BARBARMezzanine
Offline map Google map ( 17 Kasbah Chams; noon-1am) Scoring highly on the fashion meterand for late opening, this bar is more Ibiza than Moulay Idriss, and popular with the hip young
Fassi crowd. The terrace overlooking Jnan Sbil gardens is a good place to chill with a beer or
cocktail, and there’s tapas too if you want some finger food.
Sofitel Palais Jamaï
Offline map Google map ( Bab Guissa) A great place for a sundowner, the Palais Jamaï has agreat terrace looking out across old Fez: an ideal way to finish up a day in the medina. Drinks
are slightly more expensive before dinner, but you can help yourself to as many free bar snacks
as you like.
Entertainment
Live-music buffs know the best time to visit Fez is festival time. Café Clock ( Click here ) has
regular Sunday sunset concerts worth checking out.
Institut Français ( 0535 62 39 21; www.institutfrancaisfes.com; 33 Rue Loukili)
organises a packed program of films, concerts, exhibitions and plays.
Shopping
Fez is the artisanal capital of Morocco. The choice of crafts is wide, quality is high, and prices
are competitive, so take your time to shop around. As usual, it’s best to seek out the little
shops off the main tourist routes (principally Talaa Kebira and Talaa Seghira in the medina).
For leather, the area around the tanneries, unsurprisingly, has the best selection of goods.
In the medina, there are many well-restored riads and funduqs that have been converted into
carpet showrooms. While they certainly offer a great opportunity to sit with a mint tea in
spectacular surroundings and look at some fabulous rugs, the hard sell is like no other place in
Morocco. You can pick up some wonderful pieces, but also pay over the odds for factory-made
rubbish.
FASSI POTTERY
Ceramics seem to be everywhere in Fez – from the distinctive blue pottery to the intricate mosaics decorating fountains and
riads. Art Naji ( 0535 66 91 66; www.artnaji.net; Ain Nokbi; 8am-6pm) is the place to go to buy the real deal. You can see
the entire production process, from pot-throwing to the painstaking hand painting and laying out of zellij (tilework) – it’s a joy to
behold. The potteries are about 500m east of Bab el-Ftouh, an easy trip in a petit taxi – look for the plumes of black smoke
produced by olive pits, which burn at the right temperature for firing the clay. You can even commission a mosaic and arrange
for it to be shipped home.Information
Dangers & Annoyances
Although Fez is safe in comparison to Western cities of the same size, it’s not really safe to