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Hotel Transatlantique
Prices from: 65 €
4 star hotel in the centre of Casablanca. Open since 1922 and recently renovated. The hotel offers double/single rooms and suites.
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Welcome to Casablanca
With a population of approximately 3.5 million, Casablanca is Morocco’s biggest city as well as its chief port, and is considered the economic capital. Centrally located at the Atlantic, Casablanca has excellent bus and train connections to all major cities and an airport that is served by all major airlines worldwide.
Often Casablanca is used as starting or end point of the journey, and not so much as tourist destination in itself, but the city provides you with a great possibility to rest after your flight, and get used to the climate and culture, before continuing.
Located in the middle of populated northern Morocco, you can get to any major city in Morocco within a matter of a few hours.
For a city that by large majorities of the world is to be believed the capital of Morocco, Casablanca does not have a lot on offer for the traveller.
Casablanca is and remains what it always was; the harbour and economic capital, not the cultural one. The city is mainly visited for business reasons, or by travellers that spend time here before and after their flight.
That does not mean that Casablanca is not worth the while. It does give the person that just arrived some time and space to get accustomed and experience a touch of Morocco.
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The Hassan II Mosque
One thing above all though is not to be missed - and can not be missed either, as it was build to impress, and so it does. Built for the 60th birthday of the previous king, the Hassan II Mosque was only possible because of the donations of virtually every Moroccan. This aspect often causes debates (“was the King not rich enough to have to let the poor pay”?), but from whatever point of view you look at it, philosophically, ethically or geographically, the Mosque is stunning and stately. As the only mosque in Casablanca that can also be visited by a non-muslim, guides can show you the inside.
You will be led into a space that can accommodate not less then 25.000 worshippers, on reclaimed land, as the mosque lies over the Atlantic water. This was inspired by the verse of the Qur’an that states “the throne of God was built on the water”.
Casablanca might be lacking in historical or otherwise interesting architecture, this one building that the city offers is one of the highlights of the Morocco. With Rabat at only half an hour by train, you have a second highlight within reach.
If Casablanca is your starting point for your journey, then you could not have chosen a more convenient one. From the train station trains leave for the north, always stopping in Rabat. You can take the train to Tangier, either to Meknes and Fes. Another train goes to the south east, to Marrakech.
Obviously, Casablanca is a huge and bubbly city, and not short of nice cafeterias, terraces and restaurants, so you will not be bored at all.
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