Fez Tips

Don’t plan on visiting any mosques – with the exception of the Hassan II mosque in Casablanca, only Muslims are allowed to enter these places of worship in Morocco.

While tourists can get away with tanktops and shorts in the tourist mecca of Marrakech, Fez is far more traditional. Particularly in the medina, women should avoid short skirts and baring their arms or risk harassment.

Don’t bargain without serious intent to buy – doing so will incite ire and could lead to an uncomfortable situation. As a general rule, try to get the price down by half.

Faux guides (false guides) are omnipresent in the medina (most come in the form of a pestering pre-teen following you around offering his tour services). Keep your cool and persistently repeat “non merci”—eventually your suitor will give up.

Tipping is inherent in Moroccan culture, and at Marrakech restaurants 10 percent is standard. Leave a few dirhams for baggage porters, gas station attendants who pump your gas, and parking lot attendants. Leaving nothing is considered rude.

Many tourists are caught off guard by sneaky hands in the busy medina. Petty theft (cameras, wallets, watches) is rampant here. Visitors who stay alert, however, shouldn’t have a problem. Do not venture into the medina after dark.

Renting a car is a great way to visit Fez’s outlying countryside. All the big name rental companies can be found in the Ville Nouvelle, as can local Moroccan rental companies, which are often more affordable.

In Fez, French is spoken as widely as the Moroccan dialect of Arabic that is the country’s first language. Although most shopkeepers speak some English, learning a few simple French greetings can help grease your social interactions.

Don’t let the fact that pigeon is a main ingredient scare you away from Fez’s specialty dish. B’stilla – a flaky pastry pie stuffed with almonds and pigeon, and laced with cinnamon and sugar – is a worthwhile indulgence.

U.S. passport holders do not need visas for travel in Morocco, but in order to enter the country, your passport must be valid for six months after the date of your arrival.

You’ll pay exorbitantly for Internet connections in major Fez hotels, and getting online isn’t even an option in most of the smaller guesthouses. There are a few internet cafes inside the medina, and just outside the gates at Place Batha; Internet cafes are abound in the Ville Nouvelle, with endless affordable options for getting online.

As Morocco’s most religious city, it’s rare to find places that serve alcohol. Aside from one or two restaurants, the only places that serve spirits are seedy bars frequented mainly by Moroccan men.