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.

Understand
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.

During World War II in Africa, Morocco became part of Vichy France, a non-belligerent puppet state of Germany. Casablanca became a haven for spies, as well as well-off Europeans who wanted to escape the war, with a prospect to flee to the New World. The 1942 film Casablanca presented the intrigues of the city in a romanticized manner.

Morocco gained independence in 1956, and Casablanca is now Morocco's largest city with a population of almost 4 million. It has the world's largest artificial port, but no ferry service of any kind. Casablanca is also the most liberal and progressive of Morocco's cities. Young men flirt brazenly with scantily-clad women, designer labels are the norm in the chic, beachfront neighbourhood of 'Ain Diab and many young Moroccans speak to each other in a mix of Arabic and French.

But not everyone is living the Casablancan dream. Tens of thousands of rural Moroccans who fled the drought-ravaged interior to find work in the city are struggling under high unemployment rates and expensive housing. The poverty, prevalent in slums on the city's outskirts, has led to high rates of crime, drug use, prostitution and the rise of Islamism.

Casablanca is a mixed bag of Moroccan extremes.

By plane
Casablanca'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.

Getting there/away:


 * The only available public transport is train, departures are every hour, journey time 45 min, 70/50 dirham for 1/2 class (as of Jan 2023). Operating hours: 3:00 - 22:00 for departures from the city and 04:00 to 23:45 for departures from the airport; trains leave at 50 minutes past the hour. The train schedule is available at the ONCF website.


 * Taxi, the fare to Casablanca is 280 dirham (as of Nov 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.

By train
The most convenient way to reach major Moroccan cities is by train. Trains are divided into first and second-class compartments; the first-class ones generally cost an extra 50%, but have more room and guarantee a seat. In case of boarding second-class compartments and not finding available seats, head to first class and pay the difference to the ticket collector.

Casa Port station is closer to the center but it serves only a couple of trains, while the main station is Casa Voyageurs. It has trains to Meknes/Fez/Oujda, Marrakech or Tangier with stops in between. Trains for Rabat leave half-hourly. The trains are comfortable with boards displaying the time of departure/arrival. ONCF site for checking the schedule.



By bus
CTM and other private companies run services to most Moroccan cities as well as a number of European cities: Other longer-distance routes exist (sometimes overnight) from Meknes, Fez, Ouarzazate.
 * Marrakech – every 1-2 hr, 4 hr, 80-95 dirham.
 * Essaouira – 3-4 buses per day, 6-7 hr, CTM 140 dirham / regular 110 dirham.
 * El Jadida – hourly, 1½ hr, 25 dirham.
 * Rabat – at least hourly, 1½ hr, 30-40 dirham.


 * Getting there/away: Gare Routière is on the outskirts of the city. Local buses are obscure and unreliable, buses #10 and #11 supposedly run there. A taxi from downtown (or Casa Voyageurs) should cost no more than 12 dirham, although you may have a hard time getting this fare (especially from downtown). There is a grand taxi rank about 200 m south of Place des Nations Unies, get there for 6 dirham per person.
 * Getting there/away: Gare Routière is on the outskirts of the city. Local buses are obscure and unreliable, buses #10 and #11 supposedly run there. A taxi from downtown (or Casa Voyageurs) should cost no more than 12 dirham, although you may have a hard time getting this fare (especially from downtown). There is a grand taxi rank about 200 m south of Place des Nations Unies, get there for 6 dirham per person.
 * Getting there/away: Gare Routière is on the outskirts of the city. Local buses are obscure and unreliable, buses #10 and #11 supposedly run there. A taxi from downtown (or Casa Voyageurs) should cost no more than 12 dirham, although you may have a hard time getting this fare (especially from downtown). There is a grand taxi rank about 200 m south of Place des Nations Unies, get there for 6 dirham per person.

By car
There is a well maintained toll that runs from Tangier to El Jadida, passing through Casablanca and Rabat.

The minimum driving age in Casablanca is 21. Always carry your driver's licence and passport while driving. Avoid driving if possible: car rental prices are high as is the accident rate. If you are leaving Casablanca by car, make sure to fill up in the city. Gas/petrol stations becomes scarce outside Casablanca.

Get 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.

By tram


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. Further information including the network ("réseau") and schedule ("horaires") is available in French and Arabic on the Casa Tramway website.

By train
The Al Bidaoui service (i.e. airport service) also has some stops in the city, although they are spaced out much further from each other compared to the tram.

By bus
Many bus companies run through the city, the bus routes are the same for a given number, although the route remains completely unclear (Google maps has some bus stops for Casa though).

Going by bus is the cheapest way to get around (5 dirham) but some companies such as Hana Bus have vehicles in a disastrous state. It could be worth taking the chance given the cost-saving and experience of what many locals experience, but watch out for pickpockets.

By taxi
All taxis red in colour, drivers know how to get to every single place in every single guide book, even if you tell them just "the restaurant on Blvd. Hassan II." Check the meter is running to avoid being overcharged at the end of the trip. Don't be surprised if the taxi stops to pick someone else up. The minimum fare is 7 dirham. White "grand taxis" are another local alternative. They have a defined itinerary so you should know in which station you should take it depending on your destination (ask locals, they will inform you easily). They only leaves when they are full, which means two people on the passenger seat and four people in the back, so expect to be packed likes sardines. However, it is cheaper than the red taxi, especially for longer distances.

See
Almost all of the things to see in Casablanca are in the north of the city; very few maps even show the southern end of this sprawling metropolis.





Art galleries (commercial - they live off earnings they make by selling art, and you can usually enter for free):

Do

 * Hammam (Turkish baths):
 * Football:

Buy

 * Casablanca is one of the least interesting places to shop in Morocco. Around the old Medina it's easy to find places selling traditional Moroccan goods, such as tagines, pottery, leather goods, hookahs and a whole spectrum of knicknacks, but it's all for the tourists. Much better to wait until you're in Fes and can bargain with someone who sells things to both Moroccans and tourists.
 * The Maarif neighbourhood (near the twin centre, around Boulevard al Massira al Khadra) has many name-brand European and American fashion chains, such as Zara. Designer glasses, leather shoes, and "genuine" belts, bags, and shirts can be had at bargain prices.
 * The Derb Ghalef neighbourhood has a huge souq that is not for the faint of heart. A cluster of small shanties, each one is loaded with "genuine" mobile phones, "genuine" watches and "genuine" "brand name" clothing. The shops are separated by alleys no more than three feet wide, some of which double as drainage ditches. There are numerous fruit smoothie stands in the centre, which make a good spot for regrouping and planning your excursion. The stall owners are, of course, kings of negotiating, and without a good grasp on Arabic and a strong backbone, you're likely to pay well over the going rate for anything.
 * People interested in art find a decent amount of art galleries (the renowned galleries can be found in the "See" section).
 * People interested in art find a decent amount of art galleries (the renowned galleries can be found in the "See" section).

Eat
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.

Drink
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.



Connect
Unsurprisingly, all three Moroccan mobile operators (Inwi, Orange, and Maroc Telecom) are available in Casablanca.

Internet


 * Internet access is available in cyber cafes around the city. Service is usually around per hour.
 * Many hotels and cafes have wifi.
 * Mobile monthly plans usually start from 50 dirham, which includes 5GB.

Stay safe
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&mdash;hide your valuables!

Cope
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. If even the trappings of Moroccan culture such as these are too much for you, any hotel bar or restaurant is going to be just like home for a few hours.

Consulates

 * 🇫🇷 France
 * 🇬🇷 Greece
 * 🇷🇴 Romania
 * 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
 * 🇺🇸 United States

Go next

 * Marrakech – 3 hr away by train which leave regularly (about 90 dirham).