Fast Facts

Banks & Currency Exchange -- There are plenty of banks -- with ATMs -- in the centre ville, mainly along avenue Mohammed V and the parallel avenue Allal ben Abdellah. The BMCE branch, 260 av. Mohammed V (tel. 037/216167), also has a bureau de change, conveniently open daily from 8am to 8pm.

Car Rentals -- The major international firms can be found in the centre ville, including Avis, 7 rue Abou Faris Al Mairini (tel. 037/721818 or 037/769759); Budget, Rabat Ville train station (tel. 037/705789); Europcar, 25 bis rue Patrice Lumumba (tel. 037/724141); Hertz, 467 av. Mohammed V (tel. 037/707366 or 037/709227); and National/Alamo, corner of rue de Caire and rue Ghandi (tel. 037/722731).

Doctors -- Dr. Mohammed el Kabbaj, 8 rue Oued Zem (tel. 037/764311), and Dr. Youssef Alaoui Belghiti, 6 place des Alaouites (tel. 037/708029), both come recommended.

Drugstores -- There are plenty of pharmacies in Rabat. In the medina, at the kasbah end of rue des Consuls, is Pharmacie Oudayas (tel. 037/727770), which also usually has a doctor in residence, while halfway along rue des Consuls is Pharmacie Souk Tahti (tel. 037/711290). In the centre ville, Pharmacie du Maroc (tel. 037/723981) and Pharmacie Soha (tel. 037/722145) are on avenue Mohammed V. All general pharmacies in Rabat open Monday to Friday 8am to 8pm (some closing for lunch from 12:30-2:30pm) and Saturday 8am to 2pm. They then work on a roster system after hours; the list of open pharmacies is on the front door. The Pharmacie du Nuit, on avenue Moulay Rachid, is open nightly from 8pm to 8am Monday to Friday, and 2pm Saturday to 8am Monday.

Embassies -- Canada, 13 bis, rue Jaâfar as Sadiq, Agdal (tel. 037/687400); South Africa, 34 rue des Saâdians, Hassan (tel. 037/706760); U.K., 28 av. SAR Sidi Mohammed, Souissi (tel. 037/633333 or 061/134375 in an emergency); and U.S., 2 av. Marrakech, Ministères (tel. 037/762265). Australia is represented by the Canadian embassy.

Emergency -- For general emergencies and the police, call tel. 19. For a private ambulance service, phone Service d'Assistance Médicale Urgente (SAMU; tel. 037/737373). In a medical emergency, call SOS Médicins (tel. 037/202020). Also see "Doctors," above, and "Hospitals," below, for more options.

Hospitals -- SOS Médicins (tel. 037/202020) is a 24-hour emergency clinic, located at 6 rue Moulay Slimane. Up in the suburb of Hassan is Polyclinique de Rabat, 8 rue de Tunis (tel. 037/204914).

Internet Access -- There aren't as many cybercafes around the city center as you'd expect, with most being located in the university suburb of Agdal. On avenue Hassan II is Phobos, located next door to the Hotel Majestic, and Student Cyber, 83 av. Hassan II. Both are open daily from 9am to 10pm.

Laundry & Dry Cleaning -- There are no self-service laundries within the medina or centre ville. Dry cleaners in the centre ville include Process Clean, 186 av. Hassan II (tel. 037/205890), and La Reine des Neiges, 73 rue Patrice Lumumba (tel. 037/766472). Both are open Monday to Friday 8:30am to 12:30pm and 3 to 7pm.

Maps & Books -- Le Conseil Régional du Tourisme de Rabat, 23 av. de la Victoire (tel. 037/776400), annually produces the free Carte Touristique Rabat city map. It will help you to initially get your bearings, but unfortunately its scale is too large and therefore lacks a detailed look at the streets of the centre ville and the lanes and alleys of the medina. It's available from most hotels and some of the better restaurants. In a similar vein is the map accompanying the spiral Rabat de A à Z handbook, which is available from the bookshop Librarie Populaire, 4 rue Ghazza, Centre Ville (tel. 037/388677). Here you'll also find a good range of Arabic-English and French-English dictionaries. English Bookshop, 7 rue al Yamama, off avenue Moulay Youssef (tel. 037/706593), sells both new and secondhand English-language fiction and nonfiction titles. The small American Bookstore, on the corner of rue Moulay Abdel al Hafid and rue Annaba (formerly rue Boujaad; tel. 037/761269), stocks a small selection of English-language books on Morocco, as well as secondhand English-language paperbacks.

Newspapers -- Try the newsstands along avenue Mohammed V, between Rabat Ville train station and the junction with avenue Hassan II, which occasionally stock the weekly international edition of the U.K.'s Guardian.

Photographic Needs -- There's a string of photo-processing shops along avenue Mohammed V, between Rabat Ville train station and the junction with avenue Hassan II. At the time of writing, none were able to download digital images to disk, however. Phobos sells a few memory cards.

Police -- There's a Préfecture de Police on avenue Tripoli, south of avenue Moulay Hassan in the centre ville, and a police post on the medina side of the junction of avenue Mohammed V and avenue Hassan II.

Post Office & Mail -- Rabat's main post office is in the centre ville, on the corner of avenue Mohammed V and rue Soekamo. There's also a smaller post office at the northern edge of the medina, on rue Loubira off avenue Laâlouj. Both are open Monday to Friday 8am to 4:15pm and Saturday 8am to noon. DHL has an office located in the suburb of Agdal, 40 av. de France (tel. 037/779934), open Monday to Friday 8:30am to 6:30pm and Saturday 9am to 1pm. FedEx, 23 av. Tariq ibn Ziad, Hassan (tel. 037/661166), is open Monday to Friday 8am to 6:30pm and Saturday 8am to 12:15pm.

Restrooms -- There are no public restrooms within the medina or centre ville. Your best bet is to try one of the better dining establishments mentioned below.

Safety -- Rabat is considered one of the safest cities in Morocco, and travelers can expect minimal hassle from shopkeepers, touts, and faux guides. Most nights, however, the streets can become rather deserted after 10pm, and the usual precautions should be taken.

Telephone -- The country code for Morocco is 212. Rabat's city code is 037, but you need to drop the "0" if you are calling from outside the country.