Casablanca Morocco 2022: Everything You Need To Know Before Visiting

Even though Casablanca might not be as touristy appealing as the atmospheric cities of Marrakesh, Fez, Meknes or Rabat, Casablanca or the white city has a lot to offer. First of all, Casablanca has grown to become one of Africa's largest cities. It's also the financial capital of Morocco and it has the fifth largest mosque in the world. One of my favorite things from Casablanca is that it's a coastal city so you get that ocean breeze despite the heat. We spent almost a month in Casablanca and I can say that it was one of my favorite travels this year. So let me walk you to the top things to do in Casablanca. Food. If you're planning your trip to Casablanca, I hope that it is because of the food because God knows you'll get delicious food there. I have never had food like this in my life before and I don't think I was going to unless I came here. We went to both Marrakesh and Casablanca but I think my favorite food was in Casablanca. However, overall the food in Morocco is so tasty and that is because Moroccan cuisine is a combination of Arab, Mediterranean, European, Berber which is an African origin and Andalusian which is Spanish origin. The spices that they use here, the way they cook things meticulously for hours, the mix of different temperatures and textures, the vegetables and the use of tropical products makes the Moroccan cuisine like no other. I want to emphasize that it's not only the Moroccan food that's good. Any food cooked here is so good. We went for American brunch one day and wow even that was fabulous but we are here to learn about Moroccan food so let's get into it. Couscous got to be the ultimate favorite Moroccan dish in Morocco. The locals love it. We met kids at the skate park and they all agreed that couscous was their favorite meal. It comes with a variety of vegetables and you can add meat or chicken. It has a very popular taste and it usually takes a whole morning to prepare this dish so you can imagine that is super flavorful. Tagine, one of my favorites and the second most famous dish in Morocco. The Moroccans use this super cute rounded clay covered pot where they cook the tagine. Apparently this pot makes the food cook perfectly as it softens up all of the food in a system that distributes the heat from the top to the whole pot. The process of cooking here can be long but absolutely worth it. The ingredients truly release their flavors onto the meat and vegetables and the result is food from heaven. My favorite tagine was at this restaurant called Dardada. I tried their lamb tagine that comes with apricots and prunes so it's a bit on the sweet side. There are other delicious variations that you can try that are salty but this particular one has a delicate taste that you can't miss. Minty, I read somewhere that this is like their Moroccan whiskey which is funny now that I think about it because yes groups of people gather and sit in cafeterias sipping on their mint tea and having deep conversations. Okay guys we're going to try the famous mint Moroccan tea for the first time and I heard it's very sweet but I asked uh no sweet so let's see it comes in this super cute teapot it's really hot it smells really good it smells like mint very minty and it has still like the particles of the leaves I don't know if you can see it there super fresh super tasty super good it's very concentrated yeah it definitely has a lot of mint oh super good it feels very healing I love it making good minty in Morocco is considered an art and I can confirm that it is amazing you gotta give it a try even if you're not a tea person. There are other Moroccan traditional foods which are a bit more exotic and that I can't pronounce very well some of these dishes are a bit rare like this one which consists on well salted dried meat and most of rest dishes consist of fresh salads legumes vegetables and bread all very healthy and delicious nothing like the American cuisine remember that they also have French influences so feel free to have all the croissants you want. Outdoors there is a lot of activity on the streets of Morocco it's funny because in many cities of the US or even in Europe you go out in the middle of the day and things are slowed down and quiet and it's at night when the party starts in Casablanca there's full-on activity at all times there are countless of outdoorsy cafeterias where people sit outside to people watch from the early morning people are walking selling hustling all day on the streets their central market is open from 8 30 a.m to 3 p.m and even after 3 there's still stuff going on over there if you have an adventurous and curious personality my advice to you is that you get lost in the streets go and explore you will easily get lost in time looking at people that look like characters from movies and in the culture that's probably very different from yours I had several moments of intense culture shock that taught me so much however do try to stay safe in the city and don't go on alleyways at night on the other hand if you are a more conservative traveler I think you may struggle here as I said there's a lot going on on the streets including bad smells dog poop messy stuff cockroaches and other things happening around you that may make you feel very uncomfortable so maybe it's best you get a tour guide and explore the city safely some outdoor places to visit include the central marketplace in the old city the Arab League park this is one of my favorite experiences the skate park Ratchidi the Mohammed square El Hank lighthouse and of course the beach visit the historical sites Casablanca is notable for its fascinating architecture I don't think the clips I have make it justice but being in this city is truly an honor I'm not saying this will give you a fancy or luxurious experience because it's not like that but there's something about these walls the history and the architecture that just makes the city look like the perfect setting for a film it's such a shame that the Casablanca movie was not even recorded here because it would have been more beautiful but anyways the architecture in the city is a combination of Marouche style and European deco beautiful places you can't miss include the Hassan second mosque which is the largest mosque in Morocco and the fifth largest mosque in the world Casablanca cathedral which is currently under construction but it's so pretty to look at anyways the architecture style for this one is neo-gothic with a hint of Moroccan muslim influence very very pretty the grand post located on place Mohammed V showcasing art deco interiors and an impressive facade there are other amazing buildings in this area so keep your eyes open the old clock tower standing just at the entrance of the old medina the clock tower was one of the first structures built by the French in Casablanca so it symbolizes the power the French had in the city back in the day the original tower was due for renewal around 1948 and it was rebuilt near the original location in 1993 with the same design the Mohammedi mosque this is quite an important monument in the city because it has a long history it was built in 1936 ad besides that the mosque holds a unique architectural style full of islamic decorations and unique inscriptions the royal palace which we could not see the day we went and what i'm reading on the internet is that you can't go at all these days but the rumors say that this is truly an epic place just from the outside you can feel the power that this piece of land holds and of course this is a there's also the iglis notredame de lourdes macama dupacha which is temporarily closed there are other historical landmarks that you can go and see so i hope you have fun i would like to add that besides the big important buildings as you walk around the old city walls forts and narrow alleyways you get a whole historic experience too so you don't need to go too far to get that feel enjoy it shopping there are many interesting and unique finds in casablanca like the famous aragon oil ceramics moroccan lamps leather goods perfumes copper articles jewelry painting rocks teapots cooking pots spices and clothes shopping is truly a highlight in many cities of morocco many moroccans work hard on the streets in order to make a living i was reading that the average waiter in morocco makes about 190 dollars a month when a single person estimated monthly cost of living is around 411.50 dollars without rent can you see the discrepancy here this is why moroccans have made their ways to the streets they know that they can make more money from tourists than they would from their employer so this is both good and bad good because some of them have actually make efforts to create beautiful art some of the locals have amazing skills and they make profit out of it and they deserve it but bad because some people take advantage of tourists and maybe i should say a lot therefore i'm going to give you some tips for when you go shopping do not let them fool you you gotta be an aggressive negotiator because they are aggressive and when i say aggressive i'm not only referring to their insisting technique to get you to buy things or pay for things you were not even aware you had to but they sometimes have an aggressive attitude so don't be scared they just tend to have a strong character learn to deal with the discomfort and walk away when necessary thankfully i'm a latina so it was easy for me to express my spiciness and it worked note this also applies to taxi drivers they will lie and be mad at you for not paying the price that they want you to but tell them they should stick to their meter otherwise you will call the police this is the legal thing they should do so when you say that they will probably leave you alone premeditate your price think of a reasonable price you should pay for your product and include the tip if you wish when you go out to the markets or for shopping bring the specific cash that you need or you plan to pay whatever happens do not turn down your offer if someone doesn't take it no worries keep walking there are plenty of people you can buy things from so keep looking don't let them scam you i had a friend paying five dollar taxis when in reality the cost should have been one dollar or less make time to get lost on the markets it's a whole world inside and they are fascinating however get lost on your own terms do not let the locals guide you because next thing you know you will be inside their stores being pressured to buy things you don't want to buy you can find goods in the malls as well but just know that they are pretty expensive and sometimes the malls don't have ac inside so we got to this mall we came because i thought it was a cool concept since it's next to the beach and a 20-minute walk from the amazing restaurant where we had dinner so i was like oh let's just walk it off but there's no ac on and it's not like it's cold here so i don't know that's a turn off so for that reason sometimes i'd rather be outdoors i missed the moroccan mall which is the biggest mall in africa so go visit it and let me know in the comments below how was it get to know the locals if you speak french or arabic you will have the greatest time getting to know the locals not everyone speaks english here guys but some people do especially the younger ones i found that the adults were more reserved and some of them a bit too gritty though most of them still have an amazing and genuine smile but anyways it's the moroccan kids that are the greatest kids of all times we went to a skate park just to hang out and the kids approached us to talk and get to know each other it was so much fun we also went to a random park one day and all the kids wanted to play with us and take pictures so these kids wanted to be on my youtube so here they are a round of applause for them learn the culture at least in my experience i felt very different in casablanca i barely saw any expats or tourists besides us and because of the difference in language way of dressing religion and even the way you carry yourself i felt odd you can totally tell that there's something bigger than you happening all around you and to me this is a valuable experience so my advice to you is observe the culture in play forget about the phone or the distractions and dedicate your time to really absorb everything you see some cultural things to keep in mind the official language is arab but they also speak french and berber and spanish and a mix of everything and sometimes they'll get mad at you for not speaking these languages so just be patient it is considered rude to refuse me as it plays an important part in the guest host relationship moroccans follow the principle of islam so every day you will hear the prayers around the city with a bigger prayer on fridays that involve people gathering on the streets to pray also consider to plan your trip outside their holidays so you can enjoy your vacation to the max my last day here was a day before eid and it wasn't pleasant to see them preparing their animals to be slaughtered on the streets the next day non-muslims aren't allowed in most mosques in morocco they do not eat pork if you're invited to tea please be nice and drink it food is such an important element of their culture knowing how to work their spices in the kitchen makes a great cook for the moroccans you may witness aggression towards women on the streets cafes are an important part of their day when you are inside the markets make sure to step aside especially if you hear them say balak if you are a female try to dress conservatively to avoid unwanted attention always have cash with you water is as expensive as alcohol if you go to a it can be hard to find alcohol and ask people before you take their photo in terms of places to stay in casa blanca we stayed in this great airbnb the host is really great and helpful so i recommend her however if you're going to be eating a lot i recommend you stay in gauthier district it's the perfect spot to just go downstairs and have a delicious variation of food guys this area around bondi cafe which is a place we have gone to like five times at least it's really awesome they have so many restaurants they have sushi they have thai food they have greek food brunch foods coffee shops it's really cool i think that if you're staying long term you should definitely look up this area and stay around here well guys i think that is my complete guide and tips on how to get around casa blanca i hope you enjoyed it and i'll see you in another city around the world very soon have a good day