Things to do in Casablanca
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Casablanca
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Best weather, highs in the low to mid 20s, least rain, walkable mornings and Corniche evenings.
Summer highs only 26 to 29C with humidity, domestic holidaymakers and the warmest sea late August to September.
Mild but wet, December is wettest, the city is quietest and cheapest for hotels, swimming is off.
Ramadan expected roughly in this window in 2027, mosque tours restricted and restaurants close by day.
What's on
- Jazzablanca Usually early July
The city's flagship music week at Anfa Park with free concerts in Parc de la Ligue Arabe.
- L'Boulevard September
The long running urban music festival, Casablanca's youth culture counterweight to Jazzablanca.
- Mawazine June
One of the world's biggest festivals in Rabat, an easy train ride away.
Best things to do in Casablanca
Hassan II Mosque
Morocco's landmark mosque over the Atlantic, open to non-Muslims only on the official guided tour.
Habous Quarter
The French built new medina of arcades, souks and cafes, with far less pressure than Fes or Marrakech.
Mohammed V Square
The centrepiece square for Casablanca's Art Deco and neo-Moorish civic buildings, best seen looking up.
Parc de la Ligue Arabe
The big green park that gives relief from downtown traffic on an Art Deco walk.
Sacré-Cœur Cathedral
A deconsecrated cathedral on the park edge, now an exhibition space where the building is the sight.
Notre-Dame de Lourdes Church
Plain outside and famous inside for vast modern stained glass, a short walk from the park.
Old Medina of Casablanca
A small, workaday medina of produce, bread, fish and workshops, best kept to a low pressure daytime hour.
La Sqala
An 18th century bastion at the medina's seaward edge, also the garden restaurant listed under Eat.
Where to stay in Casablanca
Gauthier / Racine
first trip, all-round base
Where locals with money live and eat, with the best restaurant density and calm safe streets after dark.
Anfa / Aïn Diab Corniche
sea air, resorts and a splurge
Big seafront hotels and beach clubs by the ocean, trading centrality for sea air and taxi rides downtown.
City centre / Boulevard Mohammed V
one-night station-and-sights stop
Maximum convenience for Casa Port, the tram, Central Market and Art Deco, but busier and emptier at night.
Habous
character on a budget
Lovely to wander with a more Moroccan feel, but fewer hotels and late restaurants and taxis to most dinners.
Oasis / Maârif
local-value alternative
Quieter residential Oasis, handy for the Jewish Museum, and livelier cheaper Maarif next to Gauthier.
Think twice about
- Old Medina and its immediate edges
Visit by day, do not sleep there. It empties after dark and feels uncomfortable, with mostly cheap basic lodging.
- Hay Mohammadi
A deprived eastern district with no tourism infrastructure, warned against for independent lodging.
- Sidi Moumen
A deprived eastern district with no tourism infrastructure, warned against for independent lodging.
- Casa Voyageurs station and Derb Omar at night
Pickpocket and hassle territory for arrivals with luggage, wholesale by day and deserted feeling by night.
Best restaurants in Casablanca
La Sqala
A garden restaurant in the Sqala bastion, famous for big Moroccan breakfasts and tagines at lunch.
Restaurant du Port de Pêche
The long standing fishing port institution for fried fish platters, paella and grilled prawns.
Taverne du Dauphin
A classic seafood brasserie near the port known for oysters and John Dory.
ILOLI
Casablanca's gastronomic splurge, a serious Japanese kitchen in the Gauthier restaurant quarter.
Rick's Café
A 2004 recreation of the film gin joint, booked for atmosphere, piano and myth over food value.
Le Cuisto Traditionnel
Traditional Moroccan home cooking in the centre, tagines and couscous without the garden premium.
Chez Michel et Hafida
Buy fish in the Central Market and eat it grilled at their market stall table with their sauces.
La Bavaroise
The old school French brasserie serving French Mediterranean classics to generations of Casa professionals.
Best bars in Casablanca
Sky 28
The named rooftop view bar on the Twin Center towers, the safer default for a Casa night out.
Outdoor things to do in Casablanca
Jack Beach
The reference surf break near Casablanca, with rental and schools and waves for beginners and experienced surfers.
Casa Green Golf Club
An 18 hole par 72 Jeremy Pern course south of the city, the modern full round near Casablanca.
Tony Jacklin Casablanca
A golf course in the Bouskoura corridor alongside Casa Green and PalmGolf, part of the city's golf cluster.
Royal Golf Anfa
A private 9 hole members course in Anfa with a clubhouse terrace view toward the mosque.
Mazagan Golf Club
Gary Player's 18 hole dunes links directly on the beach, the splurge golf day trip from Casablanca.
Tahiti Beach Club
The long standing Corniche beach club for pool, loungers and lunch with the Atlantic as backdrop.
Bouskoura Forest
The eucalyptus and pine green lung where locals run, cycle, picnic and ride, best on weekend mornings.
El Jadida
A UNESCO listed Portuguese fortified town with ramparts, the Portuguese Cistern and port seafood.
Best hotels in Casablanca
Radisson Hotel Casablanca Gauthier La Citadelle
The Gauthier flagship with modern rooms and a rooftop pool in the middle of the restaurant quarter.
Hôtel Gauthier
A small Art Deco styled boutique house hotel with a garden restaurant bar on a quiet Gauthier street.
Barceló Anfa Casablanca
A larger good value five star with outdoor pool and spa at the Anfa edge of Gauthier.
Royal Mansour Casablanca
The reborn grand hotel on Avenue des FAR, the city's current top address at palace prices.
Hyatt Regency Casablanca
The classic centre base facing the medina edge, walkable for the mosque, medina and market triangle.
Le Doge Hôtel Particulier - Relais & Châteaux
A small 1930s villa hotel near the park and cathedral, the character alternative to the towers.
Kaan Casablanca
The modern mid range value pick near Parc de la Ligue Arabe, newer, well run and sanely priced.
Four Seasons Hotel Casablanca
The seafront resort hotel at Anfa Place with pools and hammam spa, ocean in front, city by taxi.
Is Casablanca expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | MAD 360 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | MAD 855 a person |
| Splurge | MAD 2,500 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Temple Beth-El: a few days ahead
- Le Spa at Royal Mansour Casablanca: a few days ahead
- Le Spa at Four Seasons Hotel Casablanca: a few days ahead
- Casa Green Golf Club: a few days ahead
- Tony Jacklin Casablanca: a few days ahead
- Royal Golf Anfa: a few days ahead
- Mazagan Golf Club: a few days ahead
- Casablanca quad biking: a few days ahead
- Build the day around a morning Hassan II Mosque tour and arrive 20 to 30 minutes early for tickets.
- Reserve Rick's Café days ahead, and ILOLI, Le Cabestan and Dar Dada, especially weekend sea view tables.
- Book good centre and Gauthier hotels ahead for midweek business demand, weekends are often cheaper.
- The Slaoui Museum is closed Sunday and Monday, and Jazzablanca and derby weekends fill rooms early.
Is Casablanca safe?
- Violent crime is rare, the live risks are pickpocketing in markets, trams and stations and taxi overcharging.
- Recommended bases are fine after dark, taxi door to door in the old medina and quiet centre side streets.
- Shoulders and knees covered is the easier default and is required for the mosque tour.
- Public drinking is illegal, alcohol is available in licensed restaurants, bars and hotels.
- Check your government's current travel advice before you go.
Casablanca travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- Spending a week in Casablanca itself, honest verdicts converge on one to two days plus day trips.
- Marrakech or Fes day trips sold from Casablanca, both are three plus hours each way and deserve days.
- The unsolicited guide and that way is closed pitch around the medina, port and stations, decline and continue.
- Taxi meters claimed broken, refuse and flag the next taxi rather than negotiating a tourist fare.
- Morocco Mall ranked as a top sight and Ain Diab sold as a beach holiday, both disappoint on those terms.
- Any tour implying entry to the Royal Palace, it is gates and exterior only.
Getting around Casablanca: public transport and more
- Take the tramway first and metered red petit taxis second, and insist on the meter before moving.
- Do not rent a car for the city, traffic and parking are notorious, use trains for Rabat and El Jadida.
- From Mohammed V Airport the train to Casa Voyageurs or Casa Port is cheap and traffic proof.
- French gets you further than English in taxis and markets, and the dirham is a closed currency got in Morocco.
Who Casablanca suits
| Solo travellers | Good |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Good |
| Couples | Good |
| Bachelor parties | Good |
| Families | OK |
| Bachelorette parties | Good |
Make Casablanca your trip
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