About Rabat
Chosen as Morocco's capital by the French Protectorate in 1912, Rabat has a character quite distinct from the other imperial cities. Broad, shaded boulevards recall the French colonial era, while the old medina, magnificent kasbah, and 12th-century Hassan Tower are testimony to centuries of Almohad and Merenid greatness. The result is one of Morocco's most liveable, walkable, and photogenic cities.
The Kasbah des Oudayas — a 12th-century Almohad fortress perched above the mouth of the Bou Regreg river — is one of the most romantic corners in all of Morocco. Its narrow blue-and-white alleys tumble down toward the Atlantic, and its Andalusian garden is an oasis of calm. Across the river lies the twin city of Salé, where the medieval medina operates largely free of tourists.
The Chellah necropolis — an ancient Roman city converted into a Merenid royal burial ground in the 13th century — is a hauntingly beautiful ruin of crumbling minarets, carved mihrab niches, and stork-nesting towers. Together with the Hassan Tower (the unfinished minaret of what would have been the world's largest mosque in 1195), these sites form a UNESCO World Heritage ensemble declared in 2012.
5 Days
