How do you day trip to Rabat from Casablanca, and what should you see?

Rabat is the single easiest day trip from Casablanca, and the answer to 'how' is simple: take the train. The two cities sit an hour apart on Morocco's busiest rail corridor — about 90 kilometres — with frequent departures throughout the day, every 30 to 60 minutes. You walk into Casa-Voyageurs or Casa-Port, buy a cheap ticket, and step off in central Rabat without ever thinking about a car, a driver, or parking, which in two city centres would only be a headache.

Once there, Rabat's sights cluster conveniently and most are walkable or a short cheap petit-taxi hop apart. I send people to the Kasbah of the Udayas first — a serene blue-and-white walled quarter above the river with Andalusian gardens and ocean views — then across to the Hassan Tower and the beautiful Mausoleum of Mohammed V, where you can go inside. Finish at the Chellah, a romantic ruined Roman and Merinid necropolis overgrown with gardens and topped with storks' nests. It is one of my favourite spots in the whole city.

The pleasure of Rabat is that it is dignified and unhurried — Morocco's capital wears its status lightly. After the headline sights you can stroll the tidy medina, which is far gentler than Fes or Marrakech, sit at a riverside café in the Oudayas, or walk along the seafront. A full day is enough to enjoy the highlights without rushing, and trains run late into the evening, so there is no pressure to bolt for the last departure.

My honest tip: build the day around the rail timetable, take a mid-morning train out, and aim for an early-evening one back. If your itinerary has any give, Rabat genuinely rewards an overnight — its slow, elegant charm is best savoured in the quiet of evening and early morning — but as a day trip from Casablanca it is about as effortless and worthwhile as Moroccan travel gets.