Meknes & Volubilis

Meknes is Morocco’s most underrated imperial city — a vast walled complex built by Sultan Moulay Ismail in the 17th century as a rival to Versailles. The Bab Mansour gate is widely considered the finest gate in the entire Maghreb. The Mausoleum of Moulay Ismail, still a pilgrimage site, is open to non-Muslim visitors. The Heri es-Souani granaries and stables were built to supply 12,000 horses and are themselves an extraordinary feat of pre-industrial engineering. Just 30 minutes from Meknes, Volubilis contains Morocco’s finest Roman ruins. The holy town of Moulay Idriss Zerhoun, burial place of Morocco’s founding saint, sits on a hillside above the Volubilis plain. All three form a natural half-day or full-day excursion.