came along – overall we were very happy with how promptly they solved the issues, despite the time lost.
After a quick stop for bathroom and much needed coffee, we finally reached our destination around noon, where a tour guide was waiting for us for a 45 min tour within the (old) blue center of Chefchaouen. We wondered in awe while listening to the guide’s tales.. And I even managed to get a lovely tart from a bakery 😉
Overall we got two theories to explain the blue painting (found everywhere in Marocco, not only here). The first one is that it’s apparently a good mosquito/insect repellent (!). The second theory is that the color is used to highlight the Jewish areas within a city. After the guided tour ended, we went for a long stroll through the small streets to take some snaps and enjoy the blueness. It’s definitely magical!
We had lunch at a place a local recommended us – it was indeed cheap, but full of tourists and not remarkable (name: Assaada). At 16.00 we started our journey back to Fez, where we arrived around 20.30. Here’s some snaps from the beautiful sunset!
We got to our new Riad, Riad Rcif, for the last night . Despite the splurge, we couldn’t be happier!
We had a late dinner (a beef Tajine with plums and nuts – beautiful!) on their terrace, where we enjoyed the night view of the city.
Overall summary and scores:
Chefchaouen: 8/10 stunning blue colors! Definitely recommend the visit. You can easily get around, and wasn’t very crowded at this time of the year 😊
Best food: freshly baked pastry
Day 3: Last day in Fez/Morocco
After a good night of sleep, we decided to treat ourselves with an hammam experience at the hotel. We had breakfast on the terrace again and enjoyed some sunshine before heading to the experience.
Since we still had some time before heading to the airport, we visited the Henna souk (closed on Friday evening). I wanted to visit it because it’s famous for the ceramic stalls! I was very happy with my purchases – got some beautiful pieces to bring back home! 😊 This is what we were told: many centuries ago, ceramics were painted with a combination of bright colors (that you can see on the tray). More recently, the city adopted the white and blue, the national colors – which you can see on one of the coffee cups. Both options are stunning to me!
After a taxi ride to the airport, we reached our departure gate smoothly (good to know: they are not too strict about how many 100mL liquid containers you’ve got 😉). Our flight was on time (yay!) and we left this beautiful, sunny country with a smile on our faces. I am very satisfied with this very short but stunning trip. Marocco (or the very little part we saw) is gorgeous, the people are very nice and friendly, and the food is great. The climate was also perfect for mid-October – temperatures ranged from 15 to 28 degrees. I will definitely go back.
Key tips:
1. In Morocco, Fridays are the country’s Free day (like Sunday in catholic countries) – which means that many shops are closed. This also means that touristy places are less crowded, not a bad thing in my opinion 😉
2. Cash: euros or Moroccan dirham? Cash is definitely preferred to credit cards (barely accepted). I would suggest to bring euros with you to exchange at the airport or in shops across the cities. In this way you will avoid withdrawal fees from the cash machines. Most shops will accept euro notes, but not euro coins. We spent about 250 euros/pp in 3 days (excluding hotels).
3. Taxi fares: make sure to agree in advance! Even better: ask at your Riad to call one for you. Also, try to get the exact change for the ride.
4. Getting around town: best to have a local guide. In this way you will not get constantly asked by local people where you are going. This is also because the gps/google maps is not very accurate. Bear in mind, they are trying to be friendly (although they expect a small tip). But me and my friend (without a guide) found them a bit frustrating and pressing.
5. Always haggle. Try your best – sometimes it might work, sometimes not. We managed to get quite some things down to 30-40% their asking price 😉