Rabat opens up only slowly to you. At the first day of your first arrival you will discover that there is another atmosphere here, and compared to other Moroccan cities people are a bit shy and don't start talking to you easily. Somehow, they don't care about you.
Walking your lonely walks around town, the many gems of a capital of a magic country reveals themselves to you. And it isn't always the things that are first seen that will keep your eyes entertained.
Modern Rabat is clean and open, perhaps a bit too open during the summer heat. But around it, there are both old Muslim quarters as well as beautiful remains from all periods of Moroccan history.
The royal palace lies right in the heart of Rabat, and its area is open for trespassing. As a matter of fact, you can get quite close to the real palace before the guards start to feel uneasy. But quite honestly, what you see is only moderately impressive - the real beauty is behind the walls.