“I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.” That famous quote from Casablanca was on my mind as we arrived in Morocco in late December 2025 to explore a country we were very curious about, while at the same time attending a sporting event we were very eager to enjoy.
Since our main mission was football, our itinerary had us immediately book it to Fes as soon as we exited the plane in Casablanca. I had organized this whole trip around football games, especially ones the Nigeria Super Eagles would be playing, or most likely would. And, similar to FIFA World Cup, each big city hosts teams, which means — luckily — we can move around a lot, but it also means –stressfully — your itinerary is all over the place trying to place you in the right city for the right game. And then still try to figure out how to see some of Morocco’s best places in between.
Fes was where Nigeria’s team was stationed for the early part of the tournament, so Fes is where we started, and ultimately spent the most time. We were there three nights, then moved north to Tangier for another game, then back down to Fes for two more nights to catch a third game.
I’m actually quite happy we spent the most time in Fes. It was just a lovely introduction to Morocco. Not as hectic as Marrakech, not as European as Tangier. With friendly folks, a fun stadium to watch games and a medina that was endlessly fascinating.
Ultimately, while we did spend most of our time in Fes – love, love — we actually didn’t spend a lot of time touring all of the city’s historical and popular sites. This was mostly a “sports trip” afterall, so our main focus was AFCON, but here are my MUSTS for Fes…
Must stay in a riad
I wish we could have stayed in 10 different riads! Fortunately, we did stay at three, two in Fes and one in Marrakech. We stayed at Riad Sidrat Fes when we first arrived to Fes and Riad Layalina when we returned after visiting Tangier.
A riad is a traditional Moroccan house or palace with an indoor garden and courtyard. They are located within the old city “medina” walls.
Both riads were run by lovely families. Both were dedicated to making sure we were comfortable, well-fed and enjoying our time in the city. And both were architecturally stunning. Just a huge “wow.” You can’t stop taking in all the tiny details, all the intricate woodwork, all the gorgeous Moroccan tile patterns. *swoon*
Riads give you both a feast for your eyes and a sense of serene calmness from the chaotic world you know is just churning beyond its doors. Medinas are hectic mazes, riads are the quiet respite in the middle of it all. And after a day getting lost in the maze, there’s nothing like approaching your riad’s large — somehow hidden — door to immediately receive a warm welcome, which usually came with a hot cup of mint tea and a little sweet treat.
Once you’re in your room, they can be kinda quirky. Some have tiny bathrooms, some have gigantic ones with insane views. All were comfortable. All were quiet. I was thinking originally that it wouldn’t be quiet as we were staying right in the heart of the medina, but no, we didn’t experience any outside noise.
Many riads come with a view like this on their rooftops. Completely bewitched.
I used Booking.com to book all our accommodation in Morocco (except our desert trip) and had not one issue. I found each riad or hotel would immediately send welcoming emails through the app with info on how to find them, a number to call them and other good tips.
Also, I’m not sure what’s going on in Morocco when it comes to mattresses, but we stayed in six different places of all varying quality, and I gotta tell you, each one had an excellent mattress. Like, that never happens. But you have to like a mattress that is hard as a brick. But, funny, they didn’t feel like bricks, though. My back was so happy. I need to research this, I need a Morocco mattress in my life.
Must get lost in the medina
Our first medina was THE BEST medina.
Don’t get me wrong, I loved the others we went through and Marrakech had an insane vibe that I really enjoyed once I got used to all the traffic within it. But the Fes medina (Fes el-Bali) was the best. We loved it there.
There’s no traffic in this medina. Unless you think donkeys are traffic. So it’s definitely quieter than Marrakech. It kinda reminded me of Venice in that there are so many streets/alleyways going in all directions and they look very similar to each other that it’s quite easy to get lost. (Please get an eSim or have data of some-sort when you are in Morocco to make sure you can GPS your way around if needed. And, believe me, it will be needed.)
We met so many people in the medina. And because I am traveling with an African, I feel like every Moroccan wanted to meet us… actually… they only wanted to meet Chuck. People were obsessed with him! I’m not joking. It was kind of insane actually.
I don’t know why Chuck is such a draw. But from the moment we arrived in the country to the moment we left, Moroccans went out of their way (literally running at him, yelling out car windows or stopping on their motorbikes) to greet him. And usually the first word out of their mouth was, “Nigeria?” Good guess. And when Chuck confirmed yes, the person would just start walking with him and furiously chatting. “My brother!” “I love Nigeria!” “We are Africans!” “Good luck in the tournament!” “Your team is the best!” (Thank you, they were.)
Honestly, we didn’t really get it, but it certainly made our experience with the Moroccans an exceptional one. We didn’t need a tour guide in Fes as pretty much every person we met became our tour guides.
At one restaurant, La Cave, the chef took one look at us and immediately changed the music to Naija Hip-Hop and started BLARING it, and that is definitely the Nigerian way to play music (it’s like grocery shopping in Lagos, music be LOUD). And somehow the whole restaurant, which was packed but pretty quiet when we arrived, started grooving and “chair dancing” and the chef and waiters started dancing. We were like, “What is happening???” Then the chef gave us a giant bag of loose herbal tea to take home to help us sleep. And we actually made that tea almost every night for the rest of our trip. And indeed, it helped us sleep!
Must buy argan, leather and rugs
The shopping in Fes is so damn good. But I need to preface this… I read the reviews of Morocco medinas and how people seem to have bad experiences in them. Mostly the complaints I saw were about being bombarded with sellers trying to coerce them into buying something. And I get it, I truly do, especially if you’re from a world where shopping isn’t a sport. Yeah, I said sport. I was on a sports trip after-all.
In places like Turkey, Morocco and Nigeria, shopping is definitely a sport. You have to go in ready for battle! (With a budget.) You have to be firm and be ok saying a hard “NO” or just avoid interacting at all and just continue on your way. But when you are ready to buy, barter! Barter hard. This is where the sport part comes in. However, there is no one true winner if you both barter well. The “win” is when you both come to an agreement on price. For me — after all the back-and-forth arguing, and the posturing, and the walking away, and then the coming back (if you really have to have it), and then finally settling on a price — there’s like this moment in the sale where I feel like I just made a new friend. I think because I kinda did. Once the cost is settled, now you just shoot the shit with someone who also just believes they won.
So, it ends in a tie! But, geesh, what a game that was. You then shake hands (literally most of the time) and move on to your next opponent.
And c’mon! Isn’t the thought of playing “shopping sports” sound a lot more fun than going to the mall? You might even remember that experience more than the item you bought. Or it will make you love the item that much more. It now has a story behind it. A meaning and a personal interaction most other purchases don’t come with.
Must endure the tannery aroma
“Here, take this, it’s a Moroccan mask.” This statement was followed by a large bunch of fresh mint shoved into each of our hands as we moved up a tiny store’s staircase to the roof to look out at the famous Chouara Tannery.
Yep, you definitely need the mint up there. It’s ripe AF! It’s also a stunning view.
The tannery was founded in the 11th century and is renowned for dying leather with 100% plant-based or mineral pigments. It stinks like holy hell up there because before the leather gets to the dyeing stage, they let it soak in pigeon poop and cow urine to soften the hides. Lovely.
But looking out at all those colourful vats of dye is pretty special. And getting a glimpse at such an old tried-and-true process is also pretty special. The colours come from poppies (red), saffron (yellow), indigo (blue) and mint (green). Damn cool, eh? Worth the stink, eh? We got that mint mask anyways.
Must eat tagine
Bring me all the steaming dishes in an earthenware tagine pot! We had tagine on our very first night in Morocco and pretty much kept that tradition going the entire trip. Sure, we tried other dishes like harira soup, zaalouk and taktouka, but those steaming tagine pots kept beckoning us back. So delish.
And then there were the beverages. The mint tea! Oh yes, especially with all the cold and rainy weather we had. Then the coffee. Oh, the coffee. Coffee in Africa just hits different. It’s never bitter. I tried a spicy Berber coffee one night and it was perfection. On another day I came across a man stirring a pot in sand. Looked like he was making something good, so I had to try. It was very much worth the five minute process. *sigh*
Then there was a fresh-mint lemonade that was so perfectly tart and crisp. Made me do that little eating dance we all do when something hits the tastebuds just right. I tried that at Cafe Clock, which is where we also tried camel burgers. 🐪😮
And don’t get me started on the oranges. Dear Lord, they shouldn’t taste that good. I thought I knew what good freshly-squeezed OJ tastes like. I. Did. Not.
One thing of note, we assumed Morocco would have spicy food. I guess the assumption came from that it’s an African country, which lives for SPICE. But we found the food pretty spice-free. Chuck has now requested we travel with a bottle of hot sauce. This man, help me. 🤦🏻♀️
Must enjoy all the differences
Stop signs in Arabic. Seriously ‘petit’ taxis where drivers flash one, two or three fingers at you to signal how many people they have space to pick up. A teeny-tiny ride share, if you will. The famous “Blue Gate,” which is literally green on the medina side. The oldest still open university in the world that is situated smack-dab in the middle of the medina. There were a few little moments/sights in Fes that reminded us that this is a very fascinating place.
