Morocco’s economic capital boasts some outstanding tourist assets. Radiating out from its Old Medina are its European Art Deco district, its large Hassan II Mosque and a fine coast road looking out over the Atlantic.

Compared with Marrakech, Fez and Agadir, Casablanca is an increasingly popular tourist destination. The Old Medina, the historic centre of the town, enclosed within 16th century ramparts pierced through with large gateways, leads into a multitude of tiny, criss-crossing streets and shops, around the Skala bastion and Sidi Bou Smara Square. The European quarter is to the east of the city. With its tree-planted thoroughfares, it is reminiscent of the time of the French Protectorate, when architects endowed it with Art Deco edifices of monumental proportions, as you can see around Mohamed V square and along Hassan II Avenue. The Quartier des Habous is also a delightful spot. It is a ‘new’ medina, built by architects at the beginning of the 20th century and is a collection of tiny squares and streets, stone arcades and souvenir shops. When you have strolled through Arab League Park and discovered the Twin Towers of Twin Center, which symbolises the modern district of Maârif, an excellent shopping area, the other main attractions of the town are the sea front and its coast road. The Hassan Mosque is a new symbol of the town and stands by the sea shore. It was completed in 1993, and its 200m minaret is the highest in the world and no other mosque in the world, apart from those in Mecca and Medina, has a greater surface area. There is also the district of Ain Diab, on the shores of the Atlantic all along the coast road, which has a reputation for its beach and nightlife.