Rabat rewards a thin wallet: gardens and gate galleries charge nothing, a wooden barque to Salé costs less than a coffee, and medina counters serve bissara for 5 dirhams. Three days here run comfortably on under 200 MAD a day.
Laid out in 1914 as a colonial trial garden and restored in 2013, these 17 hectares off Avenue de la Victoire hold bamboo groves, an Andalusian patio and a lily pond. Open daily 08:00–18:00, admission free.
The 1197 Almohad Gate of the Winds now works as a public gallery: its vaulted stone chambers host rotating shows of Moroccan painting, calligraphy and photography, free of charge, generally Tuesday to Sunday 10:00–18:00.
A 1929 Art Deco villa on Rue Beni Mellal, run by Fondation ONA, with three floors of contemporary Moroccan art, a sculpture courtyard and a screening room. Entry has always been free; open Tuesday to Sunday 10:00–19:00.
The paved riverside walk from Bab el Bahr to the marina costs nothing and fills at dusk with families, buskers and men casting off the wall. The Salé skyline turns copper roughly 40 minutes before sunset.
Rabat's 1920s covered market sells sardines around 15 MAD a kilo, cured olives from 12 MAD and bundles of mint for small change. The fish counters at the rear will clean and grill whatever you buy for about 10 MAD.
The medina's main artery from Bab el Had to the kasbah is lined with standing-room counters: bissara broad-bean soup with olive oil and cumin for 5 MAD, grilled-sardine sandwiches at 15 MAD, prickly pear at 1 MAD a piece.
Around forty workshops on the Salé bank of the Bouregreg, where potters throw and wood-fire tagine dishes in front of you. Wandering between the kilns is free; a glazed tagine pot starts near 30 MAD and small bowls go for 10 MAD.
The working-class Océan district behind the corniche is where Rabatis actually eat fried fish. A paper plate of whiting, calamari and bread runs 25–35 MAD at the counters around Rue Tanta, with no French menu and no tourist mark-up.
The Roman town of Sala Colonia and the Merinid necropolis built over it sit inside 14th-century walls two kilometres south of the centre, storks nesting on the ruined minaret. Reopened in 2024 after restoration; daily 09:00–18:00.
Blue wooden barques have carried people between the two banks for centuries and still do, oar-powered, from the slipway below Bab el Bahr. The crossing takes about four minutes, costs a few dirhams and beats the tram for views.
Salé's walled medina draws a fraction of Rabat's visitors. The 1341 Merinid college beside the Grand Mosque keeps its carved cedar, zellij tilework and cramped student cells upstairs, and the roof terrace looks over the town to the Atlantic.
The wide sand strip north of the river mouth is free, used by surfers and endless football games until the light goes. From the breakwater you look straight back across the water at the kasbah ramparts catching the last sun.