Are the Royal Palace gates (Fes / Rabat) worth visiting?

Let me set the expectation clearly first, because it is the thing people most often misunderstand: the Royal Palaces in Fes and Rabat are functioning residences of the King of Morocco, and you cannot go inside, tour the grounds, or even approach beyond a respectful distance. What you are visiting is purely the exterior — specifically the ceremonial gates — and you view and photograph them from the public square in front. There is no ticket and no entry; it is a street-level photo stop.

That said, the Fes gates are worth those few minutes. The main entrance to Dar al-Makhzen on the wide Place des Alaouites, in the Fes el-Jdid / Mellah area, is a row of enormous, polished brass doors framed by exquisite zellij tilework and carved cedar and stucco, kept immaculate and gleaming. It is a textbook display of Moroccan decorative craft at monumental scale, and on a sunny day the brass against the blue-and-green tiles is genuinely striking. Rabat's palace complex (also Dar al-Makhzen) is grander in scale but more set back, with guarded approaches and a large mechouar (parade ground), so it feels more distant.

Practically, the Fes gates pair naturally with a walk through the adjacent Mellah and Fes el-Jdid, so you lose no time slotting them in. In Rabat, the palace is a drive from the medina and feels more ceremonial than charming, so I rate it lower as a stop. Be aware of the guards and protocol: stay in the public area, do not photograph security personnel, and dress and behave respectfully — this is the monarch's residence, taken seriously.

Verdict: a worthwhile two-minute photo and a bit of context on a route you are already walking — particularly in Fes — but not a destination to plan a day around, and certainly not somewhere you 'visit' in any deeper sense. Manage expectations, snap the gleaming gates, appreciate the craftsmanship, and carry on to the genuinely enterable monuments nearby.