CASABLANCA:
The city of Casablanca desert tours was founded around the year 1770, after the Portuguese settlement, which the Portuguese called Casa Branca, was destroyed by an earthquake. After the reconstruction of the city, the city was called Dar El Beida, an Arabic translation of the Portuguese name “The White House”. Later this was translated by the Spaniards back to present-day Casablanca. The city has grown from a small village to a metropolis with nearly four million inhabitants and 70 kilometers of coast.
With Air Arabia, you fly directly from Brussels for € 49 per person one way to Casablanca. If you go by the guidebooks, it is a place to skip. However, Casablanca has a number of places worth visiting and is a very convenient and inexpensive starting place to start your journey through Morocco Sahara trips. The culture shock on arrival in Casablanca will be less than in, for example, Marrakech. The city is a mix of the east and the west. A lot of work has been done to improve the infrastructure to make it easy to travel around the city.
PLACES OF INTEREST IN CASABLANCA
HASSAN II MOSQUE
Casablanca has a number of tourist highlights, of which the Hassan II mosque is literally and figuratively the largest. In 1986, the previous king of Tours around Morocco commissioned the construction of a modern, new mosque. The Hassan || mosque even has a roof like the Amsterdam Arena, which can be opened and closed.
No expense or effort was spared in the construction. It is the third-largest mosque in the world, only the Al Masjid al-Haram in Mecca and the Masjib an-Nabawi in Medina are larger. The marble floor can accommodate 25,000 people and the outside can accommodate 85,000 people. The 210 meter minaret is the highest minaret. You can also visit two traditional hammams. Every day you can visit the mosque four times with a guide. This is also the only way to visit the mosque. The first tour starts at 9:00 am, the next at 10:00 AM, 11:00 AM and 2:00 PM. There are no tours on Fridays. Entrance to the mosque costs 120 dirhams and 60 dirhams for students. So don’t forget your student card.
THE OLD MEDINA
The first medina (city center) to be built is called the medina. When multiple city centers are being built, it is often referred to as the nouvelle medina. The name might mislead you a bit, you won’t find a real Moroccan souk here. It is the old town of Casablanca Moroccan Desert Tours, where most of the people now live. Here you will not find souvenirs, but shops with cheap shoes and clothing. It is nice to wander through this medina when you want to see how the inhabitants of Casablanca live. Please note, they do not all like to have their picture taken!
It’s nice to stay in the old medinas, because that’s where it happens. As much of the old atmosphere as possible has been preserved during the restoration of buildings. It is not advisable to wander alone through the medina at night as the place is ideal for pickpockets. It’s good to watch your belongings. Sqala is located on the north side of the medina, towards the sea. The sea once reached this old wall, hence the cannons on the bastion.
BOULEVARD DE LA CORNICHE
A nice boulevard by the sea with nice bars and clubs in Casablanca is the Boulevard de la Corniche. This boulevard is located west of the old Medina, on the Atlantic Ocean.
Here you can enjoy a drink in one of the bars overlooking the sea. From the Hassan II Mosque it is about half an hour’s walk to the Boulevard de la Corniche. In the summer it is very busy here with sun worshipers and young Casablancans who come to see and be seen. In the spring, however, it is quiet and a nice place to get a breath of fresh air. If you love oysters and other fish dishes, you can visit restaurant La Mer, which is located on the boulevard and overlooks the Atlantic Ocean.
THE HABOUS DISTRICT
A neighborhood with nice shops is the Quartier Habous. This district most resembles a small souk as you see it so much in Morocco. You can buy the usual souvenirs such as tagines, leather bags and jewelery. In this district is also the royal palace, which unfortunately you are not allowed to enter as a (regular) visitor. You can take a look at the Mahakma du Pasha. Mahakma du Pasha is a typical Moroccan mosaic and wood decorated Town Hall with orange trees in the courtyard. It is very quiet and beautiful here if you want to visit an authentic building. The Habous district is located southeast of the old medina.
CENTRAL MARKET
The central market is located southeast of the old medina, south of the street of expensive hotels (Ave des FAR). This is a nice market where a lot of fish, fruit, herbs, olives and wicker baskets are sold. You can buy a beautiful wicker beach bag with leather handles for less than three euros! A little haggling is of course part of it.
HOTEL KENZI TOWER
Pricey, but an experience in itself, is spending the night or having a drink in Hotel Kenzi Tower; one of the two towers of the Casablanca Twin Center. This is a 28-storey hotel that literally towers above the rest of the city. From the bar and restaurant on the top floors you have a beautiful view of the entire city, including of course the sea, the Hassan II Mosque and the harbor. A drink will cost you a fortune, but the view is worth something!
HAMMAMS
Just like in any Moroccan city, there are many hammams in Casablanca where you can go for a scrub or a nice massage. The traditional hammam Ziani offers massages for around five euros. A petit taxi can take you there. The address is Rue Abou Rakrak 59. There are many more modern hammams. Often these hammams even have Jacuzzis and you can usually also exercise.
RICK’S CAFE
Set against the walls of the old medina, this famous restaurant has been recreated in detail from the movie Casablanca. As soon as you enter the restaurant, you can taste the atmosphere of the film (which can also be seen continuously in the restaurant). The restaurant was set up by a diplomat (Kathy Kriger) who resigned after the attacks on the World Trade Center because she no longer agreed with George W. Bush’s policies and the negative signal sent to all Arab countries.
Kathy was very satisfied with her life in Morocco and therefore came up with the idea of Rick’s cafe from the movie Casablanca. An e-mail to friends about these plans resulted in many enthusiastic responses so that the plan has actually been implemented. Details from the film can be found throughout the restaurant; the roulette table, the chips on number 21, the atmosphere, and the piano music.
TRIPS OUTSIDE OF CASABLANCA
EL JADIDA
The town of El Jadida is about an hour and a half from Casablanca. In the summer the town is frequented by holidaying Moroccans, but outside the summer months, it is a good place to find peace. The city was in Portuguese hands from the 16th to the mid-18th century. The old Portuguese city is the main attraction. You can walk through the small streets with shops and visit Citerne Portugaise. This is a large underground water storage facility that used to supply the city with water. You can look in here for 20 dirhams.
Outside again you can walk the walls of the old town, overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. From here you have a good view over the harbor, where numerous (sometimes half-wrecked) boats lie together. When you go back to Casablanca, you will pass a beach with a boulevard where you can sit for a while and watch people. There is a lot of football, talking and walking on the beach.
TRANSPORT TO AND FROM CASABLANCA
AIRPORT
Casablanca has a large airport: Mohammed V international airport with a train station. The Casa Port station is the closest to the city center. Trains don’t stop here as often as at the Casablanca Voyageurs station. It is most convenient to travel to one of these stations. From Casablanca Voyageurs station you can take a petit taxi or the tram to the city center. A grand taxi that goes from the city to the airport and vice versa costs about 300 dirhams 3 days desert tour from Marrakech to Fes.
TAXIS
In Morocco, there are petit taxis and grand taxis . A petit taxi takes a maximum of three passengers and stays in one city. Grand taxis carry a maximum of six people and drive between cities. The large taxis are not intended for short journeys and vice versa. In Casablanca, petit taxis are red and grand taxis are white. This way you can easily recognize them.
TRAIN
The large station Casablanca Voyageurs is accessible from the city center by bus, petit taxi, and tram. The Casa Port station is within walking distance from the center. Most trains stop at Casablanca Voyageurs station, including to and from Fes , Essaouira , Agadir, Chefchaouen, Marrakesh , Meknes and El-Jadida. Check the website of the Moroccan railways for departure and arrival times, travel time, and rates .
BUS
A cheaper, but often slower mode of transport than the train, is the bus. The bus company CTM Services runs to almost all Moroccan cities. The CTM bus station is close to the Marché Centrale tram stop. Other buses leave from the Ouled Ziane bus station. This bus station is accessible by bus (you can get on at Avenue Mohammed V) or by a petit taxi. The other major provider of bus rides is Supratours Services, which is part of the Moroccan railways. Train journeys and bus journeys from Supratours are usually the easiest to combine.
RENT A CAR
If you’d rather drive yourself than let taxis and public transport do it, that’s possible. You can rent a car and cross the country with it.
If you want more information about Casablanca, you can take a look at the Morocco traffic office.
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