What to see in Rabat: guide to Morocco's capital

Hassan Tower

The minaret of an Almohad mosque that was never finished, surrounded by the columns of the old prayer hall.

Mausoleum of Mohammed V

Mounted guards at the entrance. You can go in wearing clothes that cover your shoulders and knees.

Kasbah of the Udayas

Blue and white lanes, Bab Oudaya and an Andalusian garden. The terrace at the far end looks out over the Atlantic and Salé.

• The most photogenic spot
• Best late in the day

Chellah ruins

Remains of Roman Sala and a Marinid necropolis with storks nesting on the minarets. There's an entry fee.

Medina and Rue des Consuls

Small and flat; you can walk it in an hour. Carpets and crafts without the pressure of other medinas.

Mohammed VI Museum

Modern and contemporary Moroccan art in a building in the centre. By the river is Zaha Hadid's theatre.

Avenue Mohammed V

The spine of the new town, with art deco buildings, Parliament and Rabat Ville station. It takes half an hour to walk and leads straight to the medina.

• 1920s and 1930s architecture
• Cafés with terraces

Bou Regreg promenade

The riverbank between the medina and Salé, with a promenade, the marina and rowing boats that cross to the other side for a few dirhams. At sunset it fills with families.

• Boats to Salé
• Sunset with local families

Corniche and beach

Below the Udayas there's a small surfers' beach, and the corniche runs south from there. For swimming, the beaches at Harhoura or Temara are better.

• Beginner surfing
• Better swimming to the south

Rue Souika

It crosses the medina from gate to gate, lined with neighbourhood shops: clothes, babouches, dried fruit and nuts. It's more a locals' souk than a tourist one.

• Nuts and babouches
• Closes earlier on Fridays

Bab er-Rouah

The monumental gate in the 12th-century Almohad wall, west of the centre, with carved stone arches. The inside is sometimes used as an exhibition space.

• 12th-century wall
• Temporary exhibitions

Royal Palace Mechouar

The palace grounds, in the middle of the city. You can walk across the esplanade and see the gates, but the palace itself can't be visited; ask before photographing the guards.

• Open esplanade
• Palace closed to the public

The imperial city in a day

Hassan Tower and the mausoleum at 9:00; walk down along the river to the Udayas by mid-morning and have lunch in the medina. In the afternoon, the Chellah and a stroll along Avenue Mohammed V.

• All on foot or by tram
• Chellah in afternoon light

Across the river to Salé

Boat or tram to Salé: the Great Mosque from outside, the Marinid madrasa and the Oulja potters' complex on the outskirts. Back at sunset via the marina.

• Boat or tram
• Pottery at Oulja

Museums and gardens

A morning at the archaeological museum, which holds the Volubilis bronzes, or at the Mohammed VI. Afternoon in the Bouknadel exotic gardens to the north, or on the beaches to the south.

• Check museum opening times
• Bouknadel: about 20 minutes

Three hours on the way to Fez

The mausoleum, Hassan Tower, the Udayas and a tea in the Andalusian garden. If you leave Rabat at 15:00, you reach Fez before dinner.

• Leave at 15:00
• In Fez for dinner

With children

The national zoo, on the outskirts, has Atlas lions and is one of the best in the country. Add the tram, the boat to Salé and the Udayas beach for a day without museums.

• Atlas lions
• Boat to Salé

Mawazine Festival

One of the continent's big music festivals, with free stages by the river and in several neighbourhoods. The dates change every year, and hotel prices go up during it.

• Free concerts
• Book early

Central market

The covered market beside the medina wall has fish, fruit, flowers and olives. A good place for an orange juice and to see how people in the city shop.

• Best in the morning
• Freshly squeezed juice

Snails in broth

As evening falls, carts appear selling snails cooked in a heavily spiced broth, served in a small bowl. Traditional street food and very cheap.

• At dusk
• Small bowl, small price

Sfenj and msemen

Fried doughnuts and flaky pancakes, bought freshly made from medina stalls in the morning. Eaten with tea or honey.

• Freshly made
• In the morning

Tea with a river view

The Moorish café in the Andalusian garden serves mint tea and almond pastries looking over the Bou Regreg. A classic mid-morning stop; it's busier at weekends.

• Mid-morning
• Quieter on weekdays

Friday couscous

After midday prayers, couscous is the dish people eat at home. Many simple restaurants in the medina serve it only on that day.

• After prayers
• Medina restaurants

Harira at sunset

During Ramadan the city empties before sunset and fills up again afterwards, when the fast is broken with harira, dates and chebakia.

• Breaking the fast
• Empty streets beforehand

Hassan II Mosque

In Casablanca, and you can visit the inside with a guide, which is unusual in Morocco. A return train ticket gives you the mosque in the morning and the corniche in the afternoon.

• Guided visit
• One-hour train

Moulay Bousselham lagoon

A lagoon by the sea to the north, with boats that go out birdwatching. In winter there are usually flamingos; in summer it's a beach for Moroccan families.

• Flamingos in winter
• Boat with a local boatman

Asilah on the coast

A walled white town by the sea on the way to Tangier, with murals on the medina walls. It works as a lunch stop if you're heading north on the coastal motorway.

• Walls by the sea
• Lunch stop

Chefchaouen via Ouazzane

The blue city of the Rif. From Rabat it makes sense with a night there; many of our tours put it straight after Rabat.

• Better with a night
• Mountain road at the end

Volubilis without going through Fez

Motorway to Meknes and 30 kilometres more to the Roman ruins. It can be done in a day, though it's easier as a stage on the way to Fez.

• Motorway to Meknes
• Better as a stage

Mehdia and its kasbah

A ruined kasbah above the Sebou estuary and, next to it, the Sidi Boughaba lagoon, a bird reserve. A quiet half-day plan if you're staying several nights.

• Half a day
• Bird reserve

Train from Casablanca

Frequent trains or the motorway. Many travellers visit as a day trip.

Al Boraq from Tangier

The train takes around an hour and a half. Check times on the ONCF website before you go.

On to Fez and Meknes

By motorway or train. Meknes is about two hours away and a natural stop on the way to Fez.

Down to Marrakech

Direct motorway or a train of about four hours.

Riads near the Udayas

Our preferred area: everything on foot and the kasbah a few minutes away.

Hotels in the centre

Close to Rabat Ville station and the tram. Practical if you arrive by train.

Residential districts

Large hotels with parking, away from the medina. Useful if you're travelling by car.

A stop on the route

Hassan Tower, the mausoleum and the Udayas between Casablanca and Fez or Chefchaouen. That's how we do it on almost all our tours.

One night

You add the Chellah, the medina at dusk and dinner by the river.

Salé across the river

You cross by tram to the Salé medina, more working-class and less visited. Worth it if you're interested in architecture or art.

Casablanca and the desert

Rabat is the first day's stop on the way to Fez.

Imperial cities

The last day runs from Chefchaouen to Casablanca with a stop in Rabat.

The whole of Morocco

Rabat and Asilah on day two, on the way to Tangier.