Most North Americans land at Casablanca’s Mohammed V airport, so the two Atlantic capitals are often your first and last nights. Casablanca has the Hassan II Mosque; Rabat, an hour up the coast, is the calmer, greener capital with a medina and kasbah by the sea.
Casablanca
The Hassan II Mosque, partly built over the Atlantic, has one of the tallest minarets in the world and is among the few mosques in Morocco open to non-Muslim visitors, on guided tours. Around it, Casablanca is a modern city: Art Deco facades downtown, the Habous quarter’s arcaded souks and the Corniche at Ain Diab for dinner by the sea. Our Casablanca travel guide has more.
Rabat
Rabat, the capital, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site (2012). The blue-and-white Kasbah of the Udayas overlooks the Bou Regreg river; the Hassan Tower and the Mausoleum of Mohammed V stand nearby, and the Chellah hides Roman and Marinid ruins in a garden full of storks. It is our favourite place for a gentle first night after the overnight flight.
Where to stay
In Casablanca we book the Barceló Anfa, the Four Seasons on the Corniche and, for the grandest arrival, the Royal Mansour Casablanca. In Rabat: Villa Mandarine in its orange grove, the Fairmont Residences La Marina on the river, the Sofitel Jardin des Roses, the Four Seasons Rabat and Riad Kalaa in the medina.
