Rue des Consuls
Carpets and crafts.
Schorle — CC BY-SA 4.0 · mustapha_ennaimi — CC BY 2.0 · Mounir Neddi — CC BY-SA 4.0 · August Dominus — CC0 · Pline — CC BY-SA 3.0 · AHMED AIT ETTAJER — CC BY-SA 4.0 · mustapha ennaimi from casablanca, maroc — CC BY 2.0 · mustapha ennaimi from casablanca, maroc — CC BY 2.0
Rabat's old walled town, bounded to the north by the Bou Regreg and the Kasbah of the Udayas and to the south by the Andalusian wall, built in the early seventeenth century when Morisco refugees expelled from Spain settled here and revived the town. It has been part of Rabat's UNESCO World Heritage listing since 2012. It feels calmer, cleaner and easier to explore than the medinas of Fes and Marrakech, with fairly straight streets and white houses with carved, colourful doors. Its best-known street is Rue des Consuls, where foreign consuls lived until 1912, now lined with carpet and craft shops. It has markets for spices, dried fruit, clothes and leather, the Great Mosque, and passages leading to the Kasbah of the Udayas and the seafront. Pressure from sellers is lighter than in the big tourist cities. Wandering is free, and shopping comes with the usual bargaining. From here a short walk north brings you to the Kasbah of the Udayas.
Carpets and crafts.
White, colourful houses.
Spices and leather.
Between the Kasbah of the Udayas and the Andalusian wall, Rabat
Kasbah of the UdayasA historic citadel on a bluff where the Bou Regreg River meets the Atlantic, fac8 minutes walk
Hassan TowerThe minaret of an unfinished mosque commissioned by the Almohad caliph Yaqub al-16 minutes walk
Museum of History and CivilizationsMorocco's national archaeological museum, founded in 1932 as the Rabat Archaeolo18 minutes walk
Mausoleum of Mohammed VA royal mausoleum facing the Hassan Tower, holding the tomb of King Mohammed V, 18 minutes walk
Bab er-RouahA monumental gate in Rabat's Almohad walls, built by Caliph Yaqub al-Mansur in t18 minutes walkIt is smaller, calmer and easier to navigate, with fewer tourists and pushy sellers, suiting anyone after a relaxed old town.