Why You Should Put Rabat on Your Morocco Itinerary

Over the years, we've talked to a lot of people about their Morocco travels. There are the people who take the boat from Spain and spend time mainly in the north around Tangier and Chefchaouen, the ones who do a long weekend in Marrakesh with a side trip to the desert, the grand tour Casablanca-Fes-Merzouga-Marrakesh folks, and then the surfers who have only been to Agadir and Taghazout. It's pretty rare that someone tells me they've spent time in Rabat, unless their trip was for work.

Rabat was my first introduction to Morocco. On my very first trip, more than twenty years ago, we stopped there for an afternoon to see the mausoleum of Kings Mohammed V and Hassan II, the Hassan Tower, and Chellah. We crammed those all into a couple hours. On my second trip to Morocco, I lived with a family in Rabat's medina and got to know it less as a destination and more as a real place.

I actually don't really know why people skip Rabat. I wrote an article for the Washington Post exploring this (read it here). But the 1000 words didn't really give me the space to flesh out everything I love about Rabat. Here are a few bonus travel tips of our favorite restaurants, cafes, hotels, and sights in Morocco's capital.

Chef d'Oeuvre - this bakery is tucked in a residential part of the Hassan neighborhood, but its worth a couple extra blocks if you're near the Cathedral, Hassan Tower, or the Mohammed VI art museum. Pistachio croissant is the way to go; you can take your treats next door to a little cafe (it's called Loch Ness but there's no sign) and enjoy them with your coffee.

Snack Sardine Beldi- it's no secret if you're a Rabati, but near Bab Labouiba, just off Rue Sidi Fateh, is a stall serving fried sardines and fried maqouda. Maqouda are deep-fried, spiced mashed potato fritters. You can add grilled vegetables, be sure to add harissa.

Sbai Sweet Shop - Another tiny stall on Sidi Fateh in the medina, this one has been around since 1928 and makes a wonderful selection of orange blossom, almond, and rose water little cookies.

Poulet d'Or - according to the owners, this is the second oldest rotisserie joint in Morocco. True or not, it's been around since the 60s. No frills but friendly inside. They do all kinds of sandwiches and full rotisserie chicken with fries. Closed on Sundays.

Yamal Acham - I'm sure there's better Syrian food in Rabat, but this place has been doing it forever. It's always busy in the evenings, and can be a good excuse to check out the untouristy L'Ocean neighborhood.

Smoothie Frais - this place faces out on a corner across from the Institut Cervantes. It's brightly colored -- you can't miss it -- and serves smoothies made of basically every single fruit and nut you could imagine. I like date-almond-banana, blended with milk.

Kasbah des Oudayas - This one's firmly on the tourist map, but it's worth extra time to peruse the quiet, whitewashed backstreets. If you enter from the main gate, turn right down one of the side streets and just wander into dead ends. Eventually, at the bottom of the steep slope, you'll hit Cafe Maure, perhaps Rabat's most famous cafe. Good for tea but great for a view. There's usually a couple guys selling beautiful hand-carved tiles by the entrance; they make great and durable souvenirs.

Botanical Gardens - Rabat's best garden stroll is in the beautifully named Quartier des Orangers, a quiet section of the city between Hassan and Agdal. It's mainly medical clinics and modest villas, but it offers a couple attractions. In addition to the Jardin d'Essais, the Bab Rouah is home to a small but lovely gallery. You can also duck into the Bibliotheque Nationale (BNRM) to check out its rotating exhibits as well. There's a nice cafe with a shaded patio up top.

The coastline - For the moment, Rabat has a beautiful and largely undeveloped coastline that stretches almost a couple miles southwest from the small lighthouse past the National Photography Museum. During the daytime, it's amazing to watch the waves smash into the rocks and spray thirty feet in the air. It's even more amazing to watch the intrepid fishermen hold steady on the edge of the rocks while trying to reel in their catch. On weekends, these spots fill up with couples and families out for a stroll. Development is undoubtedly coming--a new Four Seasons hotel opened last fall--but for now it's not too touristy.

Where to stay - Dar Rabiaa and Dar Shaan. Rabat is getting a whole new load of international chain hotels, mainly at the high end of the spectrum. But they're all away from the action. Dar Rabiaa and Dar Shaan, both in the old city proper, are great value properties with great decor, excellent and easy service, and perfect locations for exploring the heart of the city on foot.

How to Get There - Rabat is well connected to the train network. You can take the high speed rail to Casablanca or Tangier via the Rabat Agdal station. Other trains go to both Agdal and the more centrally located Rabat Ville (the high speed rail is coming to this one, too, but it's still a ways off). Both are easily accessible by foot, public transit, or taxi. The city's airport, Rabat-Sale (RBA), is actually located on the outskirts of Sale, Rabat's sizeable sister city across the River Bougreg. You can get there by public transit from a bus that leaves near the Rabat Ville train station, but departures are limited to certain times. You can take the tram all the way to the Hssain Tram station, but it's a decent walk to the airport from there.

Read before you go

Rabat: Urban Apartheid in Morocco, by Janet Abu Lughod. A somewhat controversial but nonetheless fascinating look at how the French turned Rabat from a minor fishing port to a world capital, and what that meant for the Moroccan people who lived there.

A Moroccan Trilogy: Rabat, Marrakesh, and Fez, by Jerome and Jean Tharaud. You can find a ton of early 20th century travel writing on Morocco, much of it is pretty dated. This is a biased but still interesting vignette of the capital city, written by two Frenchmen in 1917, just as French rule was getting going.

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