Casablanca Travel Guide: Things to Do in Morocco's Biggest City

Casablanca gets overlooked by most Morocco itineraries — visitors fly in, transfer to Fez or Marrakech, and assume that Casa is just a big modern city with nothing interesting to offer. This is a mistake. Morocco's largest city (population 4 million) has one of the most extraordinary mosques in the world, a magnificent Art Deco urban center from the French Protectorate period, a working port with a fascinating old medina, and a coastal corniche lined with cafes and seafood restaurants. One or two days in Casablanca reward the curious traveler.

The Hassan II Mosque is the unmissable centerpiece of any Casablanca visit — the largest mosque in Morocco and one of the largest in the world, built partially over the Atlantic Ocean on a platform of reclaimed land. The minaret stands 210 metres tall, the highest religious structure on earth, with a laser that points toward Mecca at night and is visible from 50 kilometres away. The interior (open to non-Muslims on guided tours at set times) is breathtaking: Italian marble floors, Moroccan zellige tilework, hand-carved cedar wood ceilings, and hydraulic doors that open for ventilation. Tours run Saturday through Thursday at 9am, 10am, 11am, and 2pm; admission is 130 MAD.

The Art Deco medina: Unlike the ancient medinas of Fez and Marrakech, the Ancienne Medina of Casablanca was built largely during the early 20th century and reflects a unique blend of Moroccan and French colonial architecture. It is small, relatively tourist-free, and genuinely interesting — particularly the covered market area and the streets around Place du Commerce. The Habous quarter (Nouvelle Medina), built by the French in the 1930s in a romanticised Moroccan style, has excellent craft shops, a covered souk, and a Royal Palace courtyard that can be viewed from outside.

The Corniche and the restaurants: Casablanca's Atlantic corniche — the seafront boulevard stretching south from the Hassan II Mosque through the Ain Diab district — is where the city's middle class spends its evenings and weekends. Seafood restaurants, juice bars, cafes, and nightclubs line the road for several kilometres. For dinner, Le Cabestan (directly on the corniche, excellent fresh fish and traditional Moroccan dishes) and La Sqala (inside a Portuguese fortification near the old port, garden terrace and good Moroccan cooking) are both excellent. Rick's Cafe — inspired by the Humphrey Bogart film, though the real Casablanca bar in the film was a Hollywood set — exists as a tourist restaurant but is atmospheric enough to deserve a drink.

Getting in and out: Casablanca Mohammed V Airport is the main international gateway to Morocco, with direct flights from Europe, North America, and the Gulf. The ONCF train from the airport to Casa Voyageurs station runs every 30 minutes and takes 35 minutes. From Casablanca, trains connect to Fez (4 hours), Marrakech (3 hours via high-speed Al Boraq), Rabat (1 hour), and Tangier (4.5 hours). Casablanca makes an excellent starting or ending point for a Morocco tour from Casablanca — our 9-day, 12-day, and 15-day tours all depart from the city.