The best things to do in Morocco.
City-by-city guides to the experiences worth your time — medinas, gardens, deserts, coast and craft.
Photo: Jakub Hałun, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Merzouga
Merzouga is a small Saharan village beside Erg Chebbi, a sea of wind-sculpted dunes rising up to around 150 metres. It is Morocco's classic desert base, and here are twelve experiences worth your time.
12 things to do
Casablanca
Morocco's largest city and economic capital is a study in contrasts: a colossal oceanfront mosque, France-era Mauresque architecture and a buzzing Atlantic corniche. One well-planned day covers the essentials. Here is a practical one-day Casablanca itinerary.
6 things to do
Casablanca
Morocco's largest city is surprisingly easy with children: a giant seafront mall with an aquarium and musical fountain, Atlantic beaches at Ain Diab, a long Corniche promenade and leafy parks. Here are the best family-friendly things to do in Casablanca.
10 things to do
Casablanca
Casablanca's Atlantic seafront runs along the Ain Diab district, where the Corniche promenade links beach clubs, pools, seafood terraces and open sands. Anchored by the Hassan II Mosque at the water's edge and the Morocco Mall at its far end, here is how to spend time on the city's coast.
9 things to do
Casablanca
Casablanca holds one of the world's greatest concentrations of 1920s and 1930s architecture, a city-sized open-air museum of Art Deco blended with Moorish 'Mauresque' detailing. Built during the protectorate-era boom, the downtown's cinemas, hotels, apartment blocks and civic buildings remain the city's most distinctive draw. Here is what to see, and how to walk it.
10 things to do
Casablanca
As Morocco's most cosmopolitan city, Casablanca has the country's liveliest after-dark scene, concentrated along the Ain Diab Corniche and in the smarter hotels and rooftops downtown. Alcohol is served mainly in licensed venues, hotels and dedicated bars and clubs rather than across the city, so the evening tends to gather where the sea breeze and the music are. Here is how to spend a night out.
9 things to do
Casablanca
The Hassan II Mosque is Casablanca's defining landmark and one of the largest mosques in the world. Built partly over the Atlantic and completed in 1993, it is also one of the few mosques in Morocco that welcomes non-Muslim visitors on guided tours. Here is what to know before you go.
6 things to do
Casablanca
The Quartier Habous, often called the New Medina, is Casablanca's most atmospheric quarter — a 1930s reinterpretation of a traditional Moroccan medina built during the French protectorate. Its arcaded lanes, craft shops, bookstalls and Moorish-style buildings make it the city's best place to browse, buy souvenirs and sense the old-Morocco feel that the modern downtown lacks. Here is what to see and how to explore it.
9 things to do
Casablanca
Casablanca's Old Medina — the Ancienne Médina — is the original walled town that predates the French ville nouvelle built around it in the 20th century. Tucked between the port and the United Nations Square (Place des Nations Unies), it is much smaller and far less touristy than the great medinas of Fes or Marrakech, with a more workaday, local character. Within its old ramparts you will find busy market lanes, small mosques, an 18th-century bastion overlooking the sea, and the everyday rhythm of a working quarter, all a short walk from the Hassan II Mosque. Here is what to see and how to explore it.
10 things to do
Casablanca
The Cathédrale du Sacré-Cœur is one of Casablanca's most striking pieces of 20th-century architecture — a bold white former cathedral rising beside the Parc de la Ligue Arabe in the city centre. Completed in the 1930s by the French architect Paul Tournon, it blends Art Deco lines with a neo-Gothic silhouette of twin towers and soaring concrete vaults. It was deconsecrated after Moroccan independence and is no longer a working church; today it stands as a landmark of the city's celebrated Art Deco heritage and is sometimes used as a cultural and exhibition space. Here is what to see and how to take it in.
10 things to do
Casablanca
The Church of Notre-Dame de Lourdes (Église Notre-Dame de Lourdes) is one of Casablanca's quieter architectural surprises — a boldly modernist Roman Catholic church built in the 1950s, away from the usual tourist trail. From outside it is austere, almost severe, a composition of bare concrete; inside it is transformed by enormous walls of stained glass designed by the celebrated French glass-artist Gabriel Loire, which flood the plain interior with deep blue, red and gold light. Unlike the deconsecrated Sacré-Cœur, Notre-Dame de Lourdes is generally still an active parish church, so it is visited with respect rather than treated as a museum. Here is what to look for and how to take it in.
11 things to do
Casablanca
The Mahkama du Pacha is one of Casablanca's most lavish showcases of traditional Moroccan craftsmanship — a striking public building tucked into the Quartier Habous, the city's planned 'New Medina'. Completed in the early 1950s, it served both as a courthouse and as the pasha's reception palace and administrative seat, and it was conceived in a Hispano-Moorish, or Mauresque, style. Behind its long arcaded facade lie dozens of rooms — often cited as around sixty — filled with intricately carved cedar ceilings, sculpted stucco, zellij tilework, wrought iron and marble, arranged around fountained courtyards. It remains a working official building, so public access can be limited and irregular; here is what to know before you go.
10 things to do
Casablanca
The Villa des Arts de Casablanca is one of the city centre's most rewarding cultural stops — a restored 1930s Art Deco villa turned contemporary art gallery and cultural centre, set near the Parc de la Ligue Arabe. Associated with a major Moroccan foundation, it hosts rotating exhibitions of Moroccan and international modern and contemporary art in elegant Art-Deco interiors, with a garden to pause in. It fits naturally into Casablanca's celebrated Art-Deco story and makes a calm, unhurried counterpoint to the city's busier landmarks. Here is what to see and how to take it in.
12 things to do
Casablanca
Opened in 2011 on the Ain Diab Corniche, Morocco Mall is one of the largest shopping malls in Africa and a landmark of Casablanca's Atlantic seafront. Beyond its international and Moroccan stores, it is best known for a giant cylindrical aquarium at its heart, an indoor musical fountain, an IMAX cinema, an indoor souk recalling a traditional Moroccan market, a large food court and a kids' play area. That mix makes it a popular family destination and a favourite refuge on rainy or very hot days, as well as an easy leisure stop at the western end of the Corniche. Here is what to see and how to fit it into a day on the coast.
12 things to do
Casablanca
Anfa is the historic heart and one of the most prestigious districts of modern Casablanca, spread across the rise of land west of the city centre toward the Atlantic. Its name is the old name of the city itself: long before the Portuguese and then the French reshaped the port, the settlement here was known as Anfa. Today the district mixes leafy residential avenues and grand villas with the gleaming towers of the new Casablanca Finance City business hub, and it sits within easy reach of the Corniche seafront. Here is how to get a feel for the area and what to look out for.
10 things to do
Casablanca
As Morocco's economic powerhouse and one of its busiest creative hubs, Casablanca has a year-round cultural, concert and arts scene, and it is home to a couple of festivals that have built strong reputations over the years. The best-known are Jazzablanca, a jazz and world-music festival usually associated with spring or early summer, and L'Boulevard, a long-running urban and alternative music festival that helped shape Morocco's modern music scene. One important caveat runs through everything below: festival dates change from year to year, and not every festival runs every year, so treat the timings here as a general guide only and always check the official programme before planning a trip around an event. Here is how the city's festivals and broader cultural life fit into a visit.
12 things to do
Casablanca
Morocco has a long, officially recognised Jewish heritage stretching back many centuries, and Casablanca holds a central place in that story. The city is home to the Museum of Moroccan Judaism — widely described as the only museum dedicated to Jewish history and culture in the Arab world — and to one of Morocco's largest remaining Jewish communities, with active synagogues and a historic mellah (Jewish quarter). This guide explains what to see and how to explore it respectfully, with practical notes; hours and access change, so confirm details locally before visiting.
10 things to do
Casablanca
Rick's Café is one of Casablanca's best-known restaurants and bars — a candlelit, 1940s-style dining room set in a restored traditional courtyard mansion near the old medina and the port. It was created to evoke 'Rick's Café Américain', the fictional bar from the classic 1942 film 'Casablanca' with Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman, complete with arches, a piano and live music. One honest point matters before you go: the 1942 film was shot in Hollywood studios, not in Casablanca, so this is a loving homage and themed dining experience inspired by the movie rather than a genuine historic film location. Here is what it is and how to enjoy an evening there.
12 things to do
Casablanca
La Sqala is one of Casablanca's most atmospheric spots — a garden café and restaurant set inside a restored 18th-century bastion on the edge of the old medina, near the port. The Sqala itself was a fortified gun emplacement built in the Portuguese-Moroccan defensive tradition to guard the coast, with thick ramparts and old cannons still in place. Today its sheltered courtyard garden, shaded by palms and bougainvillea, makes it a calm refuge from the busy city and a popular place for a Moroccan breakfast, lunch or mint tea. Here is what it is and how to enjoy a visit.
11 things to do
Casablanca
Casablanca's Atlantic setting and cosmopolitan markets make it a rewarding place to learn Moroccan cooking. From tagine and couscous workshops to seafood, street-food walks and pastry sessions, here are twelve hands-on food experiences worth your time.
12 things to do
Asilah
Asilah is a whitewashed Atlantic town on Morocco's north coast, famous for its mural-covered medina, Portuguese ramparts and breezy beaches. Here are twelve experiences that capture its artistic, seafaring spirit.
12 things to do
Imlil
At 1,740 metres in the High Atlas, Imlil is Morocco's gateway to Mount Toubkal. This Berber village trades souk crowds for walnut groves, mule paths and snow-tipped peaks. Here are the experiences worth lacing your boots for.
12 things to do
Taghazout
Once a sleepy fishing village north of Agadir, Taghazout has become Morocco's surf capital. Reliable Atlantic point breaks, laid-back yoga retreats, argan groves and golden beaches make it a relaxed base on the Souss-Massa coast.
13 things to do
Ifrane
Set high in Morocco's Middle Atlas, Ifrane is an alpine town of red-roofed chalets, cedar forests and clear mountain lakes. Built in the 1930s, it offers cool air, winter snow and easy access to a national park rich in wildlife.
12 things to do
Ouzoud
Tucked into the Middle Atlas near Azilal, the Cascades d'Ouzoud are Morocco's tallest waterfalls, tumbling some 110 metres in red-rock terraces. Here are the experiences worth your time around the falls.
12 things to do
Dakhla
Dakhla sits on a slender peninsula where the Sahara meets the Atlantic, framing a vast flat-water lagoon. Steady trade winds, year-round sun and turquoise shallows have made it one of the world's premier kitesurfing destinations.
13 things to do
Todra Gorge
Cut into the eastern High Atlas near Tinghir, the Todra Gorge funnels travellers between sheer limestone walls rising up to roughly 300 metres. River, palm groves and Berber villages reward those who linger here.
12 things to do
Taroudant
Often called 'little Marrakech', Taroudant is a walled market town in the fertile Souss Valley. Its earthen ramparts encircle bustling souks, palm-shaded squares and artisan workshops, with the High Atlas and Anti-Atlas rising on either side.
13 things to do
Ourika Valley
Tucked into the High Atlas about an hour south of Marrakech, the Ourika Valley pairs a rushing river with Berber villages, terraced gardens and waterfall hikes. Here are the experiences worth your day.
12 things to do
Agafay Desert
Around 45 minutes from Marrakech, the Agafay is a rocky stone desert of arid hills, not dunes. Its lunar hammada frames sweeping Atlas Mountain views, luxury camps and quiet adventure within easy reach of the city.
12 things to do
Casablanca
Casablanca has a mild Atlantic climate: the ocean keeps winters soft and summers far cooler than inland Morocco. Here is what each month is really like, with average temperatures, rainfall and sunshine from ten years of measured data. Figures are averages for 2015 to 2024 from ERA5 reanalysis data (via Open-Meteo).
12 things to do
Casablanca
A hammam is Morocco's steam bath: a set of warm and hot rooms where you sweat, are scrubbed with black soap and a coarse glove, and rinse off with buckets of water. In Casablanca you can do it three ways: at a neighbourhood hammam with the locals, at a spa hammam such as the ones under the Hassan II Mosque esplanade or Hammam Ziani, or privately in a hotel spa booked for just you. This guide covers how a visit works, what to bring, the etiquette, and where to go.
10 things to do
Casablanca
Casablanca is a business city, and its museums are small and spread out rather than grouped on one museum mile. They are worth the effort: a private collection of Moroccan jewellery and Orientalist posters, a museum of Moroccan Jewish life, the craft samples made for the Hassan II Mosque, and since June 2026 a photography museum by the Japanese architect Tadao Ando in the old medina. This guide covers what each one shows, the days they close, and how to see two in a day. Hours change and several are not published, so check before you go.
10 things to do
Casablanca
Casablanca is a working city, and most of its markets are built for the people who live here rather than for visitors. The Marché Central sells fish, produce and flowers in a 1917 market hall; Derb Ghallef is a large informal market for cheap electronics, clothing and furniture; Derb Omar is the wholesale quarter that supplies much of Morocco. The craft souk of the Quartier Habous and the stalls of the old medina are the gentler, more visitor-friendly options, and we cover each in its own guide. This page covers what each market sells, when to go, how to haggle and how to keep your phone and wallet safe.
11 things to do
Casablanca
Casablanca is a dense, busy city, but it has more green space than its reputation suggests. In the centre there is the Parc de la Ligue Arabe, reopened in 2021 after a long renovation, and a few older gardens nearby. On the site of the old Anfa airport there is Anfa Park, opened in 2020. On the coast you have the Hassan II Mosque esplanade and the seafront, and south of the city the Bouskoura forest. This guide covers what each place is like, what has changed recently, and what we could not confirm. For the beaches and the Ain Diab Corniche, see our Corniche and beaches guide; for family days out, see Casablanca with kids.
10 things to do
Casablanca
Casablanca's cultural life is spread across old cinemas, foundation museums, small galleries, a French cultural institute and the walls of the city itself. Some of the best-known places are not open at all: the new Grand Théâtre on Place Mohammed V is finished but has not opened, and the Anciens Abattoirs are waiting for restoration. This guide says what you can actually visit, what is closed, and how to find out what is on. For the buildings themselves see our Art Deco guide, for the Villa des Arts see its own guide, and for Jazzablanca and L'Boulevard see our festivals guide.
11 things to do
Casablanca
Casablanca is home to two of Africa's best-known clubs, Wydad AC and Raja Club Athletic, and to one of the continent's fiercest rivalries, the Casablanca derby. Both clubs play at the Stade Mohammed V in Maârif, renovated for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations. This guide covers the two clubs, the derby, the stadium, how tickets have been sold, what to wear, how to stay safe on match day, and where Casablanca fits in Morocco's co-hosting of the 2030 World Cup.
11 things to do
Casablanca
A lot of what is worth seeing in Casablanca is outdoors and costs nothing: the seafront by the Hassan II Mosque, the Corniche, the old medina walls, the Art Deco streets of the centre, the markets and the parks. This is a short list of those places, with a line or two on each and a link to our fuller guide where we have one. Where a source says a place is free, we say so; where we could not confirm something, such as opening hours, we tell you to check.
11 things to do
Casablanca
Casablanca's own beaches are at Aïn Diab, along the Corniche. For more space, most people head west along the coast road towards El Jadida: Dar Bouazza and its Tamaris beaches start about 17 to 20 km from the city centre, Jack Beach and the Dar Bouazza point draw the surfers, and Sidi Rahal lies about 40 km south-west. To the north, towards Rabat, Bouznika has a sheltered bay and a Blue Flag beach. This guide covers what each beach is like, where to surf, how to swim safely, and what Morocco's national water-quality report says about this stretch of coast.
11 things to do
Casablanca
Casablanca gets most of its rain between November and March, usually in short spells rather than week-long grey stretches. When a wet day does come, the city has plenty to do under a roof: the inside of the Hassan II Mosque, small museums, a hammam, a cooking class in a local home, the big malls, films and exhibitions at the Institut français, and pastries in the Habous. This guide covers when the rain falls, where to spend a wet day, and what heavy rain does to the roads.
11 things to do
Casablanca
Casablanca is Morocco's main commercial and financial centre. This guide covers where the offices are, from Casablanca Finance City in Anfa to the offshoring park at Sidi Maârouf, how to get in from Mohammed V Airport by train, how to plan around the traffic, when to take Al Boraq to Rabat or Tangier instead of driving, and how meetings work, including Friday and Ramadan hours. It ends with how to fit some of the city into the gaps between meetings.
11 things to do
Casablanca
Casablanca has one golf course inside the city, a 9-hole layout in the middle of the Anfa racecourse. The rest are a drive away: the 18-hole Royal Golf de Mohammedia up the coast, two newer courses in the Bouskoura forest, a lakeside course at Benslimane and a floodlit 9 holes at Bouznika. Rabat's Royal Golf Dar Es Salam, home of the Trophée Hassan II, makes a full day out. This guide covers what each course is, when the weather suits golf, what to ask the club before you go, and how to get there with your clubs.
10 things to do
Mohammedia
Mohammedia is a port town on the Atlantic about 24 km north-east of Casablanca, on the way to Rabat. Until 1960 it was called Fedala. It has a string of town beaches, a seafront corniche, an 18th-century kasbah at its old centre, a working oil and fishing port, and one of Morocco's oldest golf courses. Its beaches draw plenty of day visitors from Casablanca. This guide covers how to get there by train or by road, what to see, what the latest bathing-water report says, and how to fit it into a half-day.
10 things to do
Casablanca
Street food is very popular in Casablanca, and you will find stalls almost everywhere. Most of it follows the clock and the calendar: msemen, harcha and sfenj in the morning, snail soup and bissara when the weather turns cold, harira and chebakia during Ramadan, and mint tea all day. This guide covers what to order at a stall or cart, when each dish is around, how to eat safely, what vegetarians can eat, and how our evening food tour fits in. For restaurants, cafés and seafood dining, see our journal piece on what to eat in Casablanca.
11 things to do
Casablanca
Ramadan is the Muslim month of fasting: from dawn to sunset most Moroccans eat, drink and smoke nothing, and the day is rearranged around the evening meal that breaks the fast, called ftour in Morocco. This page is about Casablanca in particular: the expected 2027 dates and how Morocco announces them, office and shop hours, Hassan II Mosque tour times in Ramadan, eating in public and alcohol, the evenings after ftour, Laylat al-Qadr and Eid al-Fitr. For the country-wide picture, see our general guide to travelling in Morocco during Ramadan.
11 things to do
Casablanca
Casablanca is not a city of riads and rose petals. It is a big, modern Atlantic port, and the best of it for a couple is the sea at sunset, the Hassan II Mosque on its promontory, a private hammam in a hotel spa, a good dinner and a day down the coast. This guide picks those out, points you to our separate guides for restaurants, hotels and Rick's Café, and covers the practical side: affection in public, hotel rules for couples, and planning a proposal or honeymoon.
11 things to do
Casablanca
This guide is for visitors who use a wheelchair, walk with a stick or frame, or tire easily. It covers the airport, the tram, trains, taxis, the main sights, pavements and hotels. We have only included what we could check in published sources, and each one is listed at the end. Where we could not find a reliable answer, we say so. Things change, so confirm anything important with the operator before you travel, and tell us what you need: we will tell you honestly what we can and cannot arrange.
11 things to do
Casablanca
Once you have seen the Hassan II Mosque and walked the Art Deco centre, Casablanca still has a good deal most visitors miss: 1950s housing that architects still study, a prehistoric site on the edge of Aïn Diab, Morocco's tallest lighthouse, and buildings waiting to be brought back to life. This page covers those. Some places are covered in full elsewhere on this site: the Abderrahman Slaoui Foundation Museum is in our museums guide, the stained glass of Notre-Dame-de-Lourdes has its own page, Bouskoura forest is in our parks guide, and Derb Ghallef is in our markets guide.
10 things to do
Casablanca
Casablanca is a city of big sea light, white Art Deco facades and one very large mosque on the water. This page covers where to stand and when: the Hassan II Mosque from the plaza and from the shore, the downtown squares and boulevards, the Habous quarter, the old medina and the Sqala, El Hank, the Corniche and Aïn Diab, the Sidi Abderrahmane islet, the business towers and the tram. It also covers the rules: asking before you photograph people, sensitive sites, Morocco's ban on bringing in drones, and prayer times and Ramadan at the mosques. For camera advice across the country, see our general Morocco photography guide.
18 things to do
Casablanca
Casablanca is not Morocco's main craft city, and much of what you see in its shops is made elsewhere in the country, or outside it. That makes it worth knowing what you are looking at. This page covers where to buy crafts in the city, from the Quartier Habous to a fixed-price craft centre, the old medina and the Marché Central; what is genuinely Moroccan-made; how to buy argan oil, ceramics, leather, babouches, rugs, spices and tea sets; and how to get them home. For the markets themselves, and for designer shopping, see our markets and luxury shopping guides. We take no commission from any shop.
13 things to do
Casablanca
Eid al-Adha, the Feast of the Sacrifice, is known in Morocco as Aïd el-Kébir or L'Aïd Lkbir, the big Eid. Many families buy a sheep and sacrifice it on the morning of Eid, and much of Casablanca empties as people travel home to their families. This page covers the expected 2027 date and how Morocco confirms it, the days off, what closes and for how long, trains and buses, the sheep and the sacrifice, the 2025 appeal not to sacrifice, and how to be a considerate guest. For Ramadan and Eid al-Fitr, see our Ramadan in Casablanca page.
12 things to do
Casablanca
Casablanca's top hotels sit in three places: on the Atlantic at Ain Diab and the Corniche, in the Art Deco downtown near the port and the old medina, and in the business district around Maarif and the Twin Center. This guide names the luxury and boutique hotels we could verify as open in 2026, says who each suits, and covers the honest answer on riads, hotel spas and getting there from Mohammed V Airport (CMN). We have no partner hotels and take no commission; check rates and availability with the hotel.
12 things to do
Casablanca
Casablanca is Morocco's shopping capital, and the smart end of it is spread across a few districts rather than one street: Maarif and Racine for boutiques and designer labels, Gauthier and the Boulevard d'Anfa for a slower browse, the Twin Center, and the big malls on the Corniche, Morocco Mall and Anfa Place. It is also the place to have a caftan made by a Moroccan couturier. Here is where to go and how to plan a shopping day. We take no commission from any shop named here.
11 things to do
Casablanca
Casablanca has Morocco's most varied restaurant scene, and its best tables are found in three places: a few chef-led restaurants near the ocean in Anfa and Ain Diab, the luxury hotels, and the old seafront addresses along the Corniche. For a drink with a view, the rooftops of the new hotels have taken over from the old sky bars. This guide names places we could verify in 2026, with the source for each. We take no commission from any of them.
10 things to do
Casablanca
The most comfortable way to see Casablanca is with your own driver and guide: a private air-conditioned car that collects you from your hotel, the airport or the cruise port, a guide who speaks English or French, and a day planned around what you want rather than a coach timetable. This page shows how such a day fits together, from the Hassan II Mosque to a rooftop lunch, the smart shopping districts, a hotel spa and dinner on the Corniche. Every day is priced for you, with a fixed quote in writing.
10 things to do
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