Columbus Cruise Review

Home > Cruise Destination Guide > Casablanca

Time Zone: GMT.

Currency: Moroccan Dirham (Dh) = 100 centimes.

Language: Arabic and French.

Sightseeing: The city of Casablanca is situated on the Atlantic coast. Founded at the beginning of the century, it is the country’s principal commercial town and the second-largest town in Africa. It was modelled on the French city of Marseille and is the most Westernised of all Morocco’s cities. The most impressive monument is easily the magnificent Hassan II Mosque, the world’s largest mosque with one of the world’s tallest minarets. Overlooking the ocean, it was completed in 1993 by the King Hassan II, the father of the present monarch, and was funded by £320 million of taxpayers’ money. There are also various beach clubs, each with its own freshwater swimming pool, snack bars and restaurants. The Casablanca Bar in the Hyatt Regency Hotel is the only place in the city that recalls the eponymous film starring Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman; it has a piano bar serving cocktails and the walls are lined with film memorabilia.

Shopping: See Agadir.

Eating Out: See Agadir.