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What to do and see in Morocco, Morocco: The Best Ancient Ruins
Coordinates: 32°N 6°W / 32°N 6°W / 32; -6
Restaurants in Morocco
1. Mohamed Toulali
2. Fahs d'Azemmour (Fahs Lamdjahdine)
3. Ramparts
4. Volubilis
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 1,806 reviews
Reviewed By 36grega - Melbourne, Australia
If you're the least bit interested in the remains of the Roman Empire, and want to avoid the hordes of tourists that go to places like Pompeii, Volubilis is an excellent alternative. It's a deserted Roman city, its heyday from 4 CE to 280 CE, now in the middle of lush fields, just 3-4 km from Moulay Idriss, about 30 km north of Meknès. You can do tours, though these are rather expensive - better and more flexible to either pay for a driver in Meknès to take you to Moulay Idriss and Volubilis for a day tour (we did this through our riad, cost 500 Dh [50 euros]), or take a shared grand taxi to Moulay Idriss, and get a taxi out to the ruins (at least one way, though you can negotiate a pick-up time). It is walkable, and you can easily see the ruins from Moulay Idriss, so not hard to get to. Entry is 70 Dh, 30 Dh for children 7-13 years old. We'd recommend going in cooler months if possible, as it was very warm even in early January - would be unbearable in summer. Take hats, sunglasses and plenty of water. We'd also recommend taking 3 hours to view the site at leisure - it's a large area (about 40 hectares) and there is a lot to see, so take your time. It's marvellous to see ruins from such a long time ago - sure, some of the pillars and arches have been restored, but to imagine you can see mosaics that were trodden on by inhabitants 2000 years ago is awe-inspiring. Archaeology is ongoing at the site, and enough of the city remains to easily feed your imagination about what an ancient Roman town looked like (though most inhabitants were local, very few actually came from Italy). If you are travelling in Morocco to Fes or Meknès, we highly recommend taking a side day-trip to Volubilis. Especially if, like us, you have at least some interest in Western Classical studies, you'll love it.
5. Chellah
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 1,534 reviews
Reviewed By J0anned568 - Canberra, Australia
This site in Rabat is well worth a visit and is of considerable historic interest. Getting there by private bus (or car) was tricky towards the middle of the day because local traffic was in log-jam in a nearby intersection so allow time for this or walk. Leaving was even more difficult as we needed to turn left out of the ruins and we had to go the long way around the block and that took 20 mins to get back to essentially the same spot but on opposite side of the road. The site is Arabic/Islamic ruins set among older Roman ruins. They are beautifully presented having been integrated into a botanic garden. The ruins are at the bottom of a hill reached by a 'steepish' sloping path with some steps. The ground within the ruins is uneven, so less mobile people need to be careful. We had our own guide, and I suggest making sure that you can get information about the site online or out of guide books otherwise you will wander around and not realise what you are looking at. I don't recall any signs to point out different elements. Good winter rains meant that the area was covered by wildflowers and wonderful yellow-coloured lichens. Storks were perched on large stick nests and were often engaged in mating activities with lots of noise and fanfare. Take time to wander as you can catch site of mosaics and other features. It as worth visiting the pond with eels (good apparently for fertility) and we gave the local woman some money to feed the cats. It was very peaceful and a great place to spend a quite time. It was not very busy during our visit in late March.
6. Lixus
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 71 reviews
Reviewed By F4362TGianr
Our month long road trip around Morocco was cut short when the car broke down 50 miles in. Fortunately that gave us time to thoroughly get to know this fascinating fishing port come seaside town. Having a large dog with us restricted our exploration to walking distance, as he wasn't welcome on public transport, but there was plenty of friends to make and time to chill. Lixus ancient remains stunning location and site. We were the only visitors there all day. Pelegrosa beach fantastic, but very dangerous, slightly busier. Shame about the seaborne plastic waste amongst the sand dunes. Rowing boat across the harbour Fish market and nearby restaurants provided us with some of the tastiest and best value meals ever. We tried virtually every eatery in town and weren't disappointed in any.
