Nejjarine Museum of Wooden Arts and Crafts

The Nejjarine Museum of Wooden Arts and Crafts stands on Place an-Nejjarine in Fes el-Bali, in Morocco's Fès-Meknès region, beside a carved fountain. It occupies a restored 18th-century caravanserai (fondouk) that once housed merchants and their animals. Its galleries are arranged around a multi-storey courtyard with cedar balconies, which are the main architectural feature. The collection holds woodwork, doors, musical instruments, furniture and craftsmen's tools, showing the skills of Fes carpenters and the techniques of carving and inlay. Admission is MAD 20 for adults and children, and the museum opens daily from roughly 10am to 5pm, though it may close at midday on Friday. A visit takes about 45 minutes to an hour. A rooftop cafe gives a view across the medina roofs, and the late afternoon is a good time to take it in with a mint tea. The museum is reached on foot in about 12 minutes from Bou Inania along Talaa Kebira, following signs to the square, and it sits close to the shrine of Moulay Idriss II. The square is quieter than the central souks, but group visits can fill the courtyard in the late morning. The most useful way to see it is to start on the ground floor, climb through the galleries and finish on the roof. Photography is generally allowed in the courtyard and rooftop, but rules inside galleries may vary. The fondouk's stairs are steep and narrow, so visitors should take care with children and bags.