Rabat

Rabat has been Morocco’s capital since 1912, when the French Protectorate administration moved the seat of government here from Fez. It is one of four imperial cities — alongside Fez, Marrakech and Meknes — and the least visited of the four, which makes it one of the more accessible. The medina is UNESCO-listed and smaller and less disorienting than those of Fez or Marrakech, with a main axis (Rue Souika and Rue Sidi Fatah) that covers the principal souks in under an hour. The Hassan Tower, begun in 1195 by the Almohad sultan Yaqub al-Mansur as what would have been the world’s largest mosque, was never completed — the sultan died in 1199 and construction stopped at 44 metres of a planned 86-metre minaret. The unfinished columns of the intended mosque nave stand in rows on the esplanade beside it.

The Kasbah of the Udayas (Kasbah des Oudayas) occupies the headland at the mouth of the Bou Regreg River, where it meets the Atlantic. Built in the 12th century by the Almohads, the kasbah has a well-preserved blue-and-white residential quarter inside its walls and an Andalusian garden built in the 17th century by Moroccan refugees from Spain. The Chellah, a walled necropolis on the southern edge of the city, was built on the ruins of the Roman city of Sala Colonia and contains the tombs of Merinid sultans from the 13th and 14th centuries, surrounded by gardens where storks nest in the ruined minarets. Both are within 20 minutes’ walk of each other and of the Hassan Tower.

Rabat is quieter and less tourist-facing than Casablanca or Marrakech — the city functions primarily as an administrative and diplomatic capital, and the medina caters more to locals than to visitors. As a Muslim-majority city, halal food is the standard across all price points. The coastal suburb of Sale, directly across the Bou Regreg River, is accessible by tram and has its own medina and souks. Rabat is best visited March to May or September to November; the Atlantic climate keeps temperatures moderate year-round, but summer brings some fog and overcast days in the morning.