Mid-range · 6-hour walk · Casablanca
Habous and the Corniche in six hours
The French-built new medina, the art deco downtown, the cathedral and the Atlantic seafront.
The three-hour route does the great mosque and the old medina. This one is the city the French built in the 1910s and 1920s and then the sea: Habous is a new medina laid out by colonial architects to look old and somehow works, downtown Casablanca has more art deco than anywhere in Africa, and the Corniche at Ain Diab is where the city spends its weekends.
The route, stop by stop
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Quartier Habous
Arrive by taxi from the previous stop
Built from 1918 as a planned medina, with arcaded streets, a royal palace and the best bookshops and pastry in the city. Walkable and calm.
60 min here Walk here → -
Mahkama du Pacha
A 1950s courthouse and reception hall with sixty rooms of carved cedar, stucco and zellij, built by Moroccan craftsmen in traditional technique.
40 min here Walk here → -
Cathédrale du Sacré-Coeur
Arrive by taxi from the previous stop
White art deco gothic from 1930, deconsecrated since independence and now an exhibition hall. Half-ruined inside and remarkable for it.
30 min here Walk here → -
Place Mohammed V and the art deco quarter
The administrative square and the streets north of it, where the 1920s facades survive in varying states. Look up; the ground floors have all been replaced.
45 min here Walk here → -
Corniche Ain Diab
Arrive by taxi from the previous stop
The Atlantic seafront, with pools, cafés and a long walk above the rocks. Busiest at sunset and on Fridays.
60 min here Walk here → -
Morocco Mall Aquarium
At the far end of the Corniche, with a cylindrical tank you descend through. Worth it mainly if you have children with you.
45 min here Walk here →
More in Casablanca
Every walking route in Casablanca, or the full Casablanca guide for where to stay and what a day costs.