Like much of "traditional" Morocco, the city was "saved" and then re-created by the French - under the auspices of General Lyautey, the Protectorate's first Resident-General. Lyautey took the philanthropic and startling move of declaring the city a historical monument; philanthropic because he was certainly saving Fes El Bali from destruction (albeit from less benevolent Frenchmen), and startling because until then many Moroccans were under the impression that Fes was still a living city - the Imperial Capital of the Moroccan empire rather than a preservable part of the nation's heritage.
By building a new European city nearby - the Ville Nouvelle - and then transferring Fes's economic and political functions to Rabat and the west coast, Lyautey ensured the city's eclipse along with its preservation. The basic layout of Fez is simple enough, with a Moroccan Medina and French-built Ville Nouvelle, but here the Medina comprises two separate cities: Fes El Bali (Old Fes), down in the pear-shaped bowl of the Sebou valley, and Fes El Djedid (New Fes), established on the edge of the valley during the thirteenth century.
By day at least, there's little to keep you in the Ville Nouvelle, the new city established by Lyautey at the beginning of the Protectorate. Unlike Casa or Rabat, where the French adapted Moroccan forms to create their own showplaces, this is a pretty lacklustre European grid. The Ville Nouvelle is, however, home to most of the faculties of the city's university, and is very much the city's business and commercial centre. The quarter is also the centre for most of the city's restaurants and cafes, bars, bookshops and other facilities.
Restaurants
Ville Nouvelle is the center for most of the cities restaurants, bars, and cafes. Fes el Bali and Fes el Djedid have no bars and a few Palace-Restaurants that are very basic and many only open for lunch. They mainly cater for tourists. In the Ville Nouvelle there are dozens of restaurants to explore and enjoy. We ate at Al Moussafir Restaurant and had a great meal. Later we found other places that ranged from the luxury to the basic. These can all be recommended:
Cafés & Bars
Cafes and bars are scattered throughout the streets of Ville Nouvelle and are very popular with locals and tourists. The bars in Fez range from non-alcoholic to serious Morocco-drinking style, with pool tables and a huge crowd of regulars. The hotel bars are safe and suited for the tourist who just wants to sit and have a quiet drink. There are plenty of small cafes all over the Ville Nouvelle. The cafes here are very clean and friendly and sell fabulous breakfasts, lunches and light dinners.