Souks For Shopping And A Modest Night out

Fes is a conservative society and the night outs here may not be very exciting for the tourists. Bars are mostly in posh hotels and usually do not have the right atmosphere for women. However, you could be spoilt for choice if you wish to eat out or go shopping in Fes.

Bars

For a good drink, you would have to restrict yourself to the Hotel bars, unless you are one of the locals well versed with Arabic. Women too might find local bars uncomfortable.

Being a conservative society, being drunk in public might get you stern looks from the people here.

Nevertheless, among the good bars here are the bars of Hotel Batha. One of them is a comfortable lounge and the other one is more of a night club. Restaurant International too has a bar where you could find the local crowd though it isn’t all that great.

Mezzanine is cozy lounge bar with a patio. It has a good ambience and is also a place for a cosmopolitan dinner with good music. It is open way after midnight.

L’Acazar Bar is just perfect after a tiring day at Medina. This lounge bar with a variety of cocktails, wines and other drinks is apt if you are looking for a place to unwind at. The terrace bar at Sofitel Palais Jamai is posh too.

The majority of nightclubs are in the large hotels and don’t get started until around midnight. Le Phoebus, Hotel Jnan Palace, and the club at the Hotel Sofia, 3 rue d’Arabie Saoudite, both in the Ville Nouvelle, both play a good mix of Moroccan and occidental music.

Nightclubs too are in posh hotels and do not open till late at night. Le Phoebus at Hotel Jnan Palace and the club at Hotel Sofia are few good nightclubs accompanied with Moroccan and other styles of Music.

Eating out

There are a number of posh and pocket-friendly hotels in Fes. Dar Seffarine, Hotel Batha and Hotel Ibis Moussafir in Ville Nouvelle are few affordable and comfortable hotels in Fes. Among the luxury hotels are the Bab el-Guissa and Riad Maison Bleue.

Restaurants suiting all kinds of budgets too are available here. Al Fassia is one well-known Moroccan restaurant offering a rooftop view of the old city here. Some specialties of this place are pastille and couscous complemented with Andalusian band and belly dancing. One really posh restaurant at Medina is Dar Saada, in what was formally a palace. It’s open till lunch hours only. A cheap and good restaurant is the Kasbah, though it does not serve alcohols. Restaurant Zagora at Village Nouville offers a French Moroccan cuisine and has quality service at affordable rates. Another good restaurant here is the Royal Mirage Al Wadi restaurant.

Shopping

Souks are where you do your shopping in Fes. There’s a market for everything here. Since it’s not a tourist destination but the real market where people of Fes go shopping to, you get a good bargain here.

At Rue el-Attarine, you can get fruits, vegetables; herb etc.  For cosmetics and ointments, henna souk is the place.

Interestingly named Fes, there are cylindrical hats that can be found in lanes of Kissaria among the clothes shops.

Fes craftwork is considered to be the finest in Morocco. Among the popular ones are pottery, wood carvings, jewellery, leather goods, woven cushion covers. Prices too are reasonable here.

You could also check out the government run Ensemble Artisanal in Ville Nouvelle, if you are not up for bargaining.

Near the main gate of Bab Boujeloud are markets for worth trying cheap street food. The markets usually shut down early, latest by 6 in the evening and on Fridays till evening.

While night scene is not loud here in Fes, owing to the religious sentiments, there are plenty of options for eating out and shopping, both of which are good ways to relax and enjoy the place and your trip.