Are the Fes tanneries worth visiting, and do they smell?

The Chouara tanneries are one of those sights that actually live up to the photographs, and I'd put them on any Fes itinerary. From a terrace above, you look down on a honeycomb of stone vats filled with white lime solution and pools of natural dye — saffron yellow, poppy red, indigo, mint green — with men standing waist-deep, treading and turning hides exactly as they have since medieval times. Fes has been tanning leather here for over a thousand years, and almost nothing about the method has modernised. It's not a reconstruction or a show; it's a working, generational craft, and watching it is genuinely moving.

Now, the smell — because everyone asks and the honest answer is yes, it can be pungent. The process uses natural agents that include pigeon droppings (for the ammonia that softens the hides) along with lime, salt and the dyes, and on a hot, still day the odour is strong. This is why, at the entrance to the leather shops you climb through to reach the terraces, someone hands you a sprig of fresh mint — you hold it under your nose and it genuinely takes the edge off. My honest read: most people find it bracing for the first minute and then barely notice, especially with the mint. If you're unusually sensitive to smells, go in the morning when it's cooler and less intense.

Here's the practical mechanics people don't expect: there's no public viewing platform. You access the terraces through the leather shops that ring the tannery — you walk in, climb to their rooftop balcony, take your photos, and the understanding is you'll be shown their jackets, bags, poufs and famous Fassi babouches on the way down. There's no fixed entry fee, but the etiquette is either to buy something, tip a small amount (10–20 dirhams), or politely decline the hard sell. The leather is real and good quality, and prices are negotiable; just go in knowing the view and the sales pitch are a package deal, and don't feel pressured to buy if you don't want to.

A few tips to get the best of it. The colours are most vivid in good light, and morning is cooler and less crowded. Wear closed shoes — the lanes around the tanneries are wet and slick. Don't lean too far for the photo; the terraces are old. And take a moment to actually watch the dyers rather than just shooting and leaving — the physical labour, the way they vault between vats, is the real spectacle. There are smaller, less crowded tanneries in the medina too (the Sidi Moussa tannery, for one), but Chouara is the grand one and worth the few minutes of mint-assisted aroma.