Casablanca

No reviews yetCity Casablanca-Settat, Morocco

Hassan II Mosque, Casablanca, Casablanca-Settat, Morocco

Mahkama du Pacha, Casablanca, Casablanca-Settat, Morocco

About Casablanca

Casablanca is Morocco at its most modern: a fast-moving Atlantic city of boulevards, office towers and beach clubs that is also the country's economic engine and largest city. Visitors who come expecting the romance of the 1942 film find something better, a real working metropolis with one of the world's great mosques at its edge.

The town of Anfa stood here in the Middle Ages before being destroyed by the Portuguese in 1468. It was rebuilt in the 18th century as Dar al-Beida, the White House, and under the French protectorate from 1912 it grew into a planned city of wide avenues and Art Deco and Moorish-revival buildings. The Habous quarter, built in that era as a new medina, still feels like a village of arcades and bookshops, while the old medina and its seaside bastion recall the earlier port.

Mohammed V International Airport is Morocco's main gateway, and trains run to Rabat, Fes and Marrakech, with the Al Boraq high-speed line continuing to Tangier. Along the corniche at Ain Diab the city turns to the ocean, with long beaches, surf and seafood.

Best seasonMarch-June and September-November

Ideal stay2 days

ArrivingMohammed V International Airport; trains from Rabat, Marrakech and Tangier

What to See in Casablanca: 12 Favorites

Landmarks 4

Hassan II Mosque

Completed in 1993 on land reclaimed from the Atlantic, the Hassan II Mosque has a minaret about 210 metres tall and a prayer hall...

Mahkama du Pacha

Built in the 1940s in the Habous quarter as a courthouse and the pasha's administrative seat, the Mahkama du Pacha is a showcase o...

Sacre-Coeur Cathedral Casablanca

Designed by the French architect Paul Tournon and finished in 1930, the former cathedral blends Art Deco lines with forms borrowed...

Place Mohammed V Casablanca

The city's grand administrative square was laid out under the French protectorate, framed by the courthouse, the post office and t...

Neighborhoods 3

Habous Quarter

Built by the French authorities in the 1920s and 1930s as a new medina for Moroccan residents, the Habous quarter mixes traditiona...

Casablanca Old Medina

Wedged between the port and the downtown boulevards, the old medina is a compact maze of whitewashed lanes, small mosques, worksho...

Boulevard Mohammed V Art Deco

Casablanca grew rapidly in the 1920s and 1930s, and the streets around Boulevard Mohammed V hold one of the largest collections of...

Beaches 1

Ain Diab Corniche

West of the city centre, the corniche at Ain Diab runs along a wide Atlantic beach lined with beach clubs, swimming pools, cafes a...

Parks 1

Arab League Park

Laid out during the protectorate and recently renovated, the Parc de la Ligue Arabe is the largest green space in central Casablan...

Museums 1

Museum of Moroccan Judaism

Opened in 1997 in a villa in the Oasis district, this museum documents the long history of Morocco's Jewish communities through ce...

Food and Drink 2

Rick's Cafe

Opened in 2004 by a former American diplomat, Rick's Cafe recreates the nightclub of the 1942 film Casablanca in a restored mansio...

Marche Central Casablanca

The central market, opened in 1917 on Boulevard Mohammed V, is where Casablanca shops for fish, fruit, olives and flowers under ar...

Reviews

No reviews yet. Been to Casablanca? Be the first to share your experience.

Write a review

Share what you loved, what to skip and tips for other travelers.

Share your photos

Been to Casablanca? Add your best shots to the gallery.

More places in Casablanca-Settat

Rabat

Rabat-Salé-Kénitra, Morocco

Marrakech

Morocco

Fez

Morocco

Chefchaouen

Morocco

See all places in Morocco →

Photo credits

Photo: Fraguando, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Ayman.mesa25, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Walaadari, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Nicia Riccio, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0

Photo: Shaimaà, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Sambasoccer27, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Sandra Cohen-Rose and Colin Rose from Montreal, Canada, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0

Photo: Farid mernissi, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: User: (WT-shared) Radouane at wts wikivoyage, Wikimedia Commons, Public domain

Photo: Milamber's portfolio, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0

Photo: User: (WT-shared) Radouane at wts wikivoyage, Wikimedia Commons, Public domain

Photo: Sandra Cohen-Rose and Colin Rose from Montreal, Canada, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0

Photo: Hamza Izourane, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Reda benkhadra, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Photo2023, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0

Photo: Erika Moreno Garibaldi, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Omalihy, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Maher27777, Wikimedia Commons, Public domain

Photo: Adam Jones, Ph.D., Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0

Photo: Ideophagous, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Oumaima Loudini, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0

Photo: Bertrand SOUBEYRAND, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Alaalovessun 0, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Achalhikarim, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Abdul-Jawad Elhusuni (عبدالجواد الحسوني), Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0

Photo: User: (WT-shared) Radouane at wts wikivoyage, Wikimedia Commons, Public domain

Photo: إيان, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Radosław Botev, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0 pl

Photo: Reda benkhadra, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: dlisbona, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0

Photo: Osama Shukir Muhammed Amin FRCP(Glasg), Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Elisa.rolle, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Christof46, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Quintin Soloviev, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0

Photo: C messier, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0