Things to do in Rabat

The Chellah (Shalla) is Rabat's most singular monument: a walled necropolis 2 km south of the medina that combines the remains of a Roman town (Sala Colonia, 1st–3rd century AD) with a 14th-century Marinid royal funerary complex. White storks nest on the Marinid minaret every spring, their nests piled metres high on the ancient stone, and the sound of them clattering above the ruined columns is genuinely arresting. The garden inside — wild figs, rose bushes and a pool where eels are fed sacred offerings — has an atmosphere unlike anywhere else in Morocco.

Entry costs approximately MAD 70. The Chellah is best visited in the late afternoon when the light falls golden across the Roman columns and the storks are most active (February to July). The site is uncrowded compared with the major medina monuments of Marrakech and Fes — one of Rabat's defining advantages as a destination.

Opened in 2014, the Mohammed VI Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (MMVI) is one of the finest art museums in Africa. Its permanent collection documents Moroccan modern art from the colonial period to the present day, with significant holdings of Expressionist, Abstract and contemporary Moroccan painters. The temporary exhibition programme regularly brings international contemporary art to Rabat. The building itself — a purpose-built six-storey modernist structure near the parliament — is designed to international museum standards, with good climate control, clear labelling in Arabic, French and English, and a well-stocked bookshop.

Admission is approximately MAD 60; free on Sundays. The museum is a 10-minute walk from the medina and is rarely crowded. For travellers interested in contemporary North African culture beyond the medina-and-souk narrative, it is unmissable.

Rabat is the most accessible of Morocco's major cities from Casablanca: the Al Boraq high-speed train covers the 90 km in under an hour, with trains running every 30–60 minutes from Casablanca Mohammed V Airport directly to Rabat Agdal station. From Fes, the ONCF train takes approximately 1.5 hours; from Tangier, 2 hours on the Al Boraq service via Casablanca. There is no direct international airport in Rabat — most fly into Casablanca and travel onwards by train.

Two nights is the comfortable duration: a full day for the Hassan Tower, Kasbah and Chellah, and a second day for the MMVI museum, the medina's textile quarter and the beach. Day trips from Casablanca are common but rushed — you see the monuments without the evening atmosphere of the kasbah at sunset or a mint tea in the Andalusian Garden.

• From Casablanca airport: Al Boraq high-speed train, under 1 hour, runs every 30–60 minutes.
• From Fes: ONCF train, approximately 1.5 hours.
• From Tangier: Al Boraq service via Casablanca, approximately 2 hours.
• Recommended stay: 2 nights — best suited to adding to an imperial cities itinerary.