Morocco has four imperial cities: Fes, Meknes, Rabat and Marrakech. Each was, at some point, the capital of a dynasty that ruled the country, and each one still shows the period when it held the crown. Seeing all four is one of the classic ways to understand Morocco, because the country’s history moved from one to the next.
This guide covers what makes each city different, the order to see them in, the real driving times between them, and how many days the trip needs.
Why they are called imperial cities
The name has nothing to do with an empire in the European sense. It means these four cities were royal capitals. Power in Morocco moved with the ruling family, and each new dynasty tended to build or rebuild a capital of its own:
| City | Capital under | Period | UNESCO World Heritage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fes | the Idrisids, later the Marinids | founded 789-808; height in the 13th-14th centuries | 1981 |
| Marrakech | the Almoravids, then the Almohads | founded 1070-72; Almohad capital 1147-1269 | 1985 |
| Meknes | Sultan Moulay Ismail | 1672-1727 | 1996 |
| Rabat | the modern kingdom | capital since 1912 | 2012 |
All four have a UNESCO-listed historic centre, and so does the Roman city of Volubilis, which sits between Meknes and Fes and is usually seen on the same trip.
Fes: the oldest, and the hardest to leave
Fes was founded by the Idrisid dynasty between 789 and 808, and reached its height under the Marinids in the 13th and 14th centuries, when it replaced Marrakech as the capital of the kingdom. Most of what you see in the old medina, Fes el Bali, dates from that period: the madrasas, the fondouks where merchants stayed, the fountains and the houses. When the political capital moved to Rabat in 1912, Fes kept its role as the country’s cultural and spiritual centre.
What to see:
- Al-Qarawiyyin, founded in 859. Guinness World Records lists it as the oldest existing, continually operating educational institution in the world.
- The medina itself, a car-free maze best walked with a guide for the first time.
- The Mellah, the Jewish quarter, founded in the 15th century and the first in Morocco, with the Ibn Danan synagogue.
- The view from the Marinid tombs on the hill above the old city, at the end of the day.
Fes needs at least two nights: one day is not enough for the medina alone.
Meknes: the sultan’s city of walls and gates
Meknes was founded in 1061 by the Almoravids as a military stronghold. It became a capital under Sultan Moulay Ismail, who ruled from 1672 to 1727 and turned it into a city of high walls and monumental gates, in a Spanish-Moorish style. UNESCO counts nine monumental gates in the walls, and behind them twenty-five mosques, ten hammams, palaces and vast granaries.
Meknes is smaller than Fes, and half a day is usually enough. Most people combine it with Volubilis.
Volubilis and Moulay Idriss
Volubilis is 27 km from Meknes, about half an hour by road. It was founded in the 3rd century BC as the capital of Mauretania, became an outpost of the Roman Empire, and covers 42 hectares at the foot of the Jebel Zerhoun. Its floor mosaics are the reason to go. Later it was briefly the capital of Idris I, the founder of the Idrisid dynasty, who is buried in the nearby holy town of Moulay Idriss.
Rabat: the modern capital
Rabat has been the capital since 1912. Its UNESCO listing covers both the new town, planned and built under the French Protectorate from 1912 to the 1930s, and the older city, parts of which date from the 12th century. That mix is what makes it worth a stop:
- The Hassan Tower, the minaret of a great mosque begun in 1184 and never finished.
- The Kasbah of the Oudayas, above the mouth of the river, with its Andalusian garden.
- The Chellah, a walled necropolis outside the old city.
Half a day to a day is enough for Rabat.
Marrakech: the red city
Marrakech was founded in 1070-72 by the Almoravids and became the capital of the Almohads from 1147 to 1269. For a long time it was one of the main political and cultural centres of the western Muslim world, with influence from North Africa to Andalusia.
What to see:
- The Koutoubia, whose 77 m minaret is the symbol of the city.
- The Ben Youssef Madrasa, with its carved stucco and cedar around a courtyard pool.
- The Saadian Tombs and the Bahia Palace.
- Jemaa el-Fna, the main square, which is on UNESCO’s list of the intangible heritage of humanity for its storytellers, musicians and performers.
Our Marrakech city tour covers these in one guided day, and the Marrakech page has more on the city.
The route and the real driving times
Most trips start in Casablanca, where the international flights land, and end in Marrakech. We measured each leg of the usual route; the times are pure driving with no stops, so real days are longer.
| Leg | Distance | Driving time |
|---|---|---|
| Casablanca to Rabat | 92 km | 1 h 11 |
| Rabat to Meknes | 145 km | 1 h 45 |
| Meknes to Volubilis | 27 km | 0 h 32 |
| Volubilis to Fes | 68 km | 1 h 29 |
| Fes to Marrakech | 531 km | 5 h 57 |
The legs in the north are short and easy. The one long day is Fes to Marrakech, about six hours of driving before any stop. It can be split with a night in the Middle Atlas if you prefer a gentler pace.
If you start in Marrakech instead, run the loop the other way: Marrakech to Casablanca is 241 km, about 2 h 50, and Fes back to Rabat is 206 km, about 2 h 24.
Casablanca itself is not one of the imperial cities, but it is worth a few hours on arrival for the Hassan II Mosque, built out over the Atlantic. Its 210 m minaret was the tallest in the world until 2019.
How many days do you need?
- 5 days is the minimum: one night each in Rabat and Meknes, two in Fes, then the drive to Marrakech. It is rushed.
- 8 days is comfortable, with two full days in Fes, time for Volubilis, and two nights in Marrakech. This is how our 8-day imperial cities tour is built.
- 10 days or more lets you add the Sahara between Fes and Marrakech. The 8-day tour from Fes through the Sahara to Marrakech and the 10-day tour of the mountains, the Sahara and the imperial cities both do this.
When to go
Our guide to the best time to visit Morocco has the season-by-season detail. If you travel in summer, plan the walking in Fes and Marrakech for the morning and the evening, when it is cooler.
Plan it with us
Every Travel Legacy tour is private, so the order, the pace and the hotels follow your dates. See all our city tours and circuits, or contact us with your dates and we will send you a route and a price.