Meknes: A Complete City Guide

The Landscape

Meknes is one of Morocco’s four imperial cities, but it runs at a fraction of the intensity of neighbouring Fes or Marrakech. Built largely in the 17th century by Sultan Moulay Ismail, who intended it to rival Versailles, it now works best as a low-friction base for travellers who want historical scale without the medina hustle.

Navigating the City Layout

The Oued Bou Fekrane divides the city.

The medina, on the west side, holds the walled historical core, the sprawling Place el-Hedim, and the Bab Mansour gate.

The ville nouvelle, east, is the French-built modern sector with the train stations, cafes, and most mid-range hotels.

Unlike Fes, the Meknes medina is relatively flat and legible. Shopkeepers generally do not employ the high-pressure tactics you meet elsewhere, which for some travellers is reason enough to come.

The Volubilis Basecamp Strategy

The main reason independent travellers stop in Meknes is Volubilis, the best-preserved Roman site in Morocco, about 30 kilometres north. It is genuinely impressive, though not the largest Roman site in North Africa, with Leptis Magna in Libya and Dougga in Tunisia both more extensive.

You do not need an expensive guided tour from Fes. The independent route works well:

1. Go to the grand taxi rank near the Institut Français in the ville nouvelle.
2. Take a shared taxi to Moulay Idriss, the hilltop holy town, for a small per-seat fare.
3. From there, hire a taxi for the remaining few kilometres to the Volubilis gates, ask the driver to wait a couple of hours, and return.

Done this way, the whole circuit costs a fraction of an organised tour, and you get Moulay Idriss thrown in.

The Wine Region

Meknes is the centre of Moroccan wine production, helped by altitude and the moderate climate of the nearby Atlas foothills. Château Roslane and Domaine de la Zouina both sit just outside the city.

If you want to buy local bottles rather than tour an estate, the large supermarkets in the ville nouvelle carry one of the better domestic wine selections in the country. Note that alcohol is sold in licensed shops and supermarket sections rather than everywhere, and hours can be restricted around religious holidays.