Rabat-Salé-Kenitra
Rabat
The capital: gardens, ramparts and an unfinished twelfth-century mosque.
- Best time to visit
- Year round. Spring and autumn are the most pleasant.
- Ideal for
- History, museums, gardens, calm city days
Introduction
Rabat has been Morocco's capital since 1912, and it feels like it: broad avenues, embassies, gardens, and a calm that no other Moroccan city of its size manages. Its historic core was inscribed by UNESCO in 2012.
The Kasbah of the Udayas, painted blue and white above the mouth of the Bou Regreg river, is the oldest part. Across the water is Salé; upriver is Chellah, where a Roman town and a Merenid necropolis share the same walls and a large colony of storks nests on the minaret.
Why visit
- 01
It is the most relaxed of the imperial cities, and easy to walk.
- 02
Chellah is one of the most atmospheric archaeological sites in Morocco.
- 03
The Mohammed VI Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art is the country's best modern collection.
Things to see
- The Kasbah of the Udayas and its Andalusian garden
- The Hassan Tower and the Mausoleum of Mohammed V
- Chellah, Roman and Merenid, with its storks
- The medina, quiet and easy to navigate
- The Mohammed VI Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art
Things to do
- Take mint tea at the café at the edge of the Udayas kasbah
- Walk the Chellah ruins in the late afternoon
- Cross the river to Salé by small boat
- See the contemporary art collection
- Walk the beach below the kasbah walls
Local experiences
- Storks clattering on the Chellah minaret
- The blue lanes of the Udayas with the sea below
- Rowing boats crossing to Salé as they always have
- A capital city that closes for lunch
Food
Food
Rabat eats well and quietly: Atlantic fish, seafood pastilla, and a strong café culture. The Sunday markets bring in produce from the fertile Gharb plain, and the city has an unusually good range of modern Moroccan restaurants for its size.
Culture
Culture
As the seat of government and of several universities, Rabat is where much of Morocco's public and intellectual life happens. It also holds the country's deepest historical layering — Roman, Almohad, Merenid, Andalusian and French — inside a walkable area.
Best highlights
- 01
Kasbah of the Udayas
- 02
Chellah
- 03
Hassan Tower
- 04
The modern art museum
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