Rabat Travel Guide: Kasbah, Hassan Tower and Where to Stay

Rabat is Morocco’s capital and its calmest historic city. An Almohad citadel of blue-and-white lanes sits above the Atlantic, a 44-metre minaret stopped growing in 1199, and a royal mausoleum you can walk into stands opposite a forest of stone columns. The historic core has been on the UNESCO World Heritage List since 2012, yet most of the headline sights still cost nothing. The medina asks nothing of you that the souks of Marrakech or Fes demand.

One full day covers the big three: the Kasbah of the Udayas, the Hassan Tower with the Mausoleum of Mohammed V, and Chellah. Two days let the medina, the art museum and the rowboat to Salé into the plan. Trains from Casablanca take about an hour and run roughly hourly, so Rabat slots into almost any Morocco rail itinerary without a detour.

At a glance: 1 to 2 nights; train from Casablanca about 1 hour; Kasbah and Hassan Tower free; Chellah about 70 dirhams; best months March to May and September to November.

The verification methodology behind every figure here is simple: fares, ticket prices and opening hours come from the official page or guidebook linked in the same section, checked in October 2026, then re-checked each autumn. Where a price moves, you get a range rather than a false exact number.

How many days do you need in Rabat?

One full day covers the essentials if you start early. Bab Oudaia and the Kasbah lanes first, the Hassan Tower esplanade and the Mausoleum of Mohammed V before midday, then Chellah in the afternoon. It is a long day, mostly on foot, with short taxi hops at each end.

Two days is the better plan. The second morning belongs to the medina and Rue des Consuls. The afternoon goes to the art museum or the new riverfront, and the evening to mint tea on the Café Maure terrace as the light drops over Salé. Lonely Planet’s Rabat guide rates the capital as a four-night standalone city break, or two nights when it sits inside a longer Morocco trip.

Stay	What you get	The catch
Day trip from Casablanca	The big three, one rushed lunch	About an hour each way by train, no sunset from the Kasbah.
1 night	The above, plus the medina at dusk	The second day becomes travel.
2 nights	Museum, Salé crossing, beach or zoo morning	Uses two days of a very short Morocco trip.
3 or more	Surf lessons, Bouknadel gardens, slow café mornings	The city rewards interest more than endurance.

If your week already carries Marrakech, Fes and the desert, our seven days in Morocco route shows where the capital sits on the line north. The two weeks in Morocco version adds it without rushing.

What should you see in Rabat?

Start with the three landmarks, then drop into the medina and the planned French-era city. Everything below works on foot or by tram, except Chellah, which is a short taxi or bus ride south of the centre.

Kasbah of the Udayas

The Kasbah of the Udayas is Rabat’s oldest corner: a fortified citadel raised around 1150 by the Almohad caliph Abd al-Mu’min, entered through the monumental Bab Oudaia gate, carved between 1195 and 1199. Inside it is still a lived-in neighbourhood. Lanes of whitewashed houses with blue lower walls climb and dip between the gate and the sea, ending at a platform over the river mouth and the open Atlantic.

Entry is free, and the official Visit Rabat listing puts the kasbah open daily from 9am to 8pm, a 15-minute walk from downtown. Three stops complete the visit. The first is the Andalusian Gardens at the southern edge, laid out between 1915 and 1918 during the French Protectorate, despite the name. The second is the Café Maure terrace near the water: mint tea and almond pastries for very little, with the view taking in Salé across the estuary. The third is the small palace pavilion that holds a jewellery museum with separate admission.

The Almohad walls and gate of the Kasbah of the Udayas in late-afternoon light.

Go in the morning for empty lanes and soft light, or at sunset for the show on the water. Either way, this is the hour of Rabat most visitors remember.

One of the kasbah’s residential lanes: blue below, white above, bright sea light at the end.

Hassan Tower and the Mausoleum of Mohammed V

Across town stands the Hassan Tower, the 44-metre minaret of a mosque that was meant to be among the largest in the Islamic world. Almohad caliph Yaqub al-Mansur began it in the 1190s and died in 1199. Work stopped for good, leaving the tower short of its planned 60-plus metres and 348 columns standing where the prayer hall never rose. Internal ramps climb the tower, famously wide enough for a horse.

Directly across the esplanade, the Mausoleum of Mohammed V was built between 1961 and 1971 in white marble under a green pyramidal roof. Mohammed V rests here beside King Hassan II. Unlike most religious buildings in Morocco, the mausoleum admits non-Muslim visitors, and entry is free. Dress with shoulders and knees covered. The ceremonial guards at the gates stand still enough for a photograph if you ask first.

The Mausoleum of Mohammed V: white marble, green roof and carved arches opposite the tower.

Both sites open daily and cost nothing, which makes this the best-value hour in the capital. Allow 45 minutes to an hour for the esplanade and the mausoleum together.

Chellah

Chellah is two ruins stacked in one walled site about 2 km south of the centre. The Roman port town of Sala Colonia came first. The royal necropolis the Marinid sultans built over it followed in the 13th and 14th centuries. A triumphal arch, Latin inscriptions and broken columns share the ground with a zellij-faced minaret, a madrasa and tombs under cypress trees.

After a three-year restoration, Chellah reopened in May 2024 with a new visitor circuit and audio guides. International tickets are about 70 dirhams, or about 120 dirhams with an audio guide. Hours run 9am to 6pm in winter and 9am to 8pm in summer. Allow two hours on site, plus the short ride out.

The Marinid minaret and Roman stonework inside Chellah, with a stork nest on the crown.

The resident storks, around 75 nests on the minaret and walls, are busiest from March to June. There is a café and a small restaurant inside the gates, and the Ciconia terrace looks back over the ruins.

The medina and Rue des Consuls

Rabat’s medina was laid out in the 17th century by Andalusian refugees expelled from Spain, and the plan still shows. Streets run more orderly than the maze of Fes, so you can browse without a guide and without a knot in your stomach. The main artery is Rue des Consuls, once the street where foreign diplomats had to live. Today it is a partly arcaded run of craft shops.

This is the place for handwoven Rbati carpets, the capital’s own style, plus silver, babouches and pottery. Bargaining happens, but it is gentler than in the big tourist medinas. Mornings are quietest.

The modern capital

Rabat’s UNESCO listing covers more than the old monuments. The protectorate-era new town, planned from 1915 under Henri Prost, is one of the most coherent early-20th-century capitals anywhere. Walk Avenue Mohammed V past the 1923 Rabat Ville station, the Art Deco post office and the twin-towered St Peter’s Cathedral of 1921. The Royal Palace and its ceremonial mechouar can only be admired from outside the gates.

Newer still, the Mohammed VI Tower opened in April 2026. The 250-metre, 55-floor building is Morocco’s tallest, with an observation deck selling timed tickets online. Below it on the riverbank, the Grand Theatre of Rabat, Zaha Hadid’s undulating concrete landmark, was inaugurated in 2024 and is worth seeing from outside even when nothing is on stage. The Mohammed VI Museum, five minutes from Rabat Ville station, holds work by around 200 Moroccan artists and closes on Tuesdays. Rabat was also UNESCO World Book Capital for 2026, a year of literary events that the BBC called a fresh reason to look at the capital again.

How much does Rabat cost to visit?

Less than you expect, and here is the useful part: the three sights on a standard first day are free or nearly so. The Kasbah, the Hassan Tower esplanade and the Mausoleum charge nothing. Chellah is the single paid headline sight.

Sight or service	Cost in 2026	Notes
Kasbah of the Udayas and Andalusian Gardens	Free	Open daily, 9am to 8pm.
Hassan Tower esplanade and Mausoleum of Mohammed V	Free	Open daily; modest dress for the mausoleum.
Chellah	About 70 MAD	About 120 MAD with audio guide; reopened May 2024.
Mohammed VI Museum (MMVI)	About 40 to 60 MAD	Closed Tuesdays; open 10am to 6pm.
Blue rowboat across the Bou Regreg to Salé	A few dirhams	Runs from under the Kasbah most of the day.
Tram ride, Rabat and Salé	About 7 to 10 MAD	Machines at each stop.
Chicken tagine in a local restaurant	From 100 MAD	Street stalls and low-key places cost less.
Riad double, or four-star central double	From 500 MAD, or from 1,200 MAD	Lonely Planet’s 2026 averages.

For example, a sightseeing day with one paid site, a medina tagine lunch, mint tea and a couple of tram rides works out around 400 to 700 dirhams (about $40 to $70) a head without the bed. Comfortable mid-range rooms in the Hassan district or Agdal often cost less than the equivalent in Marrakech, and the country-wide picture sits in our Morocco trip cost breakdown. Eat through the Moroccan food guide before you order: Rabat does a fine job with the same tagine and pastilla canon as everywhere else, and the medina kitchens keep prices local.

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How do you get to Rabat and get around?

By train, almost always. Rabat sits on Morocco’s main rail spine. ONCF trains from Casablanca’s Casa Voyageurs station reach Rabat Ville in about one hour, roughly hourly through the day. Fares stay low. The Al Boraq high-speed service from Tangier stops at Rabat Agdal, on the east side, useful if you are coming down the northern line. Rabat Ville is the mainline station for the old city and the Hassan district, and that is where conventional trains from Casablanca, Marrakech and Fes arrive.

From Marrakech the journey takes about 3.5 hours. From Fes it is about 3 hours.

From the airport. Most flights land at Casablanca’s Mohammed V airport, 88 km south. A taxi to Rabat runs from about 600 dirhams. Cheaper: take the airport terminal train straight through to Rabat, quoted at Dh28 to Dh65 one way.

Around the city. The centre crosses on foot: the medina, the Kasbah and the Hassan district all connect within half an hour. Three habits cover the rest:

• Tram: the modern line links Rabat with Salé for about 7 to 10 dirhams a ride, with ticket machines at every stop.
• Petit taxi: the blue cars are metered; agree the fare before the doors close.
• Rowboat: the blue wooden boats below the Kasbah ferry you across the Bou Regreg for a few dirhams, landing you in Salé’s quieter medina and the Marinid madrasa of Abu al-Hasan, built between 1332 and 1341.

Practical dress, scam and taxi advice for the whole country sits in our Morocco travel tips.

Where should you stay in Rabat?

Sleep near what you came to see, and the city stays walkable.

Area	Best for	Keep in mind
Hassan district	First visits, walking to the tower and mausoleum	Mid-range and up; quiet after dark.
Near Rabat Ville station and the medina	Train arrivals, souks, budget and mid-range rooms	Busy streets; confirm taxi drop-off for small lanes.
Agdal	Leafy streets, the Al Boraq station, tram links	A short hop to the old city.
Salé riverfront	Lower prices, marina cafés, the rowboat commute	You cross water every evening; fine in daylight.

For a first stay, the Hassan district or a street a few minutes from Rabat Ville station is the compromise that works. You drop bags, walk to the mausoleum or the medina without a plan, and catch trains without a transfer.

When is the best time to visit Rabat?

March to May and September to November are the sweet spots: warm days, cool evenings on the river and storks at Chellah at their busiest in spring. The Atlantic keeps Rabat milder than the inland imperial cities. January averages about 12C and August about 23C, so summer never bakes the way Marrakech does, though August brings holiday crowds to the beach below the Kasbah.

The crowds are the point, in fact. In 2025 Morocco took close to 20 million visitors, and Marrakech saw overnight stays jump 40% year on year while Rabat managed about 3%, the BBC reported. The capital stays noticeably calmer than its famous siblings for now.

Winter is quiet and the lowest season for rooms, with damp mornings on the estuary. If your dates fall in spring, check the book-fair calendar: Rabat’s year as UNESCO World Book Capital opened with the international book fair from 1 to 10 May in 2026, and the city fills when it runs. For month-by-month weather across the country, use our best time to visit Morocco guide.

Rabat rewards a stop most itineraries skip. Give it the night between Casablanca and the north, or a quiet day before Fes, and the capital does the rest. When the route needs a bigger city, our Marrakech travel guide and Fes travel guide pick up the story.

How this page is checked: every fare, fee and opening hour was fact-checked against the linked official listings and guidebooks in October 2026. The about page explains the editorial standards behind this site, and the contact page takes corrections.

At a glance

Kasbah of the Udayas

Twelfth-century Almohad citadel at the mouth of the Bouregreg river, with blue-and-white lanes, the Andalusian Gardens and views over the Atlantic. Free to enter; part of the UNESCO-listed historic city of Rabat.

Address

Rabat, MA

Kasbah of the Udayas

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Frequently asked questions

How many days do you need in Rabat?

One full day covers the Kasbah of the Udayas, the Hassan Tower with the Mausoleum of Mohammed V and Chellah. A second day adds the medina, the Mohammed VI Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art and the rowboat crossing to Salé. A third fits the zoo, the beach below the Kasbah or a one-hour train hop to Casablanca.

Is Rabat worth visiting?

Yes, especially if your route already crosses Morocco by train. The capital holds three major landmarks within walking distance of each other, its historic core has been on the UNESCO World Heritage List since 2012, and crowds stay far lighter than in Marrakech or Fes. National Geographic included Rabat on its Best of the World list for 2026.

How much does Chellah cost?

International adults pay about 70 dirhams (around $7) for the standard ticket, or about 120 dirhams with an audio guide, since the site reopened in May 2024 after a three-year restoration. Opening hours run roughly 9am to 6pm in winter and 9am to 8pm in summer.

Is the Hassan Tower free to visit?

Yes. The Hassan Tower esplanade and the Mausoleum of Mohammed V are both free and open to non-Muslim visitors. Dress modestly with shoulders and knees covered for the mausoleum, where ceremonial guards stand at the gates.

How do you get from Casablanca to Rabat?

ONCF trains link Casa Voyageurs with Rabat Ville about hourly, in roughly one hour. Fares are low: the airport-terminal train to Rabat is quoted at Dh28 to Dh65. The Al Boraq high-speed service from Tangier stops at Rabat Agdal, on the east side of the city.

What is the best time to visit Rabat?

March to May and September to November bring the most comfortable days. Thanks to the Atlantic, Rabat stays milder than Marrakech or Fes all year: January averages around 12C and August around 23C, though winter mornings can feel cool and damp on the river.

Useful links (6)

1. Rabat, Modern Capital and Historic City: a Shared Heritage, UNESCO World Heritage List— whc.unesco.org
2. 10 Best Things to Do in Rabat, 2026 Travel Guide, Explore Rabat, June 2026— explore-rabat.com
3. A Guide to Rabat, Morocco, Lonely Planet, updated September 2026— lonelyplanet.com
4. The Kasbah of the Oudaias, Visit Rabat— visitrabat.com
5. Chellah visitor guide and entrance fees, FindTourGuide— findtourguide.com
6. Tourism in Morocco is booming, except here, BBC Travel, March 2026— bbc.com

Photo credits

Thank you to Timothy A. Gonsalves for sharing this beautiful photograph and helping bring this guide to life.

Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0