Meknes was the last of the four royal cities of Morocco we visited. Unfortunately, we had really bad luck on multiple levels. It turns out it does rain in Morocco in March - plenty. The rain in Meknes was so persistent that it significantly limited our ability to explore the city. We missed several key parts simply because our clothes were too wet to continue wandering around.

To make matters worse, several major sites were closed for renovation—and have been for quite some time. Neither the granaries/stables nor the Kara prison were open during our visit (March 2025).

We also underestimated the impact of visiting during Ramadan. I had assumed that in a tourist-oriented country, there would always be a café willing to take your money. Turns out, I was wrong. Morocco takes Ramadan very seriously, and most shops and eateries are closed during the day.

That said, we did get lucky in two respects: we found our best riad of the trip—Riad Zidania Meknès—and we appreciated Meknes as a welcome respite from the overcrowded medinas of Fez and Marrakesh.

Layout of the Site

The layout of Meknes can be a bit hard to grasp at first and it's probably helpful to provide a bit guidance:

• The original medina lies northwest of Bab El Mansour, just north of Al-Hadeem Square.
• The King’s Quarter is southeast of Bab El Mansour. It includes the Kara Prison and the Mausoleum of Moulay Ismail. The Avenue Bab Marrah runs between the former royal palace and the King’s District and is very scenic.
• Further afield are the granaries and royal stables.

While the weather and the closures certainly tempered our impressions, we still enjoyed our stay. Meknes felt more like a consistent period piece than Marrakesh or Fez.

Getting There

Meknes lies along the main Moroccan WHS rail line that connects Marrakesh with Fez via Casablanca and Rabat. Buses are also available, but trains seem to be the fastest option.

From Fez, many day trips are offered that combine Volubilis, Moulay Idriss Zerhoun (T), and Meknes. We joined one of these tours and asked the driver to drop us off in Meknes. Since we were heading to Casablanca the next day, returning to Fez would have been a major detour.

While You Are There

In addition to the two nearby World Heritage Sites—Volubilis and Fez—Meknes has two tentative sites: Moulay Idriss Zerhoun and El Gour. El Gour has a less than glowing review by Zoe that stuck with me, so we didn’t make the effort. In Moulay Idriss Zerhoun, visiting options for non-Muslims are severely restricted, it's still worth a short stop to take in Morocco's holiest site.