Discovering...
UNESCO World Heritage Site · Free entry
Hassan Tower Rabat: Complete Visit Guide
The unfinished Almohad minaret and its forest of 356 columns are free to visit and take under an hour — here is everything you need to make the most of one of Morocco’s finest UNESCO monuments.
Sofia Marín· Coast, North & Practical Travel Editor
Spanish travel writer based in Tangier who criss-crosses northern Morocco and the Atlantic coast by bus, train and ferry. She covers Chefchaouen, Tangier, Essaouira and the practical side of getting around. Tangier · 10+ years covering Morocco
Published 7 April 2026 Last updated 21 April 2026
Hassan Tower is free to visit, takes less than an hour, and pairs with one of the most beautiful royal mausoleums in the Arab world — all on the same riverside esplanade. It is the clearest argument for putting Rabat on any Morocco itinerary, even if you only have a single afternoon in the capital.
What you are looking at when you arrive is the stub of a minaret that was going to be the tallest in the Islamic world. Work began in 1195 under the Almohad sultan Yacoub al-Mansour, who was on a building spree after his victory at the Battle of Alarcos in Spain. The sultan died in 1199 before the tower reached half its planned height, and the project stopped. The surrounding mosque — which would have rivalled the Djemaa el-Fna in scale — was left as a field of sandstone columns open to the sky. Eight centuries later, those columns are the most atmospheric thing about the site: row after row of honey-coloured pillars catching the light, with the Atlantic-sky Rabat backdrop and the Bou Regreg river glinting below.
Immediately adjacent is the Mausoleum of Mohammed V, built between 1962 and 1971 to hold the remains of the king who secured Moroccan independence. The exterior is white onyx; the interior is a staggering exercise in Moroccan craft — zellige floors, carved cedar ceilings, Andalusian arches — and you can peer down at the marble sarcophagus from a gallery above. Royal guards in ceremonial dress flank the entrance. Between the two monuments, you have a complete story of Morocco across eight centuries in a single 15-minute walk.
Entry fee
Free
Time needed
45–90 minutes
Best time
Morning or late afternoon
Location
Bou Regreg riverbank, Rabat
Why the tower was never finished
The short answer: the sultan who ordered it died before it was half-built, and no one continued the work.
Yacoub al-Mansour came to power at the height of Almohad influence, with territory spanning Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Muslim Iberia. He built ambitiously: the Koutoubia Minaret in Marrakech and the Giralda in Seville were both Almohad projects from roughly the same era. Hassan Tower was intended to be taller than both — the plan called for a 60-metre structure attached to a mosque that would hold 40,000 worshippers.
The tower reached about 44 metres — roughly two-thirds of its planned height — when al-Mansour died in 1199. The Almohad dynasty began its long decline shortly after, and Rabat lost its importance as a capital. The incomplete mosque fell into disuse and eventually into ruin, leaving only the columns and the truncated minaret. An earthquake in 1755 (the same Lisbon earthquake that reshaped the Atlantic coastline) brought down many of the columns that had survived the centuries, and the ruins were stabilised and partially restored in the 20th century.
Today, 356 columns remain standing — not all originals, some rebuilt — arranged in a grid that maps the ghostly footprint of a mosque that never was. Stand at the base of the tower and look south across them toward the medina walls, and the scale of al-Mansour’s ambition becomes clear.
What to see on the esplanade
The complex is compact. Here is a practical walk-through in roughly the order most visitors encounter it.
1
The tower itself
The square minaret is built from red sandstone, with blind arcades and decorative panels that differ on each face — a typical Almohad design language. You cannot enter, but you can walk all four sides and get within arm's length. The ramp inside (minarets used ramps, not stairs, so the muezzin could ride up on horseback) is still there but sealed.
2
The column field
Walk between the rows. There is no prescribed path, and the guards do not mind you wandering among the bases. The columns are photogenic at any time of day, but in the hour after sunrise or the hour before sunset the low-angle light creates long shadows that make compositions almost automatic. In summer, the esplanade is fully exposed — bring a hat.
3
The river view
The northern edge of the esplanade overlooks the Bou Regreg estuary where it opens into the Atlantic. The twin city of Salé sits on the opposite bank. On a clear day you can see small fishing boats threading the river mouth. This is a good spot to understand why al-Mansour chose this location — it commands the crossing point between north and south Morocco.
4
Mohammed V Mausoleum
Walk south across the esplanade to the mausoleum entrance. Dress modestly (shoulders and knees covered — a scarf or sarong works fine). You enter at ground level and can circle the sarcophagus of Mohammed V, with those of Hassan II and Prince Abdallah on either side. The gallery above gives a bird's-eye view. The guards rotate positions periodically — a small ceremony worth watching if you happen to be there at the right moment.
Photography tips
The classic shot is the tower framed through two or three columns in the foreground. To get it without a dozen other tourists in frame, arrive when the gates open. By 09:30 in peak season (October–April) there will be tour groups arriving.
Photography inside the mausoleum is technically restricted — the guards will sometimes wave you on, sometimes ask you to put the camera away. Exterior shots of the mausoleum are fine. The white onyx reflects strongly in midday sun, so underexpose slightly or wait for a cloud.
- Best light: 07:00–09:00 (golden hour from the east)
- Drone use requires a permit — do not fly without one
- Afternoon light: 16:00–18:00 for warm tower tones
- Ask guards before photographing the mausoleum interior
Getting there and practical details
| Address | Avenue Hassan II, Rabat (on the Bou Regreg waterfront) |
| Opening hours | Esplanade: sunrise–sunset. Mausoleum: approx. 09:00–17:30 (indicative; may close midday Friday) |
| Entry fee | Free for both the tower esplanade and the mausoleum |
| By taxi | 15–25 MAD from the medina or city centre (indicative; always use the meter) |
| By foot | ~15 min walk north from Bab el-Had along the river promenade |
| By train | Rabat-Ville station → 20 min walk or 10 min taxi |
| Dress code | Modest dress required for the mausoleum interior (shoulders and knees covered) |
| Nearby | Kasbah of the Udayas (15 min walk west), Rabat medina (10 min walk south) |
Opening times are indicative and can change on public holidays and during Ramadan. Check locally on arrival.
How to combine Hassan Tower with a full Rabat day
Hassan Tower sits at the northern end of a logical walking route through Rabat. Start at the tower for the opening hour light, then walk west along the river to the Kasbah of the Udayas — a whitewashed Andalusian quarter with a café at the top that has possibly the best view in the city. From there, drop south into the medina, wander the souks and the Avenue Mohammed V, and finish at the archaeological museum if you have an interest in Moroccan Roman-era finds (the Volubilis bronzes are here). Total walking: roughly 3 km.
If you are based in Casablanca or Marrakech and doing Rabat as a day trip, the train is genuinely the easiest option. Al-Boraq HSR connects Casablanca with Rabat in about 40 minutes (from around 60 MAD second class, indicative); conventional trains from Casablanca Voyageurs take just under an hour and run frequently. From Marrakech, a train via Casablanca takes roughly 4.5 hours — doable but a long day. A private driver lets you combine Rabat and Meknes–Volubilis in a single loop.
A guided private tour is genuinely useful here, not just for the logistics but for the history. The Almohad dynasty, the Protectorate-era architecture along Mohammed V, the significance of the mausoleum to modern Moroccan identity — these layers are easy to miss if you are reading a plaque and moving on. A good guide turns two monuments into a coherent narrative about a country.
Hassan Tower Rabat — FAQs
Is Hassan Tower free to enter?
Yes — the Hassan Tower esplanade and the Mohammed V Mausoleum next to it are both free to enter. There is no ticket booth, no timed entry and no reservation required. You simply walk in during opening hours, which are generally sunrise to sunset for the esplanade and roughly 09:00–17:30 for the mausoleum interior. The only cost is getting there, which by taxi from central Rabat runs around 15–25 MAD (indicative).
What is the story behind Hassan Tower in Rabat?
Construction began around 1195 under the Almohad sultan Yacoub al-Mansour, who planned a minaret that would be the tallest in the Islamic world at roughly 60 metres. The project was abandoned after the sultan died in 1199, leaving the tower at about 44 metres — two-thirds of its intended height. The surrounding mosque hypostyle hall was never completed either, leaving 356 sandstone columns standing open to the sky. That unfinished, sun-bleached field of columns is what makes the site so visually striking today.
Can you go inside Hassan Tower?
Visitors cannot enter the minaret tower itself; the interior is not accessible to the public. What you can do is walk freely around the esplanade, between the columns, and get close to the base of the tower for photographs. The real highlight for many people is actually the Mohammed V Mausoleum a few metres away, which you can enter and from the gallery above you can look down onto the carved marble sarcophagus. Royal guards in ceremonial dress stand at the entrance — worth factoring in for photography.
What is next to Hassan Tower in Rabat?
Immediately adjacent is the Mausoleum of Mohammed V, the white onyx and marble tomb of King Mohammed V (who led Morocco to independence in 1956) and his two sons, King Hassan II and Prince Abdallah. It was completed in 1971. The architectural detail inside — zellige floors, carved cedar ceilings, Andalusian arches — is extraordinary. Together the tower and mausoleum form a single UNESCO World Heritage complex on the banks of the Bou Regreg river, with the Salé shoreline visible across the water.
How long should I spend at Hassan Tower?
Allow 45 to 60 minutes if you are just visiting the tower esplanade and the mausoleum. If you want to photograph the columns in different light, or linger over the river views toward Salé, 90 minutes is more comfortable. The site is compact enough that you will not feel rushed, but the open esplanade offers constantly changing compositions depending on where the sun is. Morning light catches the honey-coloured sandstone of the tower from the east; late afternoon turns everything golden.
Is Hassan Tower worth visiting in Rabat?
Genuinely, yes — and the free entry makes it an easy addition to any Rabat day. The combination of the unfinished Almohad minaret, the field of ancient columns, and one of the finest examples of 20th-century Moroccan royal architecture (the mausoleum) in the same 10-minute walk is hard to match anywhere in the country. It is also far less crowded than the major sights in Marrakech or Fes, so you can move at your own pace without fighting tour groups for a photo spot.
How do I get to Hassan Tower from central Rabat?
From the medina or Avenue Mohammed V, Hassan Tower is a roughly 15-minute walk north along the river, or a short taxi ride (15–25 MAD indicative). Petit taxis are plentiful in Rabat; agree on the meter or ask for it before setting off. If you are arriving by train, Rabat-Ville station is about 20 minutes on foot or 10 minutes by taxi. There is no dedicated parking lot, so self-driving visitors should leave the car near the Kasbah of the Udayas and walk the riverside promenade to the tower.
Plan it with a local expert
Travel Morocco with Serenity Morocco Tours
Crafting extraordinary journeys through Morocco's timeless landscapes. 100% private journeys, handcrafted around you.
ONMT Licensed Travelife Sustainability Partner 100% private tours since 2018
from $2,054 7 days Imperial Cities
Essential Morocco: Imperial Cities Circuit
from $5,978 14 days All regions
Sahara to Sea: Morocco Complete
Related Guides
Things to Do in Rabat
Beyond Hassan Tower — the full rundown of Rabat's medina, kasbah, museums and day trips.
Rabat Local Guide
Where to eat, sleep and move around the Moroccan capital like a local.
Meknes & Volubilis Day Trip
Pair your Rabat visit with the Roman ruins at Volubilis and the imperial city of Meknes.