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Budget Guide
12 Free Things to Do in Casablanca
Morocco's biggest city for free: Art Deco architecture walks, Hassan II Mosque esplanade, Corniche beach, Old Medina lanes, and Africa's most cosmopolitan cityscape.
1
Hassan II Mosque Exterior
FREE Any time (best: sunset)
The Hassan II Mosque is the largest in Africa and the 5th largest in the world — the minaret is 210m tall (visible from across the city). The interior requires a guided tour (130 MAD), but the exterior and surrounding esplanade are free and spectacular. The mosque sits on a platform extending over the Atlantic Ocean — waves crash beneath it. The scale is genuinely awe-inspiring. At sunset, the white marble and green tile glow golden. The esplanade is a popular gathering spot for locals — families, couples, fishermen. Photography from outside is free and unlimited.
Tip: Visit at sunset when the white marble turns golden — the best photos are from the southern approach showing the mosque against the Atlantic
2
Art Deco Architecture Walk
FREE Any time (best: morning light)
Casablanca has the largest collection of Art Deco architecture in Africa — and possibly the most underappreciated in the world. The downtown core (between Place Mohammed V and the port) is packed with extraordinary 1920s–1940s buildings: curved facades, geometric motifs, wrought-iron balconies, and Moroccan-Deco hybrid ornament. Free to walk and admire. Key buildings: the Cinema Rialto, the Banque du Maroc, the Central Post Office, the Bessoneau Building, and dozens of residential blocks. The style blends French Art Deco with Islamic patterns in ways unique to Casablanca.
Tip: Start at Place Mohammed V and walk toward Boulevard Mohammed V — the density of beautiful facades is extraordinary on every block
3
Corniche Beach & Boardwalk
FREE Any time
The Corniche — Casablanca's Atlantic-facing boardwalk and beach strip — is free and stretches for several kilometres. The beach is sandy and popular with locals (swimming is possible but Atlantic currents can be strong). The boardwalk is a pleasant walk with ocean views, fishermen, and joggers. The Ain Diab area at the western end has the best beach. Sunset over the Atlantic from the Corniche is free and beautiful. The seafood restaurants along the Corniche are affordable by Casablanca standards. Football on the beach at low tide is a Casablanca institution.
Tip: Walk west from the Hassan II Mosque along the Corniche to Ain Diab beach — the 3km walk has Atlantic views the entire way
4
Old Medina Exploration
FREE 9 AM – 6 PM
Casablanca's Old Medina is compact, manageable, and free to walk. It's far less touristic than Fes or Marrakech — this is a working medina where locals shop for everyday goods. The lanes sell textiles, leather, spices, electronics, and household items at genuine local prices. The architecture is more colonial-era than ancient (much was rebuilt in the early 20th century), but the atmosphere is authentic. The Sqala — a restored 18th-century Portuguese fortification on the medina's edge — has a café with ocean views.
Tip: Enter from Bab Marrakech (the main gate) and walk through to the Sqala — the route takes 20 minutes and shows you the best of the medina
5
Habous Quarter (New Medina)
FREE 9 AM – 6 PM
The Habous Quarter — built in the 1920s–1930s by French urban planners who tried to create an "ideal" Moroccan medina — is free to explore and genuinely charming. The streets are clean, well-organized, and filled with craft shops, patisseries, and bookshops. The Pâtisserie Bennis (a Casablanca institution since 1960) is here. The Royal Palace exterior is nearby (free to photograph from outside). The Habous Mosque has beautiful tile work visible from the street. The quarter feels like a curated museum of Moroccan craft and architecture — but it's a living neighbourhood.
Tip: Visit Pâtisserie Bennis for cornes de gazelle (almond pastries) — at 3 MAD each, they're one of the city's best bargains
6
Place Mohammed V & Civic Centre
FREE Any time
Place Mohammed V is the civic heart of Casablanca and Morocco — the country's administrative buildings, courts, and government offices surround this grand square. Free to walk and admire. The buildings are a unique blend of French civic architecture and Moroccan ornament: the Wilaya (Prefecture), the Court of Justice, and the French Consulate are all architecturally significant. The square has fountains, gardens, and pigeons. At night, the buildings are illuminated. The place has an almost European grandeur that surprises visitors expecting only medinas and souks.
Tip: The interior of the Post Office (open during business hours) has extraordinary Moroccan-Art Deco ceiling decoration — free to walk in and admire
7
Central Market Experience
FREE 7 AM – 2 PM (best: morning)
The Marché Central (Central Market) — near Boulevard Mohammed V — is free to walk through and is one of Casablanca's most vibrant experiences. The fish section is spectacular: Atlantic fish piled on ice, fishmongers shouting prices, the chaos of the morning auction. The produce section has seasonal fruits and vegetables at local prices. The flower section is colourful and fragrant. The market has been Casablanca's culinary heart since the French built it in the 1920s. Even if you don't buy, the atmosphere is electric.
Tip: The fish auction (7–9 AM) is the most exciting — the bidding is fast and theatrical
8
Street Art in Maarif District
FREE Any time
Casablanca's growing street art scene — concentrated in the Maarif and Gauthier districts — is free to discover on foot. International and Moroccan artists have painted large-scale murals on apartment buildings, parking garages, and commercial walls. The art reflects Casablanca's themes: modernity, identity, migration, and the tension between tradition and progress. Several festivals (including Sbagha Bagha) have left permanent murals. The contrast between street art and Art Deco facades is quintessentially Casablanca — a city constantly reinventing itself.
Tip: The Maarif district between Rue Normandie and Boulevard Bir Anzarane has the highest concentration of murals
9
Rick's Café Exterior & Film Walk
FREE Any time
While eating inside Rick's Café costs money (it's a real restaurant recreating the film set from "Casablanca"), the exterior and the atmosphere of the surrounding area are free. The café is in the Old Medina, set in a restored courtyard house. Walking the area and photographing the entrance costs nothing. The wider "Casablanca film walk" is also free — Boulevard Mohammed V, the port, and the downtown core were the real settings that inspired the 1942 film (which was actually filmed entirely in Hollywood — but the real city is more interesting than the movie set).
Tip: The best photo of Rick's Café is from across the street — the arched doorway and signage are the most recognizable elements
10
Parc de la Ligue Arabe
FREE Any time
The largest urban park in Casablanca — designed by French landscape architect Albert Laprade in the 1920s — is free and offers welcome green space in the city centre. Palm-lined avenues, fountains, flower gardens, and wide lawns. The park connects the downtown core to the Sacré-Coeur Cathedral (now a cultural centre — free to photograph from outside). Locals jog, families picnic, and couples stroll. The park is especially pleasant in the early morning and late afternoon when the heat drops. The cathedral at the park's southern end is a striking white Art Deco building.
Tip: Walk through the park from Place Mohammed V to the Cathedral — the avenue of palm trees is the most photogenic route
11
Sunset at Phare d'El Hank
FREE 5 PM – sunset
The El Hank lighthouse (Phare d'El Hank) — on the western headland near the Hassan II Mosque — is free to visit from outside and offers one of Casablanca's best sunset viewpoints. The rocky headland extends into the Atlantic with views of the mosque to the east and the open ocean to the west. Local fishermen cast from the rocks. The lighthouse (built 1920) is Casablanca's tallest lighthouse at 50m. The surrounding area is popular with couples and families at sunset. The walk from the Hassan II Mosque to the lighthouse takes 15 minutes along the coast.
Tip: Walk along the rocky coastline from the mosque to the lighthouse — the spray from the Atlantic waves is dramatic in winter
12
Tram Ride Through the City
FREE Any time
Casablanca's modern tramway — while not free (7 MAD per ride) — is essentially a city tour for pocket change. Line T1 runs from Ain Diab (beach) through the city centre, past Place Mohammed V, through residential districts, and to the eastern suburbs. The 32km journey takes about an hour and passes many of the city's landmarks. It's the cheapest way to see the scale and modernity of Morocco's largest city. The tram is clean, efficient, and air-conditioned — a contrast to the medina chaos. Locals use it for daily commutes.
Tip: Ride T1 from Ain Diab to Sidi Moumen for the full cross-city experience — sit on the right side heading east for the best views
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Frequently Asked Questions
Is Casablanca worth visiting on a budget?
Yes — Casablanca has more free attractions than most visitors expect. The exterior of the Hassan II Mosque (Africa's largest) is free to admire and photograph. The Art Deco architecture in the downtown core is free to walk. The Corniche beach and boardwalk are free. The Old Medina is free to explore. The Habous Quarter (New Medina) is free to browse. The Central Market is free to walk through. Casablanca is Morocco's most modern city, with excellent public transport (the tram costs just 7 MAD), cheap street food, and far fewer tourist-price markups than Marrakech.
What are the top free things to do in Casablanca?
Top free activities: admire the Hassan II Mosque from outside (the scale is breathtaking — the minaret is 210m tall), walk the Art Deco district downtown (the densest collection of Art Deco in Africa), stroll the Corniche boardwalk along the Atlantic, explore the Old Medina (compact and calmer than Fes or Marrakech), browse the Habous Quarter (beautifully planned 1920s "new medina"), watch the Central Market fish auction, discover the street art scene in the Maarif district, and people-watch at Place Mohammed V (the civic heart of modern Morocco).