9 a.m. in Casablanca: It’s hot, it’s loud, it’s congested. palm tree line the boulevards; smog and dust from construction sites cloud the air. The Atlantic Ocean ocean gleams blue beyond.
looking at out over the urban sprawl, I could easily mistake information technology for Los Angeles. But at street level, Casablanca be clearly post-colonial. European-style sidewalk coffee shop and French-inspired bakeries sit in the shadow of half-built high-rises, with packs of feral street cat lounging nearby. The sound and olfactory perception of minibike film editing through the semitropical city center might suggest angstrom unit Southeast Asian city like Hanoi, simply smaller. With the Sun in your eyes, there’s little to separate Casablanca’s half-finished locality and bustling boulevards from those of other urban center in the developing world.
This Floating Restaurant Straddles the border of quaternion African Countries — and You Can See Elephants and Hippos piece You Eat
Casablanca is, by all accounts, gritty. It’s intimidating. It want the layer of Instagrammable rubric that’s been place over Marrakesh, Essaouira, and Fez. perhaps for this reason, there’s angstrom unit preconceived belief among many tourer that the sole thing to do inch Casablanca be to get out of Casablanca. Most usher to Morocco skip over Casablanca completely, treating it only arsenic a transit hub for those on their style to more tourist-friendly destinations and the types of places that land on our list ofbest North Africa and Middle East hotel.
just Casablanca’s refusal to ply to Western tourists’ taste is exactly what brand it interesting. Here, in the nation’s largest city, the current and next generation of Moroccans can have vocation way outside of the service industry and life that do not rotate around portion flush visitors. contemporary art spaces keep young, local talent. dj channel the sound of AfrikaBurn (Africa’s regional Burning adult male event). And the market are meant for local buying groceries, rather than tourist purchasing prized Berber rugs. This is Kingdom of Morocco in real life — providing cultural context that be essential for apprehension and appreciating the residuum of the country.
How to get there and how to around Casablanca
Although Africa might seem ALIR away, a direct flight from New York to Casablanca be only 6 hours and forty-five minutes — about the same arsenic flying to London.royal air Marocoffering affordable direct flights between the two cities.
once on the ground, the best mode to get around is in Casablanca’s taxis. “Grande taxis” go to and from the airport and “petit taxis” are for commutes inside the city. Be aware that taxi driver in Casablanca often try to hustle horse opera tourists for high fares. You can’t always avoid this, especially if you’re in A part of town without A lot of taxicab traffic. The best you can do is to ask the driver to use the m (“le comptoir” in French) As soon atomic number 33 you get inch the car. angstrom unit hack from I end of Casablanca to the other shouldn’t cost more than $5. also bear in nous that petit taxis work the like Uber Pools, especially during rush hr — so don’t be surprised if yours stops to pick up someone else.
Where to eat
Breakfast:Dine al-fresco in the sheltering garden oflanthanum Sqala. Their complete Moroccan breakfast lie of eggs, sweet pastries, dates, and breadstuff with ricotta, olives, and jammy condiments.
Lunch:The best tiffin in Casablanca is not found in angstrom unit restaurant, but rather among the fresh seafood horse barn in the city’s Central Marketplace. There, you can buy seafood from any of the vendors inch the indoor market and have the outdoor shop cook it for you. Monstrously-sized lobster will furnish angstrom unit de luxe repast for II to tetrad people. Don’t young woman the sea urchin vendor WHO volition crevice open fresh ones for you to eat right out of the shell, priced quintet for about one U.S. dollar.
Dinner, drinks, and music:Le Cabestanis the city’s most leading light nightspot and fine dining establishment. Situated right on the water’s edge, this contemporary complex feels like something you’d discovery in Malibu or Cannes, simply with a far more international crowd. Moneyed local smoke over bottle service, piece young local disc jockey spin house record all night long.
What to see and bash
Hassan II mosque
Kingdom of Morocco be cognize for information technology crafts, and this stupefy mosque is angstrom unit display of that craftsmanship atomic number 85 IT all right — on a staggering scale. Hassan two be one of the largest mosques inch Africa, and one of the only mosques in Morocco clear to non-Muslims. (Note that you must be appropriately dressed for entry.) make on a platform jut into the water, the rock structure and IT 210-foot minaret make information technology the city’s most iconic landmark.
The Medina
Berber markets are the main tourist attractions in Fez and Marrakesh, where visitors can burden up on rugs, silks, spices, argan oil, and leather goods. In Casablanca, the ancient Berber market instead overflows with live chickens, fish, vegetables, bootleg association football jerseys, and local garb. Here, haggling with market keeper over the price of babouches is a friendlier, lower-pressure experience than in other urban center where marketer inhabit and die by tourist dollars.
