Casablanca is the largest city in Morocco. A cosmopolitan metropolis par excellence, it is spread over the Atlantic coast. The city has many secrets and a unique Art Deco heritage in the region.
Both modern and authentic, Casablanca includes districts with Arab-Muslim charm, but also many legacies from the colonial period.
Discover all the nuances of this metropolis: walk through its medina, cross its centre and admire its art-deco buildings. You can also discover the Hassan II Mosque, this marvel of architecture that is built on water.
In Casablanca, it's impossible to be bored! Travel between culture and relaxation in the white city.
Completed in 1993, it is a Pharaonic work funded by all Moroccans. It is located on the beach, near the port and the medina. Its majestic minaret, over 200 meters high, is the largest in the world. At the top, there is a laser beam that indicates the direction of Mecca.
It can be visited with a guide.
The Mosque has a large prayer hall which can accommodate 25,000 worshipers. Its esplanade is large enough for 80,000 people. This building has titanium and brass doors. The interior is absolutely splendid: 76 pillars support a gigantic painted cedar wooden roof, which can be opened so that the sky is reflected in the waters of the patio, and the whole is composed of 10,000 m² of azulejos, 67,000 m² of plaster and 53,000 m² of magnificent wood and marble, with Murano glass lamps.
Between the Grand Mosque and the port is the new Casablanca Marina center, with a marina, the Marriott Hotel, a shopping center, luxury apartments, a convention center, an office area and an Aquarium.
La Place des Nations is the nerve center of the city, where the Clock Tower stands out next to the wall of the medina. Today, the area is only partially reserved for pedestrians.
Next to the port is the medina of Casablanca, which is less interesting than those of other cities, although it is a good place to buy branded items and leather goods.
Partially surrounded by walls from the 16th century, you can admire the Clock Tower, the Bab Jdid and Bab Marrakech gates, the shrines of Sidi Kairouani and Sidi Bousmara, the Ould el-Hamra mosque from the 19th century and located opposite the port, the Dar El Makhzen Mosque and the Jamma Souk Mosque near the Clock Tower.
Next to a small square, we must highlight the Scala, an old bastion of the 18th century built in 1769 by Sidi Mohammed Ben Abdallah and one of the rare vestiges of the Casablanca of this sultan, who succeeded in transforming a small village in the city. Today, La Scala has become a restaurant.
Located in the south, in the Mers Sultan district and built in Arabic style by the French to replace the old quarter, it is a good place for shopping.
A pleasant walk through the shops allows us to find art deco objects. There is a bit of everything: clothing stores, antique stores, jewelry stores, book stores, Moroccan furniture stores, olive and spice stalls, boilermakers, carpet sellers, etc... In short, a series of small shops with a wide variety of Moroccan handicrafts.
You should also see the Mahkama du Pacha building, a court which also serves as a reception hall. There are 60 rooms around beautiful patios reminiscent of Andalusian architecture. Right next to it is the Royal Palace, the king's place of residence when he travels to Casablanca.
In the neighborhood, we can also note the great mosque of Mohamed V, Moulay Jousef and the Habous gardens.
To the north of this district, on the Place d'Europe, we can see the Church of Notre Dame de Lourdes, modernist, with magnificent stained-glass windows.
The Church of Notre Dame de Lourdes is a Catholic parish church. It was built in 1954 by Achille from England and the engineer Gaston Zimmer and constitutes the second church of Casablanca after the church of the Sacred Heart which is no longer used for worship today.
