The vast grounds are home to multiple private structures, patios, and gardens, but historically also included administrative offices and government tribunals.

Today, the most publicly visible parts of the palace are its main entrances at the Old Mechouar (to the northeast) and the highly ornate 20th-century gates at Place des Alaouites, near the Mellah (to the southwest).

The palace was founded and initially built, along with the rest of Fes el-Jdid, by the Marinid sultan Abu Yusuf Ya'qub in 1276.

[3] Abu Yusuf Ya'qub had also wished to create a vast pleasure garden outside the palace, perhaps in emulation of those he might have admired in Granada (such as the Generalife); however, he died in 1286 before this could be accomplished.

[5]: 290  His son and successor, Abu Ya'qub Yusuf, carried out the work instead in 1287, creating the vast Mosara Garden to the north of Fes el-Jdid.

[5] This garden was supplied with water from the Oued Fes via an aqueduct fed by an enormous noria (waterwheel) near Bab Dekkakin.

[3][5] Following years of neglect, the original Marinid constructions mostly fell into disrepair and were only restored, rebuilt, or replaced when the 'Alawi sultans re-invested in Fes and made it the capital of Morocco again (with the exception of certain periods).

The courtyard, still extant today, was adorned with green zellij tiles and centered around a large rectangular water basin.

[5]: 294  This addition extended the Dar al-Makhzen grounds up to the edge of the Lalla ez-Zhar Mosque, which had previously stood in the middle of a residential neighbourhood, and cutting off one of the local streets.

[5] Moulay Rashid also built the vast Kasbah Cherarda north of Fes el-Jdid in order to house his tribal troops.

[5][1] The housing of troops here also liberated new space in Fes el-Jdid itself, including the northwestern area which became the new Moulay Abdallah neighbourhood from the early 18th century onwards.

[3][5]: 296  Mohammed ben Abdallah also built the Dar Ayad al-Kebira, one of the more imposing structures inside the palace grounds.

[1] In the 1960s King Hassan II reoriented the entrance of the palace complex from the Old Mechouar in the north to a new southern approach facing the modern Ville Nouvelle ("New City") of Fes.

[3] The river still passes underneath the square, reemerging via four semi-circular openings at the eastern base of its walls on the edge of the Jnan Sbil Gardens.

[6] Also known as the "Grand Mechouar", this vast irregular quadrilateral space of 4 hectares occupied the northwestern corner of Fes el Jdid in an angle between the walls of the palace grounds to the south and the Moulay Abdallah district to the east.

[1] Bab Bou Jat, the main western gate of the Moulday Abdallah quarter, once opened through here but was closed off in the 20th century.

[6] The gates are considered an excellent piece of modern Moroccan craftsmanship and are lavishly decorated with elaborate mosaic tilework, carved cedar wood, and doors of gilt bronze covered in geometric patterns.

[3][1] On the southeast side of the courtyard is a mosque which is in fact the former Marinid Madrasa of Fes el-Jdid, modified and provided with a minaret when Moulay Hassan created this mechouar.

[1][9] The Grand Mosque of Fes el-Jdid, to which it was originally associated, is adjoined to the north side of this courtyard, just outside the royal palace grounds.

One of the largest elements is the Patio of Moulay Rashid, created in the 17th century, covering a large rectangular area on the east side of the palace.

[5][3][10] The courtyard is arranged around a rectangular water basin at its middle, and at its southeastern end is a small pavilion chamber preceded by a portico supported by white marble columns topped with elegant capitals.

[10][3] The same sultan also began construction of a tall building in the courtyard's northwestern corner with the intention of installing the palace's first elevators in it, but the structure was left unfinished for many years after his reign.

[1][4] On the northeastern side of the gardens, next to the mosque, is another large courtyard and a palace pavilion at its northwestern end which were created by Moulay Abdelaziz (1894–1908).