Rabat

Understand

thumb|400px|Saint Pierre Cathedral, Rabat Morocco Rabat is on the Atlantic Ocean at the mouth of the river Bou Regreg. On the facing shore of the river lies Salé, Rabat's bedroom community. Together with Temara the cities account for a combined metropolitan population of 2.6 million. It is an easy-going city by Moroccan standards. Rabat visitor information

See

thumb|350px|Kasbah of the Oudaias

Do

There are many things to do here, as with most Moroccan cities it is enough just to wander around and adventure where something takes your fancy.

There is also a large and tranquil park next to the Hotel Sofitel, where people run and play football, etc. You can also use the pool at the Sofitel for a charge. The park is a 10-15 dirham taxi ride (10 minutes) from la Gare Central.

Jazz au Chellah is a jazz festival organized each year in June by the ministry of culture, the city and the European delegation. The website might have some issues. Mawazine is a festival of world music that takes place annually in Rabat featuring Arab, African and international music icons during May. It is controversial as some of the country's Muslim politicians have criticised the event for "encouraging immoral behaviour". Artists such as Stevie Wonder, Carlos Santana, Elton John or B.B. King have performed at Mawazine. There are various scenes around the city. Football: Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium, opened in Sep 2025, is 7 km southwest of city centre. With a capacity of 69,500 it's the home stadium of the men's national football team, and in 2025/26 hosted games in the Africa Cup of Nations including the final. The complex also includes an athletics track and field stadium, the indoor Salle Moulay Abdellah arena and an Olympic swimming pool.

Buy

Rue des Consuls an interesting place to wander. This street is so named because foreign diplomats were required to reside here in the seventeenth century until 1912. At that time the main activity of the area was piracy and taking slaves, who were then auctioned. Under a treaty with the Sultan, they were to be redeemed by diplomats from their countries who then had a budget for such purchases. For convenience, these diplomats were thus a few tens of meters from the place of "negotiation". This street was already very active one of the few to be paved. Louis Chenier, the father of the poet Andre Chenier was there representing the King of France from 1768 to 1781. Trading in the redemption of captives was his main activity and he excelled so much that even the Sultan, exhausted, sent him back to France by military force. From the Rue des Consuls, opens a number of alleys housing small shops, enabling craftsmen to maintain their expertise and their art, in often difficult circumstances. Although the medina here is not as extensive as that of Fez or Marrakesh there are still some bargains to be had. You will find the normal array of babushka shoes, baggy pants, ornate mirrors and plates etc. Interestingly all the Moroccans can be found in the section of the market that sells imported western style clothing from Asia and all the tourists can be found in the 'traditional' section. The lovely woolen ponchos are well worth a look and the carpet shops near the end of the medina are al…