Quartier Hassan
Quartier Hassan is one of the most commercial and busiest parts of Rabat. It is packed with cafés, restaurants, shops, street sellers, cultural activities, and planned or spontaneous typical shows.
Quartier Hassan is bordered by the Royal Palace, Avenue Hassan II (which separates it from the Medina), enormous Chellah Park, Hassan Tower (which gives the neighbourhood its name) and the Mausoleum of Mohammed V. This last monument is one of the most-visited places in Quartier Hassan, and Rabat.
Quartier Hassan is one of the most authentic historical neighbourhoods in the Moroccan capital and most of the city’s inhabitants pass through here on a regular basis. Around 110,000 people live in the area, but most come from other parts of Morocco and are often employed by the government or work in business.
While you are in Quartier Hassan, make sure to visit Place Piétri (officially called Moulay Hassan) where the city’s flower market once stood. Today, it’s a lovely spot to start your day with breakfast at a café, or by enjoying a cup of tea as you sit on a terrace and watch the constant flow of passers-by.
Eye-catching St Peter’s Cathedral is close at hand; this Catholic cathedral was built in the 1920s in the Art Deco style and has two twin belltowers and a spotless white façade. Its strict geometric lines are a dramatic contrast to the rest of the architecture in the neighbourhood.
In turn, Chellah Park, home to Chellah Fortress, is a large green space next to the Bou Regreg River. The fortress was built by the Marinid dynasty in the 14th century on the remains of the first human settlement in the city: a Phoenician port that dated from the sixth century BC. Numerous Roman remains have also been unearthed here.
Smaller Nouzhat Hassan Garden is also well worth visiting and is a classic meeting place for the residents of Quartier Hassan, especially in the afternoons. Théâtre National Mohammed V is on Avenue Al Mansour Addhabi on one side of the park and this theatre has one of the busiest programmes in Morocco, putting on plays, opera, dance shows, and even screening films.
Two of the capital’s most interesting museums are on the edges of Quartier Hassan. The National Archaeology Museum of Rabat was built in the 1920s and has three themed sections, from Pre-history to the arrival of Islam.
In contrast, the nearby Mohammed VI Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art opened in 2014. It is the first museum in Morocco to exhibit 20th and 21st century artwork.