Things to do in Meknes
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Meknes
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Spring is the best season, mild to warm with green countryside and comfortable walking at Volubilis, though March can be wet.
Summer is hot and dry, regularly 32 to 36 degrees and sometimes above 40, so sightsee early and after 5pm.
Autumn is the second best season, with grape harvest in early autumn, olive harvest in late autumn and rain returning in November.
Winter has mild days, cold nights and the most rain, with the quietest monuments and the lowest hotel prices.
What's on
- Moussem of Moulay Idriss Zerhoun August, dates vary by year
A major pilgrimage festival in Moulay Idriss that brings crowds to the holy town, best checked locally for exact dates.
Best things to do in Meknes
Bab Mansour
The grandest ceremonial gate in Morocco, with huge green tiled columns facing Place El Hedim.
Place El Hedim
The broad main square in front of Bab Mansour, best for a mint tea and evening people watching.
Mausoleum of Moulay Ismail
The decorated resting place of the sultan who made Meknes his capital, open to non-Muslim visitors.
Heri es-Souani
Immense royal granaries and stables built for Moulay Ismail, cavernous, cool and rarely crowded.
Dar Jamai Museum
A 19th century palace museum of Moroccan arts set around an Andalusian style garden on Place El Hedim.
Bou Inania Madrasa
A finely decorated 14th century Quranic school in the medina, with carved stucco, tilework and a roof view.
Meknes Medina
A UNESCO listed old town with craft souks that is unusually easy and unhurried for Morocco.
Qara Prison
A vast underground vaulted prison built under Moulay Ismail near Place Lalla Aouda, sombre and full of legend.
Where to stay in Meknes
Medina and medina edge
first trip, atmosphere and walking access
Walkable to Bab Mansour, Place El Hedim and the souks, with riads down lanes a car cannot fully reach.
Ville Nouvelle
drivers, late arrivals and conventional hotels
Wider avenues, cafes, banks and the main stations, with easier parking and taxis and less atmosphere at night.
Agdal and wine country
wine stays, second nights and touring by car
Quieter and greener south of the city on the El Hajeb road, car based and a drive from evening life.
Best restaurants in Meknes
Restaurant Dar Baraka
A small family run medina restaurant with home style Moroccan cooking and couscous visitors praise highly.
Restaurant Dar Lalla Khadra
A well liked medina house restaurant for generous tagines, grilled meats and couscous at mid range prices.
Collier de la Colombe
A long running Moroccan restaurant on Rue Driba with traditional rooms and a panoramic terrace over the medina.
Aisha
A tiny open kitchen medina restaurant for harira, fresh bread, brochettes and couscous at genuinely cheap prices.
Restaurant Ya Hala
A cheap local Moroccan restaurant near the medina known for couscous with meat and Moroccan salads.
Relais de Paris
A French restaurant in the ville nouvelle with white linen, duck and steak, and French and Moroccan wines.
Palais Terrab
A palace restaurant on Avenue Zerktouni for Moroccan set meals, groups and occasion dinners, with wine available.
Outdoor things to do in Meknes
Volubilis
Morocco's great Roman city, a UNESCO site of arches, public buildings and in situ floor mosaics on a plateau.
Moulay Idriss Zerhoun
A holy hill town of lanes and viewpoints where Moulay Idriss I is buried, 4 km from Volubilis.
Volubilia-Domaine de la Zouina
The most visitor friendly Meknes wine estate, with a winery tour and a tasting with goat cheese and olive oil.
Agdal Basin
The huge imperial reservoir beside Heri es-Souani, a calm local stroll at sunset with walls mirrored in water.
Lahboul Park
A historic terraced park from 1906 above the Boufekrane valley, with old trees, fountains and viewpoints.
Royal Golf de Meknes
A singular short 9 hole course inside the Royal Palace walls and gardens, lined with palm and fruit trees.
Best hotels in Meknes
Palais Didi
An 18th century palace in the imperial quarter with large suites around a tiled patio, a pool and a restaurant.
Riad Lahboul
A restored Andalusian style guesthouse at the medina edge, with gardens, terraces, a hammam and warm service.
Riad Yacout
An 1830 riad on Place Lalla Aouda, 2 minutes from Place El Hedim, with spacious rooms and an in house restaurant.
Ryad Bab Berdaine
A simple good value bed and breakfast with a tiled patio and a terrace with panoramic medina views.
ibis Meknes
A dependable chain hotel in the ville nouvelle with a pool, bar and parking, a short taxi ride from the medina.
Hotel Transatlantique
A large older garden hotel across the valley from the medina, booked for its pools and panoramic old city views.
Château Roslane Boutique Hôtel & Spa
A Relais & Chateaux wine estate hotel with 13 rooms among the vines, plus a pool, spa and estate restaurant.
Is Meknes expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | MAD 450 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | MAD 1,100 a person |
| Splurge | MAD 2,800 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Volubilia-Domaine de la Zouina: a few days ahead
- Royal Golf de Meknes: a few days ahead
- Palais Didi: weeks ahead
- Château Roslane Boutique Hôtel & Spa: weeks ahead
- Restaurant Dar Baraka: a few days ahead
- Relais de Paris: a few days ahead
- Palais Terrab: a few days ahead
- Book Chateau Roslane and the better medina riads ahead in spring and autumn.
- Reserve Restaurant Dar Baraka for dinner, as seats are few.
- Reserve any Zouina or Roslane winery visit, tour and lunch in writing and confirm what is included.
Is Meknes safe?
- Stay alert in tourist places and avoid demonstrations and crowds.
- Keep bags closed and in front in medina crowds against pickpocketing and bag snatching, and avoid quiet areas after dark.
- Buy wine only from licensed shops, hotels and estates, never drink in public, and avoid unlabelled alcohol entirely.
- Emergency services in Morocco are reached on 19 for police in cities and 15 for ambulance and fire.
Meknes travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- A stranger saying your street or sight is closed, then offering to show you the way for payment or a commission shop.
- Unlicensed guides who start walking and talking and then demand a fee, use only guides with an official badge.
- Shops substituting inferior goods for the item you bought, so check goods before you leave.
- Restaurants facing Place El Hedim charge for the view, eat in the lanes behind the square instead.
Getting around Meknes: public transport and more
- Use a petit taxi for Heri es-Souani and the Agdal, and agree the price or insist on the meter before you move.
- Meknes Ville is the main station, El Amir Abdelkader is smaller and closer to the medina side, and Fes is about 40 minutes by train.
- Volubilis and Moulay Idriss need a grand taxi, a hired driver or a booked tour, there is no useful train.
Who Meknes suits
| Solo travellers | Great |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Good |
| Couples | Great |
| Bachelor parties | Not ideal |
| Families | Good |
| Bachelorette parties | Not ideal |
Make Meknes your trip
Swearby drafts the days from places people swear by. Swap any stop, then invite the crew by text, even friends without the app. Vote on dates, track costs as you go, and everyone gets one number at the end.
Get Swearby on the App Store