Match-ups
Marrakech vs Fes
For: Choosing your Moroccan city, and wondering which one is calmer
The question travellers ask most: is Marrakech as tiring as people say, and is Fes calmer? Honest answer: different, not calmer. Here's how they differ.
Marrakech2 Fes4
7 rounds. Numbers come with their sources under each round; the scores out of 5 are our own take. Draws count for no one.
Round 1
Getting there
Average return fare from London (Kayak), with flight times
Marrakech £154 return 3.7 h non-stop from London, no non-stop from Dubai. Average return from Dubai: AED 2,661 (to RAK)
Fes £135 return 3.2 h non-stop from London, no non-stop from Dubai. Average return fare: £135 from London (to FEZ)
Fes is the cheaper trip from London.
Sources kayak.co.uk kayak.ae kayak.co.uk Checked 2026-11-14.
Round 2
Cost of a day
Average spend per traveller per day (budgetyourtrip.com), in US dollars
Marrakech US$ 100 a day
Fes US$ 92 a day
Fes is cheaper: about 8% less a day.
Sources budgetyourtrip.com budgetyourtrip.com Checked 2026-11-14.
Round 3
Weather
Average daytime high, °C
Marrakech Marrakech Jan 19.1°Apr 25.7°Jul 37.7°Oct 28.5°
Fes Fes Jan 16°Apr 22°Jul 35.1°Oct 26.1°
Nearly the same: both are very hot in July and fresh in winter. Fes is a little cooler all year.
Sources en.wikipedia.org en.wikipedia.org Checked 2026-11-14.
Round 4
The hassle
Our take, scored out of 5
Marrakech 2 / 5 Touts, scooters in the narrow lanes, and constant offers around Jemaa el-Fnaa
Fes 3 / 5 Fewer scooters (the lanes are too narrow), but self-styled guides at the gates and the tanneries
Fes, a little. Neither is quiet; for real calm, travellers name Essaouira and Rabat.
Round 5
Sights
Our take, scored out of 5
Marrakech 4 / 5 Palaces, gardens, the big square at night
Fes 5 / 5 Al-Qarawiyyin, the madrasas, the tanneries, a medina where you can get lost
Fes for the medieval city; Marrakech for the show.
Round 6
Easy to enjoy
Our take, scored out of 5
Marrakech 5 / 5 More cafés, rooftops and riads with pools; easy to rest between outings
Fes 3 / 5 Harder to find your way; a licensed guide for the first half day helps a lot
Marrakech is easier for a first trip.
Round 7
Day trips
Our take, scored out of 5
Marrakech 5 / 5 The Atlas, Ouzoud, Agafay, Essaouira
Fes 4 / 5 Meknes, Volubilis, Chefchaouen (long), the Middle Atlas cedars
Marrakech has more within a few hours.
The verdict
Neither is calm: Fes is a bit less tiring, Marrakech is easier to enjoy. For a first trip with little time, Marrakech. To feel a medieval city, Fes. For real quiet, add Essaouira or Rabat.
Marrakech2 Fes4
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Photo credits "2018 01 (Blue) - Chaouen" by Fbrandao.1963, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons · source "Jemaa el-Fnaa Marrakech at sunset" by Herokk, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons · source "Merzouga Dunes 2011" by Bjørn Christian Tørrissen, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons · source "Fes Bab Bou Jeloud 2011" by Bjørn Christian Tørrissen, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons · source "Taghazout village" by Jimbobbailey312, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons · source "Moroccan mint tea" by Reyes Martínez, CC0, via WordPress Photo Directory · source "Tubing" by eelke dekker, CC BY 2.0, via Flickr · source "Kitesurf-Dakhla-Morocco (4)" by Nomadz, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons · source "Bab Kasbah, Tangier" by David Jones, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons · source "Kasbah des Oudaias P1060356" by Pline, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons · source "City walls at the port, Essaouira 01" by Adam Harangozó, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons · source "Sunshine on mosque Hassan II in Casablanca, Morocco - Flickr - Milamber's portfolio" by Milamber's portfolio, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons · source "Main Gate Chellah Rabat Nov25" by Timothy A. Gonsalves, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons · source "Ksar Aït Benhaddou, Marocco" by Petar Milošević, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons · source "Blick auf Volubilis 1990" by Christian Wittmann, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons · source "Stucco decoration, Bou Inania Madrasa, Fez" by Petar Milošević, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons · source "Tetouan, near the Medina and Qasba" by Ideophagous, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons · source "Ibn Danan Synagogue DSCF5081" by R Prazeres, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons · source "La Citerne portugaise" by Guilandre, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons · source "Camels at Aït Benhaddou, Saharan caravan route, Morocco" by Petar Milošević, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons · source "Koutoubia Mosque, Marrakech", watercolour by Hercules Brabazon Brabazon (1821–1906), CC0, via Wikimedia Commons · source "Qarawiyyin Mosque DSCF4250" by R Prazeres, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons · source "The northern gate of Sijilmassa Mansouria" by Hmidanix, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons · source "Gnawa Singer" by Monaam Ben Fredj, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons · source "Kasbah Ait Benhaddou, Morocco (1) (30765760583) (cropped to focus on old town)" by ER Bauer from Freising, Germany, CC BY 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons · source "Rice terraces, Bali" by Vyacheslav Argenberg, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons · source "Hagia Sophia Mars 2013" by Arild Vågen, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons · source "1000 Three domes of Oia in Santorini" by Giles Laurent, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons · source "Wadi rum desert" by Peter Chisholm, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons · source "Teide Canadas" by Ingo Mehling, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons · source "Seville, Plaza de España (edited)" by Dmitry Dzhus, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons · source "Alfama, Lisbon, Portugal July 2021 - Tram" by Sharon Hahn Darlin, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons · source "Egypt, Cairo, Islamic Cairo, the City of a Thousand Minarets" by Vyacheslav Argenberg, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons · source "Tangier Medina" by Travel4Brews, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons · source