A Less-Visited Moroccan City Is Getting the Attention of Travelers. Here’s Why.

There’s something in the air in Rabat. In summer, cerulean skies form the backdrop to the relaxed Moroccan capital’s handsome architecture, all carved sandstone, white-washed walls, and arches. In winter, the sea breezes feel energizing rather than chilling, and seagulls skim the Atlantic waves pounding the city’s coastline. Until fairly recently, Rabat was often left off typical tourist itineraries as visitors rushed to Fez to wander the labyrinthine medina or to Marrakech to dive straight into the Red City’s shopping. I’m based in Dubai, and every time I’ve visited Rabat over the past few years I’ve seen more travelers and more new developments underway that make this feel like a city that’s going places.

The city is set to welcome even more visitors in the next few years when Morocco hosts soccer’s 2025 African Cup of Nations and cohosts the FIFA World Cup with Spain and Portugal in 2030. While the stadiums for the finals haven’t been officially announced yet, the soon-to-be-completed Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium might be one of them. Morocco is still buzzing after its fourth place finish at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar where the Atlas Lions drew fans around the world with their fair play, family values, and son-and-mother celebrations on the field. Whether Rabat becomes one of the venues for the finals remains to be seen, but even if it doesn’t, soccer fans would be wise to stop in the Moroccan capital. Rabat is a city that welcomes visitors with warmth and will have plenty more to offer them in the coming years.

What the Moroccan capital is like

Rabat’s energy is less frenetic than many other Moroccan cities. It has a historical center that’s been spruced up in recent years and a growing cultural scene. There are new electric rickshaws to take visitors around to the many sights, and one of Africa’s best music festivals, the annual Mawazine Rhythms of the World, continues to attract big-name global acts. The 2024 event drew more than 2.5 million attendees with performances by Burna Boy, Central Cee, Calvin Harris, and Nicki Minaj; a multitude of Moroccan favorites, including Saida Charaf, Saïd Senhaji, and Mocci; and a hologram performance of the legendary Egyptian singer Umm Kulthum. And best of all, the festival is free.

The top new luxury hotels in Rabat

There are new luxury hotels popping up, too. The Conrad Rabat Arzana, seaside and a 25-minute drive south of the historical center, and the Fairmont La Marina Rabat Salé, in the capital’s sister city across the Bou Regreg River, both opened in late 2022. A new Four Seasons hotel, centered on a restored 18th-century royal residence, opened its doors in October 2024, and the Ritz-Carlton Rabat Dar Es Salam, surrounded by 440 acres of oak forest and landscaped gardens, opened in September.

It’s at the latter where I based myself on my most recent visit. Approached by a driveway that winds past fluffy pampas grass and spiky birds of paradise, the hotel has an imposing presence, palatial yet modern with an entrance combining sleek lines, black and white marble floors, and intricately carved plaster detailing. Inside, it’s a showcase of traditional Moroccan craftsmanship but with a contemporary sense. Color schemes of white, green, and gold reflect the gardens, and the soaring ceilings and large windows allow every line, curve, and chiseled geometric detail to stand out in their full beauty.

Courtesy of Ritz-Carlton Rabat

After a busy few days traveling in Morocco, I found the hotel’s verdant gardens, with silvery olive trees and towering palms, restorative. As I lounged on a poolside sunbed, the only things distracting me from my book are the snow-white egrets stalking the manicured lawns. The 117-room hotel sits just off the Avenue Mohammed VI in a leafy neighborhood home to embassies, smart villas, and the Royal Golf Dar Es Salam with its three courses, 45 holes, and a clubhouse by Joël Robuchon.

What to do in Rabat

It’s not only hotels that are breathing new energy into the city. Other new developments on the way include the Zaha Hadid–designed Grand Theater of Rabat; the 820-foot-high Mohammed VI Tower, with apartments, offices, and a hotel, will soar over a flat plain like a cross between a rocket and a breaching whale. A new archaeology and earth sciences museum is slated to open soon, too.

Courtesy of Ritz-Carlton Rabat

But there’s also plenty of history to draw visitors. The 12th century Kasbah des Oudayas has been spruced up in recent years, and the views from the ramparts are some of the best in the city. The 800-year-old Hassan Tower, intended to be the tallest minaret in the world when commissioned but never finished, still draws a steady stream of local and international visitors, as does the Mausoleum of Mohammed V, protected by guards in smart red uniforms and flowing capes.

On the edge of the sea, the handsome, cannon-flanked Borj El Kebir fort, also known as Fort Rottembourg, houses the National Museum of Photography. And the hilltop archaeological site of the Chellah, reopened in 2021 after a major restoration, is one of the loveliest spots in the city with its fragrant gardens, Mauritanian, Roman, and Marinid ruins, and far-reaching views. It’s here, while I wander among lichen-covered chunks of Roman columns and rock-strewn ancient temples, that I keep bumping into a father and his young son on a day out exploring their city. The son is full of curiosity, asking his endlessly patient father questions about who lived here before, how the archaeologists excavated the site, and what the big birds are that circle high in the sky.

Where to eat and drink in Rabat

I catch up with them again—and the answer to the son’s question about the birds—at the Chellah’s new Ciconia café, just opened in May and named for the storks that nest here. A group of Spanish women are tucking into a huge breakfast of Moroccan favorites—msemen bread, beghrir pancakes, amlou made from almonds and argan oil—and I order a fresh juice of crushed strawberries, raspberries, and myrtle berries. But as delicious as the food and drinks may be, everyone’s eyes are drawn to the storks that nest on top of the Chellah’s minarets and the purpose-built platforms erected right in front of the café. They clack their bills at each other and flap their wings, before flying up into the air with an ungainly, long-legged awkwardness that gives way to aerodynamic elegance once airborne.

Ciconia isn’t the only new addition to Rabat’s dining scene. Down the coast, a half-hour drive from the Ritz-Carlton, Folie Bouznika is introducing a Mediterranean-style beach club scene. There are poolside cabanas, a breezy boho-chic restaurant, and a menu of carpaccios, tartares, and summery salads served alongside chilled Moroccan vin gris.

Back in the city, new arrival Muskaan offers cocktails with names like Dreamer Deceiver and Raspberry Rendez-vous, and dishes that meander from Moroccan tagine to Nikkei nigiri, spider crab vol-au-vent, and truffle and parmesan brioche perdue. It’s a place to see and be seen, a handsomely converted villa with louche indoor spaces, walls painted in shades of eggplant and jade, and a convivial outdoor terrace.

Courtesy of Ritz-Carlton Rabat

A five-minute drive from the Ritz-Carlton in an incongruous strip mall location is Zing, an equally cool (and exceptionally popular) hangout for mezze, Asian-inspired grills, and “naanizzas”—naan-based pizzas with toppings like chicken tikka, char-grilled beef, and pesto and stracciatella. And there will be even more in the neighborhood when the Ritz-Carlton’s new restaurants open, including Rihla for cuisine inspired by the travels of Ibn Battuta, and a branch of Sumosan.