- Mechoui in the medina's grill streets.
- Pastilla and harira in the old restaurants.
- Meknès olives, sold in the markets.
Meknès City Guide
Bab Mansour, the great gate of Meknès. Photo via Wikimedia Commons.
Meknès was the capital of Sultan Moulay Ismail (reigned 1672 to 1727), who built it into an imperial city of palaces, granaries and stables on a scale to rival Versailles. The monuments survive; the crowds mostly do not, which makes Meknès the calmest imperial city to visit.
It is also the base for Volubilis, Morocco's great Roman site, and the holy town of Moulay Idriss Zerhoun.
What to do in Meknès
The imperial city
- 1
Bab Mansour The 1732 monumental gate, among the finest in Morocco. - 2
Heri es-Souani The vast granaries and the royal stables. - 3
Mausoleum of Moulay Ismail The sultan's tomb, open to non-Muslim visitors. - 4
Dar Jamai Museum The 1882 palace museum of Meknès crafts. - 5
Lahdim Square The square before Bab Mansour, with cafés and street life.
Day trips
- 1
Volubilis The Roman ruins: mosaics, the basilica and the triumphal arch, 30 km north. - 2
Moulay Idriss Zerhoun The holy hill town above Volubilis.
Meknès Hotel Guide
How to choose the best places to stay in Meknès. Verified properties below; for the full list, search live availability on Booking.com.
See all Meknès hotels on Booking.com ›Where to eat
Getting there and around
ONCF trains run from Fès (40 minutes), Rabat and Casablanca. Grand taxis go to Volubilis and Moulay Idriss.