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MoroccoMoroccoVisited Oct 2025 · 1 week

Rabat

Calm, orderly and uneventful.

Great value
Average7.1
Accommodation7.5
Coworking7.7
Value8.5
Excitement4.7
Living costs, excl. rent~$728
Mild and dry
JFMAMJJASONDMild and dry: Jan, Feb, Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct, Nov, Dec
Nomad visaNone
Population2,000,000
Fly into

RBA

The nation's political capital and seat of government.

Throughout history, the city has passed through Almohad, Andalusian and later French colonial rule. Home to a UNESCO World Heritage medina, it continues to serve as Morocco's diplomatic and governmental hub.

Worth it if you're nearby

Rabat offers little to get truly excited about in isolation, but if you're looking for a calm, orderly base within the country, it could be of value.

At a glance

Accommodation

Good · #36 of 62

7.5/10

When looking at month-long rentals, accommodation in Rabat was the most expensive of the four cities I visited, even pricier than the more tourist-oriented destinations during their peak seasons. From my experience on the ground, it seemed to have fewer modern apartment developments and, in general, slightly older, more traditional building stock.

For around £900 a month on Airbnb, you can expect a well-kept one-bedroom apartment in a central area, roughly 20% higher than in neighbouring Casablanca.

By broader European standards, this still represents strong value in 2025, but if you’re actively seeking the lowest rental prices in Morocco, you may want to look elsewhere.

How it compares

Coworking

Good · #31 of 62

7.7/10

There's a reasonable spread of options across the city, both close to the medina and in Agadal. I opted for The Commons coworking space, which I've written about in greater detail below.

How it comparesWhere to work

Value

Great · #10 of 62

8.5/10

Like most places throughout the country, day-to-day living costs are unparalleled across Europe. Expect to pick up a hearty local meal like a tagine for well under £5, always served with plentiful bread as an accompaniment.

An espresso from a traditional café costs around £1, whilst a simple breakfast with eggs, bread, olives and an orange juice can be found in most places for around £3. Prices for more international items can begin to creep up, but if you are interested in primarily exploring traditional Moroccan cuisine, you can live very well on a modest budget.

Taxi rides via InDrive are inexpensive, with most journeys within the city costing no more than a couple of pounds at a time.

Local beers from bars start at around £1.70 for a small bottle, with prices scaling up considerably when looking for imported items from more sophisticated outlets.

With good availability of affordable apartments and low day-to-day costs, if you are looking to operate within European working hours and remain within an hour's flight of the continent, there are few better options for those seeking to minimise their monthly expenditure as dramatically as possible.

How it comparesCosts breakdown

Excitement

Ok · #56 of 62

4.7/10

Rabat would rank as perhaps the least exciting of the four Moroccan cities written about here.

There is not a lot going on. It's orderly, calm and somewhat peaceful, at least by national standards. Do not come here expecting excitement.

But these factors may actually play in its favour if you are looking for a reliable base for a longer-term stint. None of the cities I visited are likely to truly raise your pulse. With that in mind, the more sedate experience of Rabat made it my favourite in many ways as a liveable location.

How it compares

Plan

Summary

The Moroccan capital was my next stop after Casablanca, and a week felt about right to get a sense of a city that’s often overlooked by those travelling through the country.

If you walk out of the Old Market towards the Andalusian Gardens, it's worth continuing up to wander within the more polished streets of the Kasbah des Oudayas, which hugs the rock face as the river exits the city. Inside, there are plenty of refined options for cafés and you can find a number of more upmarket accommodation options, which would make it a more suitable choice to stay in than the Medina itself.
If you walk out of the Old Market towards the Andalusian Gardens, it's worth continuing up to wander within the more polished streets of the Kasbah des Oudayas, which hugs the rock face as the river exits the city. Inside, there are plenty of refined options for cafés and you can find a number of more upmarket accommodation options, which would make it a more suitable choice to stay in than the Medina itself.

Cost of living

$728a month, before rent

Basic living costs, rent not included

Day-to-day spending for a month: two meals out and a coffee every day, three taxis and two nights out a week, a gym and a coworking desk. Add your rent on top.

Affordable
  • Meal in a casual restaurant$4.44
  • Speciality coffee$3.01
  • Pint of local beer$5.42
  • Cocktail$6.02
  • Taxi for 2 miles$3.61
  • Men's haircut$4.52
  • Women's haircut$12
  • Gym membership, monthly$30
  • Coworking, monthly$151

Prices as of Oct 2026. Confidence: low. Sources: workin.space, jobsquare.ma, livingcost.org. Always check locally before planning around them.

Duration & season

The weather was close to ideal during October. Not quite hot enough to carelessly enjoy the beach but perfect for exploring outdoors in shorts and a t-shirt late into the evening. The peak seasons for the country generally tend to be during spring, with autumn slightly quieter, both periods avoiding the intensity that comes with midsummer heat.

How long do you need in Rabat? For conventional tourism, you could get everything you need out of it over the course of a weekend. You could tick off everything you'd like to see with two well-planned days. I spent a week there and that felt more than enough in terms of finding areas to explore in the city.

Yet it could hold some value as a longer-term base if you are looking for somewhere to explore the rest of the country from. It's relatively calm and sedate compared to Marrakesh and, being based on the high-speed rail link, you can easily make weekend trips to Casablanca, Fes or further afield.

As somewhere to spend an entire month, however, you may be somewhat unstimulated.

By month

Typical temperatures and rainfall by month
MonthLow °CHigh °CRain mmNotes
January102062
February111962wet month
March1120162wet month
April132337peak season
May142410peak season
June19299peak season
July20281
August21306
September172611peak season
October172543peak season
November132453
December1118133wet month
Wettest months Peak season

Typical daytime highs and overnight lows, from the last two years of observations (Open-Meteo). Rain icons mark the wettest months.

Visitors a year
250k2024
Crowds
Low
Peak season
Apr–Jun, Sep–Oct
Low season
Dec–Feb

Remote work visa

No digital nomad visa

Working hours

Morocco operates on GMT+1 throughout most of the year, making it one hour ahead of the UK during winter months when the UK is on GMT, and perfectly aligned with UK working hours during summer when the UK observes daylight saving time (BST).

The exception is during Ramadan, when Morocco temporarily switches to GMT for approximately six weeks, though the dates vary each year as Ramadan follows the lunar calendar.

Safety

I didn't see anything to be concerned about from a safety perspective.

I walked around the city extensively and it felt safe and secure at all times, with a visible police presence.

Drivers' disregard for pedestrians is likely your biggest real concern.

Pay extra attention when crossing the road, even if a light is flashing green.

Use InDrive.

I never experienced anything longer than a four-minute wait for a taxi. Sometimes the car that arrived didn't match the registration plate shown in the app, though I wouldn't worry too much about this. Ensure you have small change on you.

Maintain a degree of caution for anyone who appears overly friendly.

The overwhelming majority of Moroccans you'll encounter have good intentions and some might be simply very enthusiastic to speak to you. However, you will inevitably encounter individuals who will strike up casual conversation before it transitions to selling carpets or other goods. You'll naturally pick up an intuitive sense of this, but it's something to be wary of if you're new in the country or in a particularly saturated tourist area.

Live & work

Where to stay

Rabat is split between two commercial areas, one historical close to the medina and the other more contemporary, European-feeling district in Agdal, which are separated by around a 25-minute walk.

Quartier Administratif

Recommended

About a 15-minute walk to the entrance of the medina, I would consider this as a base on a return visit to the city. Not as hectic, with well-maintained streets and more modern buildings, but still within easy reach of the train station and the rustic experience of the medina.

Work from Workstudio

Adgal

Agdal acts as a secondary hub in the city, around a 30-minute walk across from the medina or a few stops on the tram, and is where the branch of the Commons coworking space is. I actually preferred it to the area surrounding the medina, with less of a touristy feel. It has a good buzz during the work week, with a lot of commercial offices in the area, and the Arribat Center is likely your best bet for shopping in the city. If you are there for a month, this would be a good longer-term option. But if just passing through, I would guess most people would be better off closer to the medina itself.

Work from Commons Agdal

Sale

Salé and Rabat are separated by the river. I wouldn't recommend living in Salé itself, it felt notably more run-down than most of Rabat, but the more recent commercial developments near the marina on its southern fringes could be a viable option, with the tramline taking you straight into Rabat's centre.

Work from ALX Morocco - Hub Rabat

Medina

I wouldn't suggest staying inside the medina itself, unless you are actively seeking to have a truly 'authentic' experience within the city. Being based just outside the walls is likely to give you a much more comfortable experience. If on holiday and seeking some traditional accommodation, I would opt for the more refined and well-maintained 'Kasbah des Oudayas' just to the north. I stayed in the 'Résidence Saâda' immediately outside it and could recommend being somewhere within a 10-minute proximity to this point.

Work from ALX Morocco - Hub Rabat

Where to work

There's a reasonable spread of options across the city, both close to the medina and in Agadal. I opted for The Commons coworking space, which I've written about in greater detail below.

I also spent a day working from Workstudio, closer to the train station. This could be an ideal option if you are just passing through for a couple of days and need a quiet space to get work done. They offer rates by the hour, capped at five hours for a day pass. It has a modern, well-designed interior, an on-site barista and high-speed internet. The only drawback is that the space is kept in absolute silence at all times, making it slightly awkward if you are hopping into calls all day. There is a dedicated phone booth, but it's likely to be occupied even if the space is at half-capacity.

Rabat ranks second behind Casablanca for coworking spaces, with The Commons site not quite as large and energetic as their Casablanca location, and not a great deal of other competition. I didn't make it to ALX Morocco - Hub Rabat but it looked worthy of further inspection.

Food & drink

Food

La Tassa

Having sampled most of the breakfasts from the local cafés in the area surrounding the Commons Agdal workspace, I settled on this one as my preferred option. The 'Le Gourmand' features an omelette with cheese, olives, bread, fresh juice and a coffee for a very reasonable 35 MAD (£3). Cash only.

The Kitch

Modern brunch-themed restaurant serving a range of local and international options. Has a large sweet dessert menu, serving coffees throughout the day. Polite and attentive service, located only a couple of minutes from the main entrance to the medina.

Restaurant taghazout

Top rated

Buried inside a side street in the Medina, this restaurant was equally busy with locals and tourists on each of three visits I made there. Expect a range of local dishes at incredibly low prices. Could particularly recommend the rotisserie chicken, served with chips, salad and a harira soup. Cash only.

Off the clock

Exercise

Run

Coastal Run

A perfect route to take in the sunset, with dramatic cliff faces and well-landscaped public parks stretching down as far as Plage Ksar Labhar. Worth calling in at Plage de Rabat to see any surfers attempting to catch a break and if early in the morning, you can cover some ground within Kasbah des Oudayas before the inevitable crowds arrive.

Run

Hassan II Park + Urban Forest Ibn Sina "Hilton"

It takes around 20 minutes from the city centre to reach the beautifully landscaped Hassan II park but it's well worth the effort. Continue heading westwards to reach the more natural 'Urban Forest', a seemingly popular spot with young families over the weekend. Particularly accessible if staying in the Agdal area.

Run

Nouzhat Hassan Garden

If you are staying close to the Medina, this is an ideal place to get a few laps in during the early morning with a shaded assortment of paths. Opens from 7am.

Run

Sale Marina

If you head out of the city over the Hassan II Bridge, you can follow the path in the new development which goes around the perimeter of Bouregreg Marina Salé, eventually taking you onto a coastal path which leads up to the north. There's not much to see in Salé itself and the seafront is something of an eyesore in parts, but you can cut back inland to hop back on the tramline at any point to return if needed.

People

Rabat felt notably less touristy than both Tangier and Marrakesh, but had a visibly higher concentration than Casablanca, although this is really only visible around the main souk in the medina and in the Kasbah des Oudayas.

By the time you move towards Agdal, that concentration has entirely dissipated. In both coworking spaces I visited, they appeared exclusively populated by local professionals and students rather than hosting any form of remote work community.

Moroccans' national love of football sees them possess an incredible ability to turn any piece of unoccupied public space into an informal pitch. Expect to see games being played from the minute the sun rises, late into the evening.
Moroccans' national love of football sees them possess an incredible ability to turn any piece of unoccupied public space into an informal pitch. Expect to see games being played from the minute the sun rises, late into the evening.

Notes

Positives

Arguably no better time in history to visit the city.

As one of six host cities for the 2025 AFCON (scheduled for December 21, 2025, to January 18, 2026), you can see a significant amount of investment going into the city to show it at its best. The $360 million renovation of the Ibn Batouta Stadium is nearing completion, landscaping of public spaces is being heavily invested in and transport lines extended as part of a broader infrastructure programme. It feels as if everything has had a fresh lick of paint in the run-up to the event, where there will inevitably be a spotlight on the city, and of all the cities I visited, you got a real sense that there was a push to show it in its best light.

It is work-orientated.

Compared to Tangier and Marrakesh, which are unquestionably cities geared towards tourists, Rabat retains a working, professional day-to-day atmosphere. Compared to Casablanca, the layout of the city is more appealing to navigate on foot and felt better connected. There's little on offer to warrant a week-long stay on holiday, but as somewhere to work from, if you are proactively seeking somewhere more sedate, there's enough ambient buzz for it not to feel stale.

There are some well-designed outdoor spaces.

Hassan II Park, the Urban Forest Ibn Sina (known locally as “Hilton”), and the entire waterfront stretching down to Corniche El Akkari are all excellent spots for an evening run if you’re aiming to maintain a fitness routine.

Plenty of great local food to explore.

Morocco is well known for its culinary traditions, and Rabat stood out as an excellent place to sample an endless range of tagines, soups, salads and sweets. Prices are modest, portions generous, and the quality remarkably consistent, with only slight differences in flavour between a 30-dirham tagine from a working-class café and one three times the price in a more formal restaurant.

It sits on the high-speed train line.

The station at Agdal makes it incredibly convenient to reach other parts of the country. Casablanca is just over an hour away, while Tangier can be reached in around two. Trains are clean, punctual and comfortable, making rail easily the best option for getting between Morocco’s major cities.

Negatives

You could easily find yourself feeling bored.

Once you’ve explored the medina and seen the main landmarks, the lack of real nightlife leaves little else to do. It’s fine if you’re just passing through for a week, but even at 35, without needing an especially lively scene, I wouldn’t be too keen on making it a longer-term base.

Accommodation is noticeably pricier.

There isn’t the same volume of modern housing stock you’ll find in Casablanca, so expect monthly Airbnb rates to be higher.

Not a single place for a decent coffee.

Speciality coffee outlets are thin on the ground across Morocco, but I'm confident that not a single coffee shop is worth visiting on the merit of their beans. There are the usual vast quantities of traditional local cafés, which carry their own unique joys, but for any coffee aficionados, you will be left wanting.

Tips

If you're looking for a gym, head down to MF Musculation & Fitness.

Located just outside the Medina, it's got a surprisingly good array of equipment with a very competitive day pass costing 50 MAD. Bring a towel as you may be refused entry otherwise. Cash only.

Ensure you check your station.

The high-speed train services depart from Agadal, not Ville. Double-check as it does not stop at the more central location

A small amount of French and Arabic will suffice for day-to-day communication.

Moroccan Arabic (Darija) is the main spoken language within the country, with some official documentation and road signs presented in French. You may also see a third peculiar-looking Berber script (Tifinagh) on government buildings. If you can recall a few phrases from your secondary school French education, they may prove useful, though English is generally spoken to a reasonable standard in many places.

An eSIM from MobiMatter is good value.

10GB costs around £12 and gave strong coverage and speeds wherever I was in the country.

Head to Al Barid Bank for ATM withdrawals.

These are often attached to Maroc Post Offices and reliably give fee-free withdrawals. I withdrew around 300 dirhams every couple of days, with card availability mixed.

Planning a trip to Rabat?

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