1 Day trip from Marrakech to Casablanca

1 Day trip from Marrakech to Casablanca Itinerary:

You can start your day by having some croissants and coffee at Parc de La Ligue Arabe. There are plenty of cafes that you can choose from in this garden. You will definitely enjoy the view thereof its avenues lined with Ficus, pergolas, flower beds, arcades, and palm trees that are really tall.

The journey heads north towards the old medina. You will be moving through the focal points of the new town in Casa called Ville Nouvelle. These points of interest are Place Des Nations Unions and Place Mohammed V with its French architecture where Moorish design complements it beautifully. In the United Nations Square, you can enjoy the monumental fountain.

The next interesting place is the art deco district. There are the popular famous clock towers, Moretti’s eleven-story apartment block, the tall Art Deco buildings, and Art Deco hotels. You will then visit the residential blocks that are famous in this city: Asayag, Bessonneau, and Glaoui. You can also go to the Avenue des Forces Royal. This is a commercial area that will lead you to the old medina. You will see the craftsmen and jewelers. Later, you will visit a shrine nearby where the tomb of Sidi Allal El-Kairouan is located.

You will then have lunch in Corniche then visit the Mosque of Hassan II. This building ranks the biggest mosque in Africa and is the 7th largest in the world. The mosque is open to everyone, including non-Muslims

After the Mosque Tour, you can now proceed to the new Medina or better known as Ville Nouvelle. You can shop there for an hour if you wish as we have enough time.

You will end your day and your tour also in the Parc de la Ligue Arabe. This is the largest public park in the city previously known as Lyautev. At the edge of this site is the Church of the Sacred Heart. Later becoming a cultural center open to visitors, it is a beautiful view that captures the Mauresque architecture. There we are at the end of your Casablanca journey. We drive back to Marrakesh and drop you off at your accommodation.

Casablanca

In Arabic, the city is called Dar el Baida which means “white house”. That’s what the Portuguese called the city when they came here in the 16th century: Casa Branca. In the 18th century, Spain took over the concession and renamed it Casablanca.

Casablanca, the rapidly growing economic capital, but also an international metropolis whose development is inextricably linked to port activities, now occupies an important place in the business world. The foundation of this city dates back to the 10th century BC. The town’s first inhabitants were Berber fishermen. Hundreds of years later, the Phoenicians turned it into a port, stopping on the way to Essaouira. Afterward, the Romans settled here.

From the 12th century, historians talk about the port of Anfa, which was a magnet for travelers from the neighboring regions. Via Anfa the population came into contact with Europe and the surpluses of grain, wool, beeswax, and oil production could be exported. Of course, only souvenirs from the past were kept, but today Casablanca is the model for the entire kingdom, which is rapidly progressing on the way of progress and modernism.

The colonial city

When the French landed in Casablanca in 1907, there were barely 20,000 people living there. The spacious colonial city that they built is intersected by stately boulevards and has the Place des Nations Unies as its center. A large ensemble of public buildings combines European and Moorish elements in a style called Mauresque. The builders could not resist the temptation to crown the city hall with its arcades with a bell tower, which would look better on a station.

Casablanca’s old medina

Once you are in the old walled city, everything is self-explanatory. The town is small enough not to get lost, the streets are relatively wide, and the merchants are generally not pushy. If you haven’t come to the market for textiles or spices, then meander through the tempting food stalls.

Hassan II Mosque

The most visited highlight of Casablanca is the Hassan II Mosque with its large minaret of 200 meters high. You cannot miss this mosque, located on the Atlantic coast of Casa. The Hassan II Mosque dominates the skyline of sea and land, day and night when illuminated by a laser beam. The Mega Mosque, as it is called, is one of the largest mosques in the world: the prayer hall is the size of four football fields and 80,000 worshipers can easily find a seat on the esplanade outside. The architect Michel Pinseau is French. Thousands of Moroccan craftsmen created the impressive details of this monument that imposes spirituality on the bustling trading city.

Ain Diab

The other side of the big city life is beyond the harbor, the old medina, and the huge new mosque in the suburb of Ain Diab. The coastal road leads to a series of luxury hotels, clubs, and oceanfront resorts. This is where the residents of Casablanca go in summer to escape the heat.

 1 Day trip from Marrakech to Casablanca prices

The Price of the trip Includes

• The price of the trip includes a vehicle, driver/guide, and a certificated city guide.
• The costs of the visit to the monuments, lunch, and drinks are not included.