Meknes Volubilis Day Trip

Morocco Travel » Meknes Volubilis Day Trip

Your day trip back 2,000 years begins after breakfast at your hotel or riad in Fes. You’ll travel across the wide Saiss Plain to the remarkable Roman ruins of Volubilis—a place of ancient olive presses, monumental arches, elegant mansions, Corinthian columns, and some of the finest mosaics in North Africa. As you explore the site, you’ll get a vivid sense of daily life in a Roman provincial city.
Highlights include the mansion with the Mosaic of the Labors of Hercules; the Baths of Gallienus; the Forum Baths with their fragmentary mosaics; and the House of Orpheus, famous for its Dolphin and Orpheus myth mosaics. Some mosaics are visible only from the outside, such as those at the Cortege of Venus, while others can be seen up close, including the Bacchus medallions, the Abduction of Hylas, and Diana. You’ll also visit the Gordian Palace with its columned courtyards and bathhouse, the House of the Nymphs, the House of the Seasons, the House of the Wild Beasts, the House of Flavius Germanus, the Capitol, and the House of Ephebus with its pictorial mosaics. The tour concludes at the impressive Triumphal Arch.
Leaving Volubilis, you’ll drive along the rolling foothills of the Zerhoun region to the sacred hill town of Moulay Idriss Zerhoune, considered the holiest Islamic town in Morocco. Every August, thousands of Moroccan pilgrims gather here for the annual moussem. In the elongated main square, you’ll see the zaouia with its green-tiled pyramidal roofs and twin conical towers, then wander through the town’s narrow, winding alleys before continuing on to Meknes.
Next, you’ll arrive in the Imperial City of Meknes, a UNESCO World Heritage Site founded by Sultan Moulay Ismail. You’ll visit Bab Mansour, widely regarded as the most beautiful gate in the Maghreb, then continue to the Sahrij-Souani basin, famous for its underground channels that once supplied water from the Middle Atlas Mountains. Nearby, you’ll explore the vast royal stables and granaries, built with soaring vaulted ceilings to house horses and supplies for the imperial army.
Your visit continues to the Mausoleum of Moulay Ismail and El Hedim Square. You’ll have time to enjoy a traditional Moroccan lunch before departing Meknes in the afternoon. You’ll return to your hotel or riad in the early evening, with the scale, beauty, and history of the day’s journey lingering long after it ends.