About the city
Casablanca is Morocco's economic capital and, with over 3.7 million inhabitants, the country's largest city. A modern Atlantic metropolis where skyscrapers, art-deco buildings, busy boulevards and old medina lanes sit side by side. It is Morocco's business and industrial heart and a major airline hub for all of West Africa.
📜 History
The town of "Anfa" already existed in the 7th century but was destroyed by an earthquake in 1755. The Portuguese rebuilt it as "Casa Branca" (white house), which became "Casablanca" in Spanish. During the French protectorate (1912–1956), Casablanca grew into a world harbour with stunning art-deco architecture. The city inspired the eponymous 1942 film — though it was never actually filmed here.
🗺️ Things to do
- ✓Visit the breathtaking Hassan II Mosque, partly built over the sea
- ✓Stroll the Corniche and Aïn Diab beaches
- ✓Discover the art-deco district around Place Mohammed V and the Habous quarter
- ✓Explore the old medina and Marché Central for fresh fish
- ✓Shop at Morocco Mall, one of Africa's largest
- ✓Enjoy views and cocktails at Sky 28 or Rick's Café
🍴 Food & drink
Casablanca is a culinary melting pot. Try fresh fish and seafood along the Corniche, traditional tajine and couscous in the medina, and modern fusion in Maarif. Street-food favourites: msemen (stuffed pancake), bocadillos and arguably the best fresh orange juice in Morocco.
🏘️ Neighbourhoods
Maarif is buzzing and modern, full of restaurants and shops. Habous is a beautiful Franco-Moroccan "new medina" from 1923. Aïn Diab is the beach district with clubs. Centre-Ville preserves the city's art-deco treasures.
☀️ Best time to visit
Casablanca is pleasant year-round thanks to the ocean breeze. March–June and September–November are most comfortable.
✨ What makes it special
Casablanca blends the modern with the traditional like no other Moroccan city: skyscrapers, trendy beach clubs and one of the world's largest mosques. It is the beating business and cultural heart of modern Morocco. The Hassan II Mosque: The city's absolute highlight is the Hassan II Mosque, partly built over the Atlantic Ocean. Its 210-metre minaret is the tallest religious tower in the world, and the mosque can hold up to 105,000 worshippers. It is one of the few mosques in Morocco open to non-Muslims via a guided tour — admire the hand-carved cedar wood, marble columns, the glass floor above the sea and the retractable roof. It is especially breathtaking at sunset, when the building glows above the waves. The hammam: No visit to Casablanca is complete without a traditional hammam (steam bath). In the luxurious hammams around the mosque and in the modern districts you are pampered with a black-soap treatment, a vigorous scrub with the kessa glove and a relaxing argan-oil massage — a centuries-old Moroccan cleansing ritual in an atmospheric, tiled interior (see photo). The business city: Casablanca is the financial and business beating heart of Morocco. In the modern Casablanca Finance City district, gleaming office towers and skyscrapers rise up, home to international banks, corporations and the largest stock exchange in North Africa. Wide palm-lined boulevards, trams and modern architecture give the city a dynamic, cosmopolitan character you won't feel as strongly anywhere else in Morocco.
📷 City photos
