Why should I go? To time-warp into the most complete medieval city in the Islamic world. Marrakesh gets the hype, but Fez is the capitale spirituelle of Morocco, as rich and complex as its sugar-dusted pastilla pigeon pie; three hours away by plane, four centuries away in atmosphere.

Everything worth seeing is in the medina, Fès el-Bali, a tangle of more than 9,000 alleys and dead ends that would take a lifetime to unravel, let alone a weekend. It’s also the place to shop for the finest leather and brass goods dirhams can buy, all hand-crafted by 300,000 or so Fassi artisans.

Better still, a new breed of classy riads means culture shock no longer extends to your hotel; and temperatures remain in the low 20s throughout the winter.

Where do I stay? Without doubt, a riad, Morocco’s traditional courtyard mansion. Grandest of all is Riad Fès (00 212-35 94 76 10, www.riadfes.com; doubles from £106), a boutique hotel with lacy carving and zellij tilework. There’s a stylish bar, a plunge pool in the garden and immaculate service everywhere. Or for something more informal, try Riad al-Bartal (35 63 70 53, www.riadalbartal.com; doubles from £50), the arty maison d’hôte of French owners Mireille and Christian Laroche, where individually styled rooms have traditional painted ceilings and mottled tadelakt walls. Suites are worth the extra £15.

Where do I eat? Hole-in-the- wall joints in Rue Hormis are great for lunch on the go — a filling kefta sandwich with spicy tomato sauce or a plate of fried fish costs about 90p. Or visit Dar Saada (21 Rue Attarine; 35 63 73 70; from £9 a head) to dine in an opulent 19th-century palace.

Don’t let penny-pinching stop you from indulging in a sultan-style banquet at Al Fassia, the gloriously formal restaurant of Sofitel Hotel Palais Jamai (Bab Guissa; 35 63 43 31). So refined is its menu, so palatial its 19th-century dining room, that King Mohammed VI visits whenever he’s in town. All yours for £34pp.

What do I do? The pinnacle of Merenid architecture and the ritziest student digs ever built, the Medersa Bou Inania was the whim of the 14th-century sultan Abou Inan. They say he threw the final bill into the river, arguing beauty was priceless, and you won’t see more exquisite zellij or stucco in Morocco.

The best exhibit in Fez is the medina, by turns as refined and raw as its spices and goats’ heads on butchers’ slabs. The arterial alley that begins as Talaa Kebira is the place to dabble in the delicate art of haggling. The Fassis are experts — take your time, bargain hard. Then circle the Karaouine mosque — Morocco’s holy of holies, lined by nougat stalls — to postcard-pretty Place Seffarine, ringed by metalsmiths hammering out brass cauldrons.

How do I get there? Ryanair (0871 246 0000, www.ryanair.com) flies three times a week from Luton, from £71 return; British Airways (0870 850 9850, www.ba.com) flies twice a week from Heathrow, from £85 return.