Casablanca
Discover Casablanca
Casablanca (Arabic: الدار البيضاء, Dar al-Bayda) may be the cosmopolitan, industrial and economic heart of Morocco, and its largest city, but it is one of the less endearing of the country's sights. With a small, unassuming medina and a traffic-congested ville nouvelle, travellers arriving via Casablanca may be tempted to find the first train out to nearby Rabat. The awe-inspiring Hassan II Mosque and happening nightlife and architecture (mostly colonial times buildings), however, are worth at least a day of your Moroccan itinerary. The modern city of Casablanca was founded by Berber fishermen in the 10th century BCE, and was used by the Phoenicians, Romans, and the Merenids as a strategic port called Anfa. The Portuguese destroyed it and rebuilt it under the name Casa Branca, only to abandon it after an earthquake in 1755. The Moroccan sultan rebuilt the city as Daru l-Badya and it was given the name Casablanca by Spanish traders who established trading bases there. The French occupied the city in 1907, establishing it as a protectorate in 1912 and starting construction of the ville nouvelle.
Taste of Casablanca...
Restaurants in Morocco are like restaurants in Spain - they don't open until around 19:00 at the earliest, and most people don't eat until much later. Be sure to call first and make sure your restaurant of choice is actually open. Nightlife in Casablanca has mixed reviews. Women might feel a bit uncomfortable with the mostly male crowds in many bars and nightclubs. But if you dig a bit, you'll find some excellent spots to drink, dance and people watch. Certain clubs are flooded with prostitutes at night. If you want a drink in your hotel room, supermarkets like Acima and Marjane carry a wide variety of liquor and wine, though the beer selection is fairly stunted. The best places to drink are either European-style restaurants, which usually have a decent selection, or hotel bars, which are inevitably safer and more relaxed. Many western-style nightclubs exist in the Maarif and Gironde neighborhoods. Pubs will cost around 100 dirham per head, it will be half if visited in the happy hours from 19:00-23:00. Pubs to visit Tiger House, La Notte. Unsurprisingly, all three Moroccan mobile operators (Inwi, Orange, and Maroc Telecom) are available in Casablanca. Common sense will alleviate 99% of problems; try to look as little like a tourist as possible, do not flash large quantities of cash, and so on. Faux guides are much less of a problem here than in the rest of Morocco and are limited mainly to the area around the Old Medina.
Essential Information
Getting There
Multiple OptionsCasablanca's airport is the busiest gateway to the country. Royal Air Maroc flies to New York JFK, Washington Dulles, Montreal, many cities in Europe, and has connecting flights to African countries such as Nigeria, Central African Republic, Senegal and others. WizzAir flies from Rome. 33.367222-7.5897221 Mohammed V Int'l Airport (CMN ). There are two terminals: Terminal 1 handles domestic and international flights, Terminal 2 - only international ones. Airport has ATMs, bank branches and currency exchange, post office, pharmacy, cafes, grocery stores and duty-free outlets. Arrive at the airport a tad earlier as there is a very slow security check after the train. (updated Aug 2022) For more international connections and budget flights you may also want to consider flying to the airports of Rabat, Marrakesh, Fes or Tangier. From there you can take an intercity bus or train to Casablanca. From Tangier there is also a high-speed train....
Getting Around & Staying
Getting Around
A government department puts out an exhaustive map of Casablanca in book form called Carte Guide de Casablanca that you can find in bookstores or online; in all likelihood, though, it isn't necessary. Other than that, Casablanca is like any European city: the streets (mostly) have signs, and passersby are extremely helpful in French or Arabic and, more rarely, Spanish or English. The Medina can be hard to navigate, but it's so small that no matter how blindly you wander into it, you're never more than ten minutes from an exit. Casablanca is one of the two Moroccan cities with a tram. The first line opened in late 2012. Service runs from 05:30 to 22:30 with frequent trains (during the day, the interval seems to be shorter than 10 minutes). Most vending machines only take coins. One journey is 6 dirham with a rechargeable card, 8 dirham otherwise. A fee of 2 dirham will be added for the card when you buy a ticket. Tram stops are announced in Arabic and French.
Where to Stay
Unsurprisingly, all three Moroccan mobile operators (Inwi, Orange, and Maroc Telecom) are available in Casablanca. Common sense will alleviate 99% of problems; try to look as little like a tourist as possible, do not flash large quantities of cash, and so on. Faux guides are much less of a problem here than in the rest of Morocco and are limited mainly to the area around the Old Medina. It is inadvisable to walk alone in Casablanca at night. Women, as in all Moroccan cities, should dress modestly to avoid harassment (which almost always consists of lewd comments, but nothing physical.) Pickpocketing and moto-drive-by theft seem more to be a problem here—hide your valuables! Casablanca is unlikely to cause North American or European travellers a lot of headache. Plenty of European/American food: pizzas and hamburgers are as frequent as tajines and couscous.
Money & Budget
Restaurants in Morocco are like restaurants in Spain - they don't open until around 19:00 at the earliest, and most people don't eat until much later. Be sure to call first and make sure your restaurant of choice is actually open. Nightlife in Casablanca has mixed reviews. Women might feel a bit uncomfortable with the mostly male crowds in many bars and nightclubs. But if you dig a bit, you'll find some excellent spots to drink, dance and people watch. Certain clubs are flooded with prostitutes at night. If you want a drink in your hotel room, supermarkets like Acima and Marjane carry a wide variety of liquor and wine, though the beer selection is fairly stunted.
Safety Information
Safety Overview
Common sense will alleviate 99% of problems; try to look as little like a tourist as possible, do not flash large quantities of cash, and so on. Faux guides are much less of a problem here than in the rest of Morocco and are limited mainly to the area around the Old Medina. It is inadvisable to walk alone in Casablanca at night. Women, as in all Moroccan cities, should dress modestly to avoid harassment (which almost always consists of lewd comments, but nothing physical.) Pickpocketing and moto-drive-by theft seem more to be a problem here—hide your valuables! Casablanca is unlikely to cause North American or European travellers a lot of headache. Plenty of European/American food: pizzas and hamburgers are as frequent as tajines and couscous. In some areas, such as the Maarif and Gironde neighborhoods, seeing a man in a djellaba or a donkey pulling a cart of vegetables are rarities.