"Rabat: The Green City" by Emeline Avignon
Recently my host sister told me that Rabat is known as, ‘The Green City’, in Morocco. It made sense to me as we drove down Avenue des Nations Unies, a large boulevard lined with palm trees and foliage, as most of the boulevards and streets are in Rabat.
We were on our way to one of the many parks and green spaces in Rabat, La Forêt Urbaine, or otherwise known as just ‘Hilton’ park, because there was once a Hilton hotel next to it, but it is now the Sofitel.
When adjusting to a new place and simply living in a place in general, green space can help clear the mind, help you find ease, and provide a great place to meet others inexpensively.
Throughout Rabat, vines and flowers hang over the walls which are fences for residences or business, and trees can be so foliaged as to create a tunnel to walk through on the sidewalk. Beyond the integrated greenery throughout the city, there are many parks and areas to explore for different occasions and spread all throughout the city.
While there are more than four green spaces, here are some which I have been frequenting so far while in Rabat, and a little about what I appreciate about each of them.
La Forêt Urbaine / The Urban Forest / ‘Hilton Park’
‘Hilton’ park is in the Agdal neighborhood of Rabat. I go here several times a week to walk or run, and there are always many people doing yoga, kickboxing, and exercising in many different ways– but also there are many families and friends there to simply spend time together. It is a beautiful park, with a 1.8-mile loop around its circumference for walking or running. The park looks like a forest with all of its trees, but the ground and loop are more like clay dirt. Along this loop there are several stations with outdoor gym equipment, like hanging bars, slanted platforms for core exercises, and non-motorized ellipticals. Most of the trees in the forest are actually eucalyptus, which makes breathing the air even more suitable and helpful while moving your body. In the center of the park there are wandering paths and benches for hanging out or having quiet time to yourself, ping pong tables, a skate park, a little ‘lac’ (lake– but it is more like a pond) with a fountain, and many picnic tables for picnicking. Across the street the park continues with basketball and soccer courts. There are several entrances on each side of the park, but the main entrance is by the Sofitel hotel. The park closes at 8pm, as do most parks in Rabat, so be careful not to be locked in! But there are men on motor scooters who go around the park to let park goers know when the gates are about to close. On the outside of the gates, at the main entrance however, a grassier park with pathways, benches, and trees continues, in case you want to hang out there too.
Along the coast in L’Ocean neighborhood
Here is not necessarily an established park, but a wonderful outdoor and green space. You can access it simply by taking a taxi or walking toward the ocean to the sidewalk along Avenue Moustapha Assayeh. There is a very wide-open sidewalk where you can walk or run. On the ocean side there is a grassy area that then leads to the rocky coast lined with tidepools. Being from the East Coast, and living right on the coast, seeing the ocean, especially the Atlantic is grounding and therapeutic to me. It is a reminder of home. People from Rabat are often here fishing, tide pooling, and at dusk families gather to watch the sunset and for children to play.
Le Jardin Botanique et Le Jardin D’essaies / Botanical and Andalusian Gardens
In the Agdal neighborhood as well, a couple blocks past the large mall in Rabat, these two parks sit side by side separated by Avenue de la Victoire. These are two spectacular garden parks which are open daily for free (botanical gardens usually cost money to enter) which have geometric, flat and cobblestoned, walking paths and many benches. In the botanical garden, you can find a variety of succulents, and in the Andalusian Park you find palm trees, pomegranate trees, and a patio covering where many people read and study. My host mom told me that many students go there to study because there is light, even when it gets darker from the many park lights, and many benches to study on. It can be a nice space to get fresh air and sunlight while working, and to find space and solitude.
Parc Agdal / Agdal Park
This is a very small park, which is a five-minute walk from the Amideast center. I discovered the park walking around while I had some spare, awkward time to fill between classes. That is what I like best about this park– that it is a green space I can go to for a reset during school. I will sit on the beautifully tiled benches there and sit and listen to music, have a snack, or do a little studying before going back to class. People here also lay in the grass– which I have done for a little nap too!
I have many more parks and green spaces I would love to explore, like the Green Belt, which is actually a natural park and has a zoo in it; there is Hassan II park which has an outdoor rock wall, picnic areas, and a skate park– but it is hard to access; and there is Nouzhat Hassan Garden. I will continue to find peace and many opportunities for fresh air in ‘The Green City’!
Emeline is a junior at Trinity College and studying abroad on the Amideast Regional Studies in French Program this fall in Morocco.
