Fez is the oldest of Morocco's imperial cities and it has been busy for well over a thousand years. The medina, Fès el-Bali, founded in the late eighth and early ninth centuries and listed by UNESCO, is a maze of thousands of alleys, many too narrow for anything but a donkey, and it is often described as the largest car-free urban area in the world. Inside are workshops, mosques, madrasas, fountains and markets, all packed so tightly that the sky is often a thin strip above your head.
At the centre sits the University of al-Qarawiyyin, founded in 859 by a woman named Fatima al-Fihri, and regarded as one of the oldest continuously operating educational institutions in the world. The tanneries, where leather is still dyed in stone vats of red, yellow and white, are the sight everyone wants, and you can watch from a terrace above, with a sprig of mint under your nose against the smell. Metalworkers, weavers and ceramicists work in their own quarters, and the food is excellent: pastilla, a pigeon or chicken pie dusted with sugar and cinnamon, is the classic.
For the rider, Fez is both a place to leave the bike and a starting point. The medina is impossible on two wheels, so park securely in the newer city, and explore on foot with a guide if you want to avoid getting lost. From Fez, the road north to Chefchaouen climbs through the hills of the Rif foothills, with olive groves, villages and long views, and it is a ride of changing scenery, with tidy tarmac in some places and potholes in others. Traffic around the city is heavy, so leave early.
Fès has a population close to a million, so fuel, workshops, parts and every kind of food and lodging are easy to find, and the old town of Fès al Bali alone holds well over a hundred thousand people. Summers are hot and winters are cool and damp, so spring and autumn are best. Be polite but firm with unofficial guides, agree prices in advance, and keep valuables out of sight in the medina.