Casablanca Travel Guide: Morocco's Modern Metropolis

Morocco's Gateway City

As home to Morocco's largest airport and busiest port, Casablanca is where most international visitors first set foot in the country. It's also Morocco's economic capital — a sprawling, modern city of business towers, wide boulevards, and nearly four million people, quite different from the postcard image of Marrakech or Fes.

The Hassan II Mosque

Casablanca's undisputed landmark is the Hassan II Mosque, one of the largest mosques in the world and one of the few in Morocco open to non-Muslim visitors on a guided tour. Built partly over the Atlantic Ocean with a 210-meter minaret, the tallest in the world, its interior features hand-carved cedar, marble, and titanium detailing by thousands of Moroccan artisans.

Art Deco and French Colonial Architecture

Casablanca holds one of the world's largest collections of Art Deco buildings outside of Miami and Napier, a legacy of French colonial-era urban planning in the 1920s and 30s. The area around Boulevard Mohammed V and the United Nations Square rewards a slow walk, with ornate facades that mix French design with Moroccan detailing.

The Old Medina and Habous Quarter

Casablanca's compact old medina, near the port, is a quieter, less touristy alternative to those of Marrakech or Fes. Across town, the Habous Quarter, also called the New Medina, was built by the French in the 1930s as a planned neighborhood in traditional Moroccan style, and remains one of the best places in the city for spices, traditional dress, and Moroccan pastries.

The Corniche and Ain Diab

Casablanca's seafront Corniche, stretching along Ain Diab beach, is lined with cafes, restaurants, and beach clubs where locals gather in the evening. It's a good place to see everyday Casablanca life away from the historic sights, especially at sunset with the Hassan II Mosque visible along the coastline.

Rick's Cafe and Cinematic Casablanca

Though the 1942 film Casablanca was shot entirely in Hollywood, the city leaned into its cinematic fame decades later with the opening of Rick's Cafe, a restaurant and piano bar styled after the movie's set, complete with arched doorways, potted palms, and live jazz piano in the evenings.

Best Way to Visit

Many travelers pass through Casablanca only briefly on the way to or from the airport, but a half-day or full day is enough to see the Hassan II Mosque, stroll the Art Deco downtown, and get a genuine sense of contemporary, everyday Morocco before heading on to Marrakech, Fes, or the coast.