Modern, massive, Muslim: Casablanca

Last Updated on October 31, 2024 by Ellen

Casablanca is the financial capital of Morocco, and the country’s largest city. We stayed a week in this bustling metropolis.

Some of the sites we saw and recommend: the Hassan II Mosque, the Corniche (a scenic drive), the beach, the medina (old-walled section of the city).

Hassan II Mosque

So much has been written about the Hassan II Mosque that I don’t feel the need to rehash it here. But it’s definitely impressive.

Every part inside – except two – comes from Morocco. Nearly all of the materials are from this country, and workers constructed this with great pride. The detail and craftsmanship are stunning. It was a treat to be allowed inside a mosque as a non-Muslim. So many people go to this spot to pray to God – it is a special place.

Tours are done in several languages, including French, Spanish, English, Japanese, and more. Our tour group in English has people from Norway, Australia, and other countries – but no one from North America.

Note that tours are given at times that do not intrude on prayer time. Check the mosque’s website here.

It cost $13 to visit as a tourist who is not Muslim. While the price was a bit steep, it’s a relatively new mosque that cost quite a bit of money to build – probably a couple of billion in today’s dollars. Therefore, I didn’t mind paying the entrance and tour fee – especially since I was curious to see the inside of a mosque.

The Corniche in Casablanca

The Corniche neighborhood is on the Boulevard de la Corniche, near the mosque along the Atlantic Ocean. When we went in January 2018, most of the boulevard on the sea side was under construction and blocked off to pedestrians. We had no view of the sea on our long walk. According to TripAdvisor reviews in September 2019, the oceanfront walkway appears to be open.

One day we took a tram ride to the beach, called Plage Ain Diab. First, let me say the tram is awesome here. New and clean – but standing room only during busy times.

The beach is a wide, long stretch of sand. The oceanfront walkway in this section of the city has many restaurants. There also are people offering horse rides and umbrellas and chairs to rent. We opted for a cafe called O’Palm that seemed popular with the locals. The food was just ok, but the ocean views were magnificent.

The Market

Tedly and I decided to go shopping for sweatpants so we can lay around home and be comfy and warm. We didn’t think it would be so cold in Northern Africa in January! So off we went to the market in the medina.

This area is nowhere near as big as the medina in Marrakesh, but you can still find good deals for just about anything you might need. We also met some kind people here – many vendors told us ‘Welcome to Morocco’ even though we didn’t buy anything.

Eventually, we did each find sweatpants for a decent deal, and the men who sold Tedly his pair his took an instant liking to him. (As almost everyone does!)

Tourist attractions we skipped in Casablanca

We did not visit Rick’s Cafe, but we did see it from the street on our way to somewhere else. Hollywood created that cafe – literally. After the film Casablanca was released, the cafe was born. I’ll bet there were at least a few tourists there – because we sure didn’t see them anywhere else in this city.

We also did not visit Sky 28, which is a famous bar in a high-rise with panoramic views of the city. We skipped it because we had a pretty good view from the balconies and the roof of our Airbnb rental.

Where we stayed in Casablanca

I loved the building and the apartment where we stayed. It was built in the 1920s and had so much character. High ceilings, marble staircases, several balconies. The unit had vintage furnishings but also modern touches like a washer, nice shower head and kitchen appliances.

Here’s a short video tour:

Thank you, Casablanca. You’ve taught me more more about Moroccan culture and daily life, and I also found time to rest and get ready for our next stops in this cool country. We have traveled around Morocco by bus so far, but next up is the train.

Proseccotrail

March 20, 2018 at 8:06 pm

You have a real talent for writing. I loved treading this and watching the exuberent video. I remember the Corniche being lovely, too bad about the construction but indeed it’s all that 1920s charm that makes me want to return!