Rabat, Where History Meets Modernity

Built as an extension of the Jardin d’Essais, this large library is also a work of architectural art. Its overlapping cubes and tower feature more than 340,000 books, 60,000 manuscripts, an exhibition gallery, meeting spaces, an auditorium and coffee shop. Distance: 8 miles.

Explore an ever-expanding collection of Moroccan archaeological discoveries. The most fascinating pieces, “Volubilis Dog” and “Young Man Crowned with Ivy,” belong to the Roman civilization. Distance: 7.5 miles.

Overlooking the Atlantic Ocean and the Bouregreg river, this royal blue, 12th-century fort rose during the reign of the Almohad Caliphate, who built it after he destroyed the Almoravid kasbah that stood in its place. The Almohads added a palace and a mosque. Distance: 9 miles.

This historical site has changed hands over the centuries: It was a trading emporium for the Phoenicians, the site of a Roman colony, a royal burial ground for the Berber Almohads and a holy site for the Marinids, who built a mosque, minaret and royal tombs. Distance: 7 miles.

This minaret was intended to be the tallest in the world when it was commissioned by the caliph of the Almohads in 1195, but construction stopped when he died four years later. What stands today (140 ft.) is only half of the planned height (260 ft.), but its red sandstone and the incomplete mosque are impressive nonetheless. Distance: 8 miles.

This mausoleum houses the tombs of King Mohamed V and his two sons King Hassan II and Prince Moulay Abdallah. The white building, topped with a green-tiled roof and adorned with pink and blue zellij tilework, is considered a masterpiece of Alaouite dynasty architecture. Distance: 8 miles.