What is Rabat like in February?

February feels like Rabat clearing its throat before spring. The rain that defines January starts to loosen its grip — there are still showers, but more blue between them — and the city has a clean, energetic feel. Highs sit around 18°C, which is light-jacket weather by day, and I find the Atlantic light at this time of year is crisp and sharp, lovely for the white walls and blue doors of the Oudayas.

The thing I watch for in February is the first colour. Almond trees blossom, citrus comes into fruit, and the Andalusian Gardens inside the Kasbah start waking up — bougainvillea is not yet rampant but the beds are filling in. The Chellah, that ruined Roman-then-Merinid site at the edge of town, is at its most romantic now: green grass between the columns, storks rebuilding their huge stick nests on the old minaret, and very few other visitors to share it with.

This is still firmly low season, which I love for clients who want the capital without the crowds or the cost. You can get a table anywhere, walk straight into the Mausoleum of Mohammed V, and negotiate softly in the rug shops without the spring-rush pressure. Hotel and riad rates are still at their winter floor, so February is one of the best value-to-experience months in the whole Moroccan year for a city like this.

Pack the same way as January — a real waterproof, layers you can peel through the day, and warm enough cover for cool evenings on the river. I tell people not to over-plan the weather: build in a flexible morning so you can chase the sun. Rabat also pairs beautifully with a couple of nights in Casablanca this month, an easy 40-minute train down the coast.