Getting around Meknes

1. Getting around the city

**On foot.** The medina and the imperial city are visited on foot. The medina lanes are narrow, and the main monuments — Bab Mansour, Place El Hedim, the Heri es-Souani granaries — are within walking distance of each other. The new town, called Hamria, is also walkable. The two parts of the city are linked by a bridge over the Oued Boufekrane.

**Petit taxis.** These are Meknes's city taxis, small light-blue cars, found outside the railway station and in the streets of the new town. They serve trips inside the city. Before getting in, agree the price or check that the meter is running, as practice varies from driver to driver.

**City buses.** Meknes has a city bus service linking the districts, the medina and the new town. Buses are often crowded, and their routes are hard to read for a visitor who does not know the city. For a first stay, walking and petit taxis are simpler in the centre.

**Grand taxis.** These are larger cars that leave from fixed ranks when full, for nearby towns and villages. They also serve trips that train and bus do not cover directly, for example to sites near Meknes.

2. Getting to and from the city

**By train.** Meknes's main station, served by ONCF, links the city to Fes, Rabat and Casablanca, on the northern Morocco rail axis. A smaller second station, El Amir Abdelkader, sits more centrally in the new town. Tickets and times should be checked with ONCF, as timetables change by day.

**By coach.** The main bus station sits west of the medina, and the CTM company has its own station near the railway station, east of the new town. Coaches link Meknes to other Moroccan cities. Grand taxis also leave from several points, including near El Amir Abdelkader station and beside the main bus station.

**By air.** Meknes has no airport. The nearest airport is Fes-Saiss, serving Fes. From that airport, Meknes is reached by road, or by travelling to Fes station and then taking a train to Meknes. There is no direct public transport link between Fes airport and Meknes.

**By car.** Meknes is linked by road to Fes to the east and Rabat to the west. A car is useful for sites outside the city, where public transport is scarce.

3. Commuting in general terms

For a resident, a normal day mixes walking in the centre with a petit taxi or a bus to districts further out. The medina is lived on foot, the new town is walked or crossed by taxi, and outer districts need a bus or a taxi.

The train is the simplest link to Fes, Rabat and Casablanca, because the main station is close to the centre. Coaches complete the train for destinations the railway does not serve directly.

Rush hours slow road traffic, as in other Moroccan cities, but walking in the medina does not depend on it: the lanes are not made for cars.

4. What a newcomer needs to know first

• **Start on foot.** For the medina and the imperial city, walking is the simplest and most direct way.
• **Agree before getting in.** In a petit taxi, agree the price or check the meter before setting off. In a grand taxi, departure happens when the car is full.
• **Name the right station.** Meknes has a main railway station and a smaller one, El Amir Abdelkader, as well as two bus stations. Saying exactly which one you mean avoids mistakes.
• **Check times with the operator.** Train and coach times change: check them with ONCF or the coach company before travelling, rather than trusting a timetable found online.
• **Allow for the connection from Fes.** Arriving by air means going through Fes, then taking the road or the train to Meknes. Allow for that extra leg.
• **This page gives general information.** It sells nothing and verifies no carrier, driver or ticket in particular.