About Our Trip

About Casablanca

Of all the cities in the entire world, Hollywood chose this one to immortalise as the classic exotic colonial outpost.

Casablanca is often called the "United States of Morocco" as if a thousand years of history had been brushed aside to let through a modern city.
With almost 4 million people, it is Africa's second largest city and only the small, walled medina still hints at the legend that celluloid once thrust upon her. 60% of Morocco's companies are based in Casablanca, including all those in the high-tech sector. The city consumes 30% of the nation's electricity and is the headquarters of practically all the major banks.
Casablanca is where everything happens. It has always been an avant-garde city, its strength lying in an ability to take advantage of advances made in technology and modernism, enriching them with the best of Moroccan tradition to create its own individual style.

This port city was deep in decline until the French decided to remodel it with wide boulevards, public parks and imposing Mauresque civic buildings. At the beginning of the century Casablanca had already adopted a plan of urban development to channel its extraordinary growth.
The centre of Casablanca is the hub of a series of spacious avenues spreading out in a star formation, each lined with elegant buildings that compose an admirable blend of Art Deco and Neo-Moorish styles, featuring cupolas, belvederes, columns, cedarwood balconies and turrets.

Casablanca's medina, or ancient quarter, is worth a look and the Hassan II Mosque here is one of the largest in the world. At the square known as the Place Mohammed V you'll find the country's most impressive examples of Mauresque architecture.

Since Casablanca has no natural harbour, the fantastic 3180 metres long Moulay Youssef jetty was constructed to create Morocco's premier port and the fourth in Africa.