Casablanca Holidays

Casablanca doesn't arrange itself neatly for visitors. Morocco's economic centre is all office towers, trams, café tables, and traffic, with white Art Deco facades threaded between them. It's modern, busy, and less centred on visitors than Marrakech or Fes. Incidentally, the city’s namesake film was made in Hollywood, but the real Casablanca has no interest in playing a supporting role. 

Start at the Hassan II Mosque, where a vast esplanade meets the Atlantic and part of the building stands over the water. Non-Muslim visitors can go inside only as part of an official guided tour, so we’ll plan around the scheduled times. Cover your shoulders and knees, remove your shoes, then look up: you’ll find carved wood, marble, copper, and intricate zellige tilework. 

From the mosque, continue through the Old Medina before heading into the centre. Around Boulevard Mohammed V, Art Deco and neo-Moorish façades tell Casablanca’s twentieth-century story. The best details are often one storey up, so remember to look above the shop signs. At Central Market, you can choose fresh fish and have it grilled at one of the small eateries. 

By late afternoon, head west to the Corniche at Ain Diab. Joggers, families, beach cafés, and Atlantic spray replace the downtown traffic. Restaurants and rooftops fill after dark, so this is the place for a long seafront walk followed by dinner. Our experts came back talking about the food as much as the mosque. 

We'll build Casablanca into a route with Rabat and Fes, arranging the transfers and allowing enough time for the mosque, the centre, and the Corniche. If you're flying into the city, don't treat it as an airport with a skyline. Stay long enough to see the Morocco of Art Deco apartment blocks, lunchtime markets, and evenings beside the Atlantic.