What are the best souks to visit in Fes?

The souks of Fes are different in character from Marrakech's — older, more workaday, and organised the medieval way by trade, so each lane is a guild of artisans doing the same craft. The most famous, and rightly so, is the Chouara tannery: the great honeycomb of stone vats where leather has been dyed by hand for a thousand years, the hides soaking in pigments of poppy red, saffron yellow and indigo. You view it from the terraces of the surrounding leather shops, who hand you a sprig of mint for the smell — go in the morning when the pits are busiest and the light is good, and accept that you will be expected to at least browse the shop whose terrace you used.

For me the most atmospheric is Place Seffarine, the coppersmiths' square, where you hear it before you see it — the constant ringing hammer-blows of craftsmen beating sheets of brass and copper into trays, pots and lanterns under a gnarled old tree. It is one of those scenes that has not changed in centuries, and it is a working square, not a show. Nearby, the Henna Souk is a small, calm shaded square selling natural henna, kohl, soaps and cosmetics, with the old Sidi Frej fondouk and a former madhouse on its edges — a gentle counterpoint to the intensity elsewhere.

The Attarine souk, named for the attar (perfume and spice) merchants, is where to lose yourself among pyramids of cumin, saffron, dried rosebuds, and the little apothecary stalls selling everything from arghan oil to mysterious remedies — it sits near the exquisite Attarine Medersa, which is worth pairing with it. And running through the whole medina, the main thoroughfare of Talaa Kebira is lined with textile sellers, babouche (leather slipper) stalls and food, so even just walking its length from Bab Boujloud downhill takes you past a cross-section of the trades.

My honest guidance: the Fes souks are a working medieval economy, not a tidy market, so embrace the chaos and the smells, go in the morning when the craftsmen are active, and consider a licensed guide for at least your first foray — the medina is the world's largest car-free urban maze and genuinely disorienting, and a good guide gets you into the right workshops without the hard sell. Haggling is expected for purchases; browsing is fine but be aware the tannery terraces in particular come with sales pressure. Trades shift and some workshops keep irregular hours, so treat any plan loosely and let the lanes lead you.