Things To Do in Rabat

The nation's capital offers a choice selection of sights, most of them within walking distance of one another. Combined with some general meandering within its hassle-free medina, there's enough here for a relaxing day or two of sightseeing. Adding to the city's attractions will be the major redevelopment of both the Rabat and Salé riverbanks, intended to be completed by the end of 2010. The result will see long promenades on both sides of the river, with grassed areas, restaurants, and berths.

Especially for Kids -- Rabat offers very few attractions specifically for children. However, a stroll through the city's medina will produce a visual feast of shops with large mounds of brightly colored spices, musical instruments, and gory splendors such as hanging goat and camel heads. Catching a boat taxi between the two riverbanks could also be fun. On the Salé side of the Oued Bou Regreg is the city's funfair, Magic Park, on avenue du Bou Regreg. There are plenty of rides, including bumper cars and carousels, as well as a great view overlooking the river. It's open daily from May to September, and Wednesday, Saturday, and Sunday from October to April, operating from 11am to 9pm. Special hours during Ramadan are Monday to Friday 8pm to 1am and weekends 1pm to 1am. Admission costs 5dh for children up to 12, 10dh for accompanying adults, and 25dh for adults with no children. A 40dh ticket per child or adult gives access to all rides.

If you're in Rabat for a number of days, then consider contacting French potter Marilyn Bottero (tel. 0661/224268 or 0537/674798), who offers a range of art workshops for kids including fabric painting, pottery, and papier-mâché.

Rabat's medina and kasbah offer limited but rewarding shopping opportunities. Mingling in with those selling everyday wares such as olives, cooking utensils, plasticware, and clothing are shops stocked with all the same fine handicrafts as those in the more well-known shopping souks of Marrakech and Fes. The difference in Rabat is the relative lack of hard sell, with most shopkeepers either selling at a fixed price or only bartering out of some sort of respect for this ingrained local custom.

For fresh produce, visit the Central Marché, located on the medina side of avenue Hassan II between Bab el Had and Bab al Bouab, open daily from 8am to 8pm. There's a Label 'Vie supermarket, 4 av. al Maghreb al Arabi, 100m (328 ft.) west of Bab al Had, which also sells fresh produce along with standard supermarket groceries. It's open daily 8:30am to 9pm.

Medina -- As the day draws to a close, hawkers converge on rue Souika to spread out their wares and seemingly compete with each other over who has the loudest and catchiest sales pitch. Although the goods are largely domestic products and housewares and of little interest to travelers, wandering along the crowded street at this time is one of my favorite pastimes, as the street comes alive, and the true sense of being in a residential medina can be experienced.

Rue Souk as Sabbat is a covered extension of rue Souika, and houses many small shops selling jewelry, jellabahs, babouches, musical instruments, and modern clothing and footwear. At the southwestern entrance to Souk as Sabbat, on the corner with rue Bab Chellah, is the small, dusty treasure trove of Ben Hamou Metloub. The septuagenarian has been here for "only 15 years," and his shop is packed to the rafters with trinkets and curios. Inside you'll find, among other things, ancient trade beads, darbuka drums, fossils, gemstones, kif pipes, tambourines, leather wallets, and walking sticks. He's open daily, usually from 9am to 9pm.

At its northeastern end, rue Souk as Sabbat meets the junction of rue Oukassa and rue des Consuls. Rue des Consuls is Rabat's main shopping street. Here you'll find many shops selling handicrafts from other parts of Morocco, such as Marrakchi leatherwear and Fassi pottery, along with locally made colored-hide lamps, babouches, jellabahs, and carpets. Rabat carpets can have as many as 150,000 stitches per square meter (13,935 stitches per sq. ft.), and were traditionally made in workshops within the medina and kasbah. There's still a carpet auction held here every Monday and Thursday morning.

On the corner of rue des Consuls and rue el Harrarine (aka rue el Kheddarin) is the small Rabat boutique for French potter Marilyn Bottero (tel. 0661/224268 or 0537/674798). Her fun, brightly colored creations come in different forms, from cloth bags and lampshades to tagines and teacups. Marilyn also conducts creative workshops for both adults and kids. Two doors up is Pop Art-L'Art Moderne (tel. 0679/781526), the tiny workshop-cum-outlet for metalworking brothers Mohammed and Mohssin. The brothers create both traditional and contemporary lampshades from various metal sources, including old olive oil tins and other canned goods. The shades are fashioned with designs from hundreds of tiny holes punched into the metal, casting fantastic shadows on the nearest wall. Both shops are open daily from roughly 9am to 6pm, usually with a break for lunch between noon and 2pm.

Kasbah des Oudaïas -- Toward the end of the kasbah's main street, rue Jemaa, is a wonderful art gallery, Nouiga Galérie d'Art (tel. 0537/711646). Inside you'll regularly find original works from local artists, especially photographers, as well as a large range of different size prints taken from watercolors depicting everyday life within Morocco. There's also a selection of quality coffee table-style souvenir books, and information regarding upcoming cultural events. At the end of rue Jemaa is a carpet cooperative, where you can watch local women toiling away on the traditional looms, though they expect a gratuity (10dh) for the privilege.

True to Rabat's standing as the country's diplomatic center, nightlife in the city tends to lean toward the cultural spectrum. Théâtre Mohammed V, on rue Moulay Rachid (tel. 0537/707300), is the country's preeminent theater, hosting a wide variety of productions ranging from Moroccan comedy to European classical dance. Cinéma du 7ème Art, on avenue Allal ben Abdellah (tel. 0537/733887), is popular with the student crowd, showing mostly Arabic and European art-house movies nightly. There are also the local cultural centers attached to some of the foreign embassies. The British Council, 36 rue Tanger, Ministères (off the southern end of av. Mohammed V; tel. 0537/218130; www.britishcouncil.org.ma), offers a monthly program of functions, as does the Institut Français, 2 rue al Yanboua (tel. 0537/701122; www.ambafrance-ma.org), and the German-aligned Goethe Institut, 7 rue Sana'a (tel. 0537/732650; www.goethe.de), in the centre ville.

I find most clubs in Rabat highly overrated, both staffed and frequented by persons full of self-importance and costing an arm and a leg (by Moroccan standards) just to get in, let alone to have a drink. The most consistently popular in downtown Rabat is Amnesia, 18 rue de Monastir, centre ville (tel. 0537/701860). American-themed right down to the diner-style backroom, the music is a mix of European and American chart pop, and the clientele largely well-to-do Rabat 20-somethings. It's open nightly 7:30pm to 2am; admission for men is 80dh Monday to Friday and 100dh Saturday and Sunday; women are always admitted free. For a more relaxed drink, head to Le Grand Comptoir, 270 bd. Mohammed V, centre ville (tel. 0537/201514; fax 0537/707322). A brasserie in its truest French form, the upstairs bar offers somewhere to enjoy a reasonably priced drink without any stuffiness. Weekend nights can get quite busy and provide a fun night out, especially when accompanied by some live jazz or African music. It's open daily 9am to 1am.