8 Best Sights in Salé, Rabat, Casablanca, and the North Atlantic Coast

Just 10 km (6 miles) north of Salé, you'll find the extraordinary Jardins Exotiques, which were created in the mid-20th century by a Frenchman named Marcel François, who used to play classical music to his plants. Planned to represent different regions (like Polynesia, Brazil, or Japan), the gardens are a haven for birds and frogs. There are two circuits of different lengths and the walkways and bridges make this a wonderful playground and educational experience for children, too. Since François's death in 1999, the property has been maintained by the government and a touching autobiographical poem forms his epitaph at the entrance. Many people combine a visit to the gardens with a day at the beach at Plage des Nations, another 10 km (6 miles) to the north, around 300 DH in a taxi.

Turn left around the corner of the Great Mosque, and you'll see on your right the Abou el Hassan Medersa. Built by the Merenid sultan of that name in the 14th century, it's a fine example of the traditional Koranic school. Like the Bou Inania in Fez or the Ben Youssef in Marrakesh, this madrassa has beautiful intricate plasterwork around its central courtyard, and a fine mihrab (prayer niche) with a ceiling carved in an interlocking geometrical pattern representing the cosmos. Upstairs, on the second and third floors, you can visit the little cells where the students used to sleep, and from the roof you can see the entire city.

A heavily fortified town for centuries, Salé still has many traces of its eventful history preserved within the old medina walls, and many landmarks are national heritage sites or monuments. The magnificent Bab el-Mrissa is one of the oldest and largest gates in the country; built by an Almohad sultan in the 13th century, it was linked to the river by a canal. On the northern wall next to the Bab Sebta, there’s an 11th-century, square-shape fortress. Looking over the mouth of the Bou Regreg River, is the Borj Adoumoue or Bastion des Larmes (Bastion of Tears); the current building dates from the 18th century, and cannons gaze over the water to this day.

A few steps from the tomb of Sidi Abdellah ben Hassoun is the Great Mosque, also known as Masjid al-Tal'a. Built by the Almohad dynasty in the 12th century, this beautiful structure is the third-largest mosque in Morocco, after the Hassan II in Casablanca and the Kairaouine in Fez. Non-Muslims cannot enter.

The Borj Adoumoue, or Bastion des Larmes (Fortress of Tears) was a pirates' prison in the city walls of Salé and is now a museum. It was built by the infamous Salé Rovers, a group of Barbary pirates, as their headquarters. Cannons pierce the walls and there are underground dungeons were slaves were once kept.

One of the streets in Salé's medina is named after Sidi Abdellah Ben Hassoun, the town's patron saint who died in Salé in 1604. His magnificent mausoleum is situated here, next to the Great Mosque. Non-Muslims cannot enter but if you are lucky, the doors may be open, and you can peek inside. 

Northwest of the medina, by the sea and next to the Pirates' Prison, is the white mausoleum of Sidi Ahmed ben Achir, a much-venerated saint and Sufi. No entry to non-Muslims but if you look through the windows in the wall, there's a fine view over the cemetery to the rocks and the ocean.

When you come out of the Abou el Hassan Merenid Medersa, turn right and take the first street on the right, heading farther into the medina. Turn left at the end of the street and you'll find a large triangular area on your right, the Souk El Kabir, or Big Market, in the center of the medina. Stalls are piled high with household goods and fresh produce, including an array of plump olives.