Rabat Guided Tour

Overview

In short: The Rabat Guided Tour is a 4-hour visit of Morocco's capital, listed by UNESCO in 2012. It covers the Kasbah of the Udayas above the Bouregreg estuary, the unfinished 12th-century Hassan Tower, the Mausoleum of Mohammed V, the Chellah necropolis with Roman ruins and storks, and the Rabat medina.

Duration

Half day (4 h)

Starts

Rabat

Ends

Rabat

Tour type

Private guided tour

Language

English or French; Spanish or Italian on request

Stops

5 places

Meeting point

Your hotel or Rabat-Ville station

Difficulty

Easy · some steps in the Kasbah of the Udayas

Best time

All year; mornings are quietest at the Udayas

Entry fees (approx.)

Hassan Tower, Mausoleum and Udayas: free · Chellah: ticket on site

Rabat surprises people. They expect a government town and find one of the most relaxed cities in Morocco: wide avenues, trams, a seafront, and a medina where nobody chases you. It has been the capital since 1912, and the whole city has been on the UNESCO list since 2012, old and modern parts together.

The tour follows about eight centuries in one morning. The Almohads began a giant mosque here in the 1190s and never finished it; its tower still stands. Andalusian refugees settled in the kasbah above the river. The French built the new town. And today Rabat is busy building again, along the Bouregreg.

It pairs well with Casablanca, an hour away. Many travellers do both in one day, or stop here on the train between Fès and the south.

Highlights

• Kasbah of the Udayas
• The medina
• Hassan Tower
• Mausoleum of Mohammed V
• Chellah

Route

Street map of the visit (map data © OpenStreetMap contributors). The dotted line joins the stops in order. Open the route in Google Maps

The route, stop by stop

1. Kasbah of the Udayas

   Through the great Almohad gate and into lanes painted white and blue, quieter than Chefchaouen and much less photographed. At the top, a platform looks over the river mouth to Salé and the surfers in the Atlantic. Below, the Andalusian garden is a cool place to sit.

2. The medina

   Small and orderly. Rue des Consuls was where European diplomats lived until 1912; today it is lined with carpet and craft shops where people actually let you browse.

3. Hassan Tower

   Sultan Yacoub al-Mansour wanted the largest mosque in the western Islamic world. Work stopped when he died in 1199. What remains is a 44-metre minaret and a field of column stumps, which is oddly moving.

4. Mausoleum of Mohammed V

   Across the esplanade, the tomb of the king who led Morocco to independence, and of his two sons, Hassan II and Prince Moulay Abdallah. Royal guards in red and white stand at the doors. Visitors can step inside to look down on the tombs.

5. Chellah

   Outside the city walls, a walled garden of ruins: a Roman town called Sala, then a Merinid necropolis from the fourteenth century. Storks nest on every minaret and broken arch, and the place has a quiet, slightly magical feel.

Checked in October 2026. Prices and opening hours change, so we confirm them again when you book.

What’s included

Good to know

• Rabat is easy to reach by train: about an hour from Casablanca, two and a half from Fès, and around an hour and a half from Tangier by high-speed train.
• Dress respectfully at the mausoleum; no hats inside.
• Storks are at Chellah for most of the year, but they are at their busiest in spring.
• If you have a full day, cross the river to Salé, whose medina sees almost no tourists.

Tours that pass through Rabat

This visit can be added to any of these private tours, usually on the day you arrive.

Read before you go

Questions about this trip