8 Best Sights in Rabat and Casablanca, Morocco

One of the city’s few museums, the Abderrahman Slaoui is hidden away in a splendid Art Deco villa. Permanent exhibits feature a collection of the nation’s treasures, including delicate crystal perfume bottles, Jacques Majorelle paintings, vintage prints, and 300-year-old jewelry from Fez. The museum has a café spilling out onto the rooftop, and a shop. Guided visits are available for 100 DH and there are creative art workshops in subjects such as photography, tapestry, and drawing and painting for children.

All that remains are ruins, but Chellah was an elaborate, independent city before Rabat ever existed. Presumably founded by Phoenicians, it dates from the 7th or 8th century BC. You'll see the remains of the subsequent Roman city, Sala Colonia, on your left as you walk down the path. Though these remnants are limited to broken stone foundations and column bases (with lots of resident storks), descriptive markers point to the likely location of the forum, baths, and market. Sultan Abu Saïd and his son Abu al Hassan, of the Merenid dynasty, were responsible for the ramparts, the entrance gate, and the majestic portals. The Merenids used Chellah as a spiritual retreat, and at quiet times the baraka (blessing) of the place is still tangible.

The entrance to the Merenid sanctuary is at the bottom of the path, just past some tombs. To the right is a pool with eels in it, which is said to produce miracles—women are known to toss eggs to the eels for fertility. The ruins of the mosque are just inside the sanctuary; you can still see the beautiful arches and the mihrab (prayer niche). Birds nest on the impressive minaret. On the far side of the mosque is a beautiful wall decorated with Kufi script, a type of Arabic calligraphy characterized by right angles. To the left of the mosque is the zaouia (sanctuary), where you can see the ruins of individual cells surrounding a basin and some ancient mosaic work. Beyond the mosque and zaouia are some beautiful, well-maintained walled gardens. Spring water runs through them at one point, and they give Chellah a serenity that's quite extraordinary considering that it's less than a mile from the center of a nation's capital. From the walled gardens you can look out over the River Bou Regreg: you'll see cultivated fields below and cliffs across the river. On the right is a hill with a small white koubba.

El Jadida's main attraction is the atmospheric Cité Portugaise, which was built for military purposes in the early 1500s, overtaken by the Moroccans in 1769, and registered as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2004. Impressive (and still imposing) stone walls make it difficult to miss. The Portuguese city was originally a rectangular island with a bastion on each corner, connected to the mainland by a single causeway. Take the entrance on the right where you'll see that the Portuguese street names have been retained.

Salé has long been known throughout the country, and beyond, for its local pottery. At this particular complex (just off the road toward Fez, to the right after the river from Rabat) visitors can browse through a whole series of pottery shops, each with its own style; you might also get the chance to chat with a potter or maybe even try your own hand at clay work. Other crafts have been added as well, notably bamboo and straw work and mosaic-tile furnishings.

Casablanca's skyline is dominated by this massive edifice, decorated with magnificent zellij (mosaic tiles). The building's foundations lie partly on land and partly in the sea, and at one point inside you can see the water through a glass floor. The main hall holds an astonishing 25,000 people and has a retractable roof so that it can be turned into a courtyard. The minaret is more than 650 feet high, and the mezzanine floor (which holds the women's section, about 6 feet above the main floor) seems dwarfed by the nearly 200-foot-high ceiling. Still, the ceiling's enormous painted decorations appear small and delicate from below.

Funded through public subscription, designed by a French architect, and built by a team of 35,000, the mosque was erected between 1987 and 1993 and is one of the largest in the world, its minaret being the tallest. It was built in Casablanca primarily so that the largest city in the kingdom would have a monument worthy of its size. Except for the ruined Tinmel mosque in the High Atlas Mountains, this is the only mosque in Morocco that non-Muslims are allowed to enter. One-hour guided tours of the mosque are offered daily (six per day, Saturday to Thursday; four on Friday). There are reduced hours during Ramadan. Be sure to dress conservatively, and note that you will be required to remove your shoes at the entrance.

If you fly out of Casablanca, try to get a window seat on the left for a good view of the mosque in relation to the city as a whole.

Just 10 km (6 miles) north of Salé, you'll find the extraordinary Jardins Exotiques, which were created in the mid-20th century by a Frenchman named Marcel François, who used to play classical music to his plants. Planned to represent different regions (like Polynesia, Brazil, or Japan), the gardens are a haven for birds and frogs. There are two circuits of different lengths and the walkways and bridges make this a wonderful playground and educational experience for children, too. Since François's death in 1999, the property has been maintained by the government and has recently been well restored. A touching autobiographical poem forms his epitaph at the entrance.

Many people combine a visit to the gardens with a day at the beach at Plage des Nations, another 10 km (6 miles) along the coast. A private taxi organized by your hotel costs 300 DH for the return trip, including the driver's wait while you explore the gardens. 

Rabat's early history is based around this kasbah: built strategically on high ground over the mouth of the Bou Regreg River and the Atlantic, it was originally constructed for defensive purposes. Still inhabited, it once comprised the whole of the city, including the castle of Yaqoub al Mansour.

Walk up the steps to the huge, imposing ornamental gate, built, like Bab Rouah, by the Almohads. The gate's interior is now used for art exhibits. Enter the kasbah and turn right into Rue Jama (Mosque Street). The mosque, which dates from Almohad times (it was built in the mid-12th century), is on the left; it was supposedly reconstructed in the late 18th century by an English Muslim—Ahmed el Inglizi. Continue to the end of the road past a house called Dar Baraka, and you'll emerge onto a large platform overlooking the Bou Regreg estuary. Here there is the magnificent view across the river to the old quarter of Salé, and you can walk down to the water's edge. Go back along Rue Jama until you come to Rue Bazo on the left; this winds down the kasbah and past picturesque houses. Turn left, walk to the bottom of the street, and proceed down to the banks of the Bou Regreg to see the beautiful Jardin des Oudayas (Oudayas Garden), a walled retreat that you can explore at your leisure, and stop for tea at Café Maure. The garden (which is wheelchair accessible) was laid out in the early 20th century, but its enclosure dates from the beginning of the present Alaouite dynasty in the 17th century. At the top of the garden is the Musée des Oudayas (Oudayas Museum), featuring traditional costumes, and a 12th-century Koran. 

Inaugurated in 2014, this striking must-see museum is an exquisite showcase of contemporary art pieces from across the nation. The permanent collection charts the evolution of Moroccan artwork from the 20th century onward, while the skillfully curated temporary exhibitions focus on fascinating themes. There's a nice café here, too.